Have you ever tried – and failed – to lose weight?  You are not alone.

But the good news is that you can achieve the weight loss you desire in three simple steps. And equally important to maintaining a healthy weight is avoiding common traps we all face. Explore these four common weight loss mistakes and you’ll be prepared to embrace the three steps to long-lasting fat loss I’ll cover following.

Mistake #1: Calorie restriction

When you restrict calories by eating next to nothing, fasting or using liquid/juice diets, you might initially take off some pounds. But then your body catches on to your game.
Then you go into starvation mode in order to preserve your fat stores in case no more food is coming for a while. As a result, your fat burning metabolism slows WAY down to keep you alive on less food.

This means you start losing less or no weight at all even though you are eating next to nothing. Plus, when you stop severely restricting calories and eat your “old way” again, your body will burn even FEWER calories than it did before because you slowed down your metabolic rate. So you put the weight back on and then some.

Mistake #2: Fad diets

Same thing applies when you eliminate food groups from your diet, use meal replacement bars or shakes (like Slim Fast) or try to trick your brain into thinking you’re full (e.g. Sensa).

Your body is smart and knows that it needs complete nourishment. That means proteins, whole grains, veggies, fruits and good fats.

If it doesn’t get everything it needs, the starvation mode is triggered as previously discussed. It doesn’t matter if “shakes” you drink have a bunch of vitamins added to them. Your body knows the difference between synthetic nutrients and those that come naturally from food.

Our bodies are designed to best use nutrients as they occur in a complete, real food. Anything less than that will make your body feel as though it’s not nourished properly…and leave you feeling hungry all the time.

Mistake #3: Just Eat Less

When someone who eats large meals or always has seconds and thirds tries to simply to cut back and eat less, they’re pretty much miserable. Eventually they start sneaking a little more, then a little more, and soon they’re right back where they started.

Or they eat try to eat their dinner on a luncheon-sized plate…but pile it 6 inches high! Or they might successfully eat less at meals but cave into snacking later on, which completely negates any calorie savings they may have achieved by eating a smaller dinner.

Some people even take the dramatic approach of having gastric bypass surgery–so your portions are automatically “controlled” because your stomach is a fraction of its original size. Sadly, the success rate of this about 2% rarely working and can be downright dangerous.

Mistake #4: Meal plans

Some diets take the work out of meal preparation and planning by having you buy their pre-packaged meals and foods. This can be VERY costly and often are processed foods to boot..bad news!

As long as you stick to eating their prescribed meals, you will probably take in fewer calories and Iose weight. But as soon as you’re “on your own” again, guess what happens? Yup, the weight comes right back on!

So what can you do if you desire to lose and keep weight off both safely and effectively?  Stay tuned as next I’ll share the three steps to permanent fat loss.