How to Beat the Classic Diet Traps

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Losing weight can be hard work and there are common diet traps that we've all fallen into along the way. However, with a bit of awareness you can overcome them, lose weight and keep it off. Here are some classic dieting mistakes you'll probably recognise.. and the easy ways to avoid making them.

Too tired to diet The problem:
Feeling exhausted can be a trigger to reach for food as your body tries to compensate for lack of energy.

The solution:
Choose foods that will fill you up and give you slow release energy without lots of calories. Good options for meals are porridge, pasta, chicken or fish sandwiches made with grainy bread, or vegetable soup. Snack on nuts, dried or fresh fruit and low fat yoghurts. A moderate caffeine hit at lunch time (a cup or two of coffee) will help you through that afternoon dip, but don't overdo it.

Getting emotional The problem:
You've just had a blazing row with your partner so you reach for the biscuit tin.

The solution:
Occasional comfort eating isn't a major problem if you get back on track and don't beat yourself up about what's happened. But you can't solve a serious emotional eating problem unless you tackle what's causing the unhappiness in the first place. You may need help from a dietitian who specialises in emotional eating disorders.

Feeling guilty The problem:
Many of us feel so hung up about eating 'naughty' food (like chocolate or cake) that we eat large amounts quickly, and guiltily, without really enjoying the experience.

The solution:
Start loving food again by noticing which foods genuinely please and satisfy you, and which make you feel sick or uncomfortable. The welcome outcome is that you'll learn to stop eating food when it stops tasting good, or when you're full. Remember no one food is 'bad', it's your overall diet that counts.

Eating on the runThe problem:
A sausage roll grabbed here, a packet of crisps there.. It's really hard to find healthy food on the run, and that can spell disaster for your waistline.

The solution:
Always carry healthy snacks, for example fruit, nuts, a wholegrain sandwich or a yoghurt, so you're prepared. But don't miss proper meals if you can avoid it. It's the sure way to put on pounds as you'll be too hungry to make sensible choices when you do get to eat.

You've started, so you'll finish The problem:
Otherwise known an 'all or nothing syndrome', this is what happens when you tell yourself you've blown it with just one slice of chocolate cake? so you finish the whole thing.

The solution:
A lapse isn't a collapse! Just get straight back on track with healthy eating. If allowing yourself a small portion of your favourite indulgence is too hard, you may need to keep foods that are a weakness completely out of the way for a while.
Relax? You need to eat over 12 Mars bars (3500 calories) to put on 1lb of fat. So one bad day isn't going to spell disaster.

Keeping that weight off When you've lost your weight, how do you keep it off? Researchers in America interviewed thousands of dieters who have lost more than 10 per cent of their body weight and kept it off for at least a year. They came up with the following advice:

Be physically active for an hour or more daily.
Severely limit the fatty and sugary foods you consume and keep a check on overall calorie intake.
Always eat breakfast.
Weigh yourself once or twice a week.
Maintain a consistent eating pattern across weekdays and weekends.