The 3 Most Common Dieting Mistakes of Women

A woman on a diet has many suitors. The weight loss world is full of companies and self-appointed experts competing for her attention, often spreading misinformation and making impossible promises.

It’s so predictable. They just want to get into her… pocketbook.

If you’re a woman struggling with weight loss, there’s a good chance you have heard some unreliable information, causing you to make a mistake or two. Just a bit of misinformation can make weight loss seem like a hard code to crack.

It doesn’t need to be as complicated as it seems. By learning about these mistakes, you can quickly unlock your potential and get back to getting results.

Let’s look at four need-to-know weight loss mistakes.

Starvation Diets

If 1400 calories is good, 1000 must be better, right? Wrong. Your body needs fuel to burn fat properly. As strange as it may sound, if you cut your calories back too far, your body will actually begin conserving its store of fat.

Think about wild animals in winter. When they eat less and less each day, the body gets “worried” and prepares itself for continued scarcity of food. Your body is the same. Too little food, and it will preserve its energy stores (i.e., fat) as long as possible. You may experience initial success, but it will quickly hit a plateau.

You want to use a moderate calorie deficit, like the one detailed in the 2 Week Diet plan. This plan ensures your metabolism stays highly active for optimized fat loss.

Overdoing Cardio Training

If there’s one mistake that most women make in common, it’s hours spent on cardio machines. While some smart cardio training (such as sprint training) can be beneficial for fat loss, there’s no need to chain yourself to the treadmill, bike, or elliptical. In fact, doing so can do more harm than good.

Alternatively, what you need is an easy-to-follow weight training program that focuses on key lifts that make you stronger.

Check out The 2 Week Diet workout program if you need assistance in this area. This program will streamline the top calorie-burning exercises that firm up and tone your body while helping you drop fat quickly.

Overcomplicating The Process

Finally, the last big mistake that many women fall prey to is overcomplicated programs. Diet plans with a million rules and regulations only lead to confusion, demotivation, and eventually giving up.

Simplicity is best. A few smart, easy-to-follow guidelines are most effective for superior results.

Fat loss isn’t rocket science. It boils down to fueling your body with the right food choices and amount of energy. That encourages the body to burn fat cells for energy.

For a complete break down, consider using The 2 Week Diet plan, which has produced amazing results for thousands without making you feel like you need a Ph.D. in nutrition to succeed.

If you see yourself making any of these mistakes, then forgive yourself, make a change, and get on track to a healthier, more energetic future.

Building A Righteous Bod: 5 Commandments Of Smart Dieting

To see the best results from any diet plan, you’ve got to know the “Diet Commandments.” These guidelines are essential for superior results. They will take you to the Promised Land, flowing with good health and energy.

Sadly, many dieters miss out on one or more of these rules, and it costs them their success.

  1. Thou Shall Eat More Protein

Of all the foods you might eat while on a fat loss diet, protein is probably the most important. Protein combats hunger, stabilizes blood glucose levels, and prevents lean muscle loss. The result is raised metabolism and accelerated fat loss.

Don’t let your protein intake fall short. Aim to consume some in every meal and snack. For some unexpected sources of protein, consider quinoa, bulgur, avocado, and whole wheat bagels.

  1. Thou Shall Eat Regularly

You may have heard that metabolism increases the more often you eat. That’s somewhat misleading. Actually, the boost you get from a meal is directly related to meal size — eating regularly does help keep hunger at bay.

Feed your body frequently throughout the day to avoid food cravings and energy lows. Those who follow this guideline are more likely to stick to their diet or weight loss program.

  1. Thou Shall Prioritize Fresh Foods

When selecting your foods, remember processed foods are a sin. Eating fresh is a must. In our world, processed foods are around every corner, waiting to cause weight gain and thwart our efforts for a healthy life.

Eliminate processed food and give your diet a major boost. Focus on natural foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and oils, and lean proteins. This isn’t the Garden of Eden — reaching for the apple is the right choice.

You could call this commandment the Golden Rule of dieting. If you make only one change to your diet plan, make this one.

  1. Thou Shall Set Short-Term Goals

One diet rule that you should abide by is to continually set short-term goals. Think about your strategy in the here and now, not months ahead. If your goals can only be achieved far down the road, it becomes too easy to lose sight of them.

You should also ensure that you put your goals in writing and tell a friend or family member about your intentions. The accountability will redouble your commitment.

Try thinking in two-week segments. Two weeks is generally the period necessary to form good habits, so it’s the perfect amount of time to build behaviors that stand the test of time.

This is precisely why The 2 Week Diet was created. It will help you stay motivated and consistent until good decisions become automatic.

  1. Thou Shall Avoid Fruitless Comparisons

Finally, stop comparing yourself to others. Realize this is your journey. Your body is unique and you won’t see the same results as everyone else, so don’t expect to.

Instead, start comparing yourself today to yourself from yesterday. That will give you everything you need to know. If you improve every day, or hold fast to your diet program, then you are already a success.

Keep these diet commandments in mind. Focus on them and be confident you are building a truly righteous body.

Hormones And Your Health

Many people don’t realize just how much hormones affect the way we feel and how our bodies function. Hormones control so many functions! You’re probably heard of cortisol, the stress hormone. Hormones also control how quickly we burn calories, our libido, acne, hair loss, weight, moods, and much more.

A hormone imbalance can lead to symptoms that feel like depression (or is depression), iron or other deficiency, exhaustion, and poor health.

We need the right balance to function properly.

A loose analogy would be putting the wrong type of oil and gas into your vehicle. It might run, but poorly, so you might not realize what the problem is. Many people have heard that a thyroid imbalance can cause weight gain and other problems, so let’s go over two other imbalances that you may not be aware of.

Adrenal Imbalance

We have two adrenal glands. The adrenal cortex releases hormones that are necessary for us to live. The adrenal medulla releases hormones that aren’t essential, but they’re still important and affect our health.

Following are symptoms for both an insufficiency and excess of hormone.

If you find you have five or more of the symptoms on either list, it’s possible that your adrenal glands are not functioning as they should.

Adrenal Hormone Insufficiency

  • Exhausted no matter how much sleep you get
  • Burn Out
  • You use stimulants to stay awake
  • You feel negative most of the time
  • You feel irrational
  • You have bouts of crying over things you wouldn’t normally cry over
  • You feel emotionally fragile
  • Low blood pressure
  • You feel dizzy if you stand up from lying down
  • Frequent infections or illness
  • Low blood sugar
  • Crave salty foods
  • Nausea
  • Diarrhea, constipation or alternate between both
  • Insomnia and have trouble staying asleep
  • Awake in the early hours of the morning

Adrenal Hormone Excess

  • Struggle to get to sleep even though you’re tired
  • Crave sugar particularly after a meal
  • Carry extra weight around your midsection/abdominal
  • Feel bloated
  • Eczema, thin skin or other skin conditions
  • Feel like your heart is racing
  • High blood pressure
  • Shakiness between meals
  • Reflux
  • Pink or purple stretch marks on your belly or back
  • Irregular menstrual cycles
  • Often anxious
  • Irritability or just don’t feel like yourself
  • Have trouble falling pregnant
  • Crave carbohydrates

As you can see, hormones can completely change how you feel!

Sex Hormone Imbalance

“Sex” hormone might not be what you first think about.

The side effects of this kind of imbalance include acne persisting long after puberty, mood swings, facial hair and a swollen tummy!

The symptoms are more physical and visual with this imbalance, and they affect your fertility.

Symptoms of Estrogen Dominance are:

  • Abdominal bloating<>
  • Swollen and/or tender breasts
  • Low libido
  • Irregular menstrual periods
  • Headaches
  • Mood swings
  • Fibrocystic breasts (lumpy breasts)
  • Weight gain
  • Hair loss
  • Cold hands or feet
  • Fatigue
  • Trouble sleeping or insomnia
  • Forgetful
  • Anxiety or irritability
  • Difficulty falling pregnant

If you find that you’re experiencing a number of these symptoms, it’s time to look closer.

Luckily, there are natural ways to control and manage your hormones so you feel healthy again.

Could You Have A Hormone Imbalance?

Some health issues are easy to diagnose and fix. If you fall and break a bone, the treatment is fairly clear. The same is true for most infections. Even diseases such as cancer and diabetes can be discovered through symptoms and tests.

Hormones are a different story.

If your hormones are off, you might experience a multitude of symptoms that can be misdiagnosed. We don’t have a clear “hormone level” the way we have a safe blood sugar range.

There are symptoms and tests, but surprisingly many physicians don’t think to check.

So What are Hormones?

Hormones are chemicals in our bodies that enact changes.

They’re messengers, created in our endocrine glands, that travel through our bloodstream and send messages to other cells.

Those messages control many of our most basic functions. This includes hunger to our more intricate and delicate systems like reproduction, as well as our emotions and moods.

What are Symptoms of a Hormone Imbalance?

There are many different types of hormones and therefore many different ways for them to become imbalanced.

If you feel that something is off or not right, it’s a good idea to check if you’re experiencing symptoms of an imbalance.

Let’s look at a common hormone imbalance with the thyroid gland.

Thyroid Symptoms

The thyroid regulates metabolism, which is the process of your body breaking down food and converting it into energy.

Your thyroid controls the rate in which this process happens.

A slower metabolism means your body may not be able to break down all the food you eat in a day and convert it to energy – it stores it as fat instead.

Your thyroid can be under or over active. Here’s a few symptoms for each.

Hypothyroid (Underactive)

  • Hair loss including outer 3rd of eyebrows
  • Dry skin/hair
  • Brittle fingernails
  • Weight gain/difficulty losing weight
  • Muscle/joint aches
  • Fatigue
  • High cholesterol
  • Constipation Heavy periods
  • Depression or moody

Hyperthyroid (Overactive) Weight Loss

  • Fatigue
  • Muscle weakness
  • Hand tremors
  • Mood swings
  • Nervousness
  • Anxiety
  • Rapid heartbeat – tachycardia
  • Diarrhoea
  • Vision Changes
  • Light periods or missed periods

A doctor can run a blood test to check your thyroid function, and there is medication to correct the problem.

However, there is also a natural way to correct the imbalance and feel good again, without being dependent on medication.

You can do a few things to help your thyroid function properly, such as:

Banish the sugar in your diet.

Eat a thyroid friendly diet which is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins.

Cut down on caffeine and drink more water.

And lastly, check how much soy you’re consuming.

Many people don’t realize that having too much soy in your diet can give you symptoms that mimic a thyroid problem, but it won’t show up on a test.

Soy is in soy milk, but it’s also in many packaged foods. Read the labels of the food in your home and you might be surprised how much soy you’re ingesting without realizing it.

Diet greatly affects our hormones, so we have a natural way to manage them.