By Madeline Vann, MPH
Medically reviewed by Christine Wilmsen Craig, MD

The last thing any of us wants is a diet “do-over.” Yet there are diet mistakes that can send you back to your starting point, wrecking all your hard work and success at losing weight. Don’t let these diet mistakes happen to you.
Diet Disasters

10 Ways to Ruin Your Diet

Do you know the number one way to derail your diet? You may be surprised. Here is the top 10 countdown of diet disasters.

10. Overeating away from home. Eating out poses a special challenge when calorie counting because restaurant portions are overgenerous; your best bet is to ask for a to-go box and put half your order away before you start eating.

9. Not reading labels. The most important number you need to pay attention to is the serving size. It’s easy to eat too much if you aren’t aware of how many servings are in a bottle or box and you consume the whole package, thinking it’s a single serving.

8. Eating too fast. If you eat quickly, your brain won’t get the message that you are full in time, says Kathy Hubbert, MS, RD, of EatRight Weight Management Services at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “Put the fork down between each bite,” she advises.
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7. Denying yourself your favorite foods. Be it chocolate or bacon, totally banning a favorite “unhealthy” food from your diet sets you up for temptation. Instead, use your calorie-counting skills to build in a small indulgence now and again.

6. Guilt over mistakes. If you are out with friends and get talked into dessert, don’t beat yourself up. “Guilt can set in and, for some people, that gets them moving in a backwards direction,” says Hubbert. Even if you did enjoy your indulgence, put it in perspective — it’s just one mistake compared to all your good diet choices yesterday, today, and the ones you’ll make tomorrow.

5. Putting too much “weight” on the scale. Hanging all your feelings of success on the numbers on the scale can be a diet disaster. You should only weigh yourself once a week, says Gail Curtis, assistant professor at the Wake Forest University Health Sciences department of physician assistant studies in Winston-Salem, N.C. Curtis recommends tracking other short-term health goals, such as eating more veggies, walking daily, or drinking water instead of soda, that will give you a sense of accomplishment.

4. Not exercising enough. Even if you could achieve your diet goals by calorie counting alone, you would be more successful (and healthier) if you were physically active. “The number one barrier to exercise that I hear is time,” says Hubbert. National recommendations are at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week. You can break this up into three 10-minute segments per day, says Hubbert.

3. Emotional eating. Eating in response to sadness, boredom, or stress wrecks your calorie counting for at least one day. “We learn to associate food with feeling better,” says Hubbert, a self-confessed boredom eater. When you become aware of your urge to eat in response to emotions instead of hunger pains, find something else to do that will distract you for 10 or 15 minutes, such as taking a walk, says Hubbert.

2. Thinking of your diet as a diet. “There is diet fatigue if you go on a diet,” says Curtis. “Most people can stay on a diet about three months and then they are done with it because they can’t stand it.” Instead, focus on making healthy lifestyle and diet choices that you can live with for a long time.

And the biggest mistake of all:

1. Letting one mistake start you on a downward spiral. “I’ve seen people completely go back to square one,” says Hubbert. “They make one mistake and it starts a whole cycle.” The remedy? If you make a mistake, admit it, forgive yourself, and get back on track right away.

So now that you know the top 10 diet mistakes, you should be able to avoid them — and know you aren’t alone if you make one yourself!

Last Updated: 04/07/2009
This section created and produced exclusively by the editorial staff of EverydayHealth.com. © 2010 EverydayHealth.com; all rights reserved.

Benefits to drinking Green Tea

Here are nine reasons to start drinking green tea or continue drinking it if you’re already hooked.

1. Green tea is a superb fat fighter. Its active ingredient, EGCG, increases the rate at which fat is burned in your body.

2. It targets belly fat. Research at Tufts University indicates that EGCG in green tea, like other catechins, activate fat-burning genes in the abdomen to speed weight loss by 77 percent.

3. Green tea keeps energy stable by balancing blood sugar levels. EGCG improves insulin use in the body to prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes that can result in fatigue, irritability, and cravings for unhealthy foods.

4. Research shows it may be helpful against lung cancer. In an April 2010 study published in Cancer Prevention Research, EGCG was found to suppress lung cancer cell growth.

5. Green tea may halt colorectal cancer. In numerous other studies, EGCG appears to inhibit colorectal cancers.

6. In research, it appears to cause prostate cancer cells to commit suicide. A March 2010 study in Cancer Science indicated that EGCG aids the body by causing prostate cancer cells to commit suicide.

7. Green tea may prevent skin damage and wrinkling. EGCG appears to be 200 times more powerful than vitamin E at destroying skin-damaging free radicals. Free radicals react with healthy cells in the body, causing damage, so lessening their numbers may help reduce wrinkling and other signs of aging.

8. It contains a potent antioxidant that kills free radicals. Because it is a potent antioxidant green tea can positively impact a lot more than skin cells. Free radicals are increasingly linked to many serious chronic illnesses like arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.

9. Green tea tastes good. If you’re not wild about the flavor, try a few different kinds. Try it iced or hot. Add some of the natural herb stevia to sweeten it if you want a sweeter drink. I wasn’t crazy about green tea the first few times I tried it, but now I love it with a fresh squeeze of lemon and a few drops of stevia over ice — et voila! Green tea lemonade. Mmmmm.

Reap the rewards
Add one or two teaspoons of green tea leaves to a cup of boiling water, preferably in a tea strainer. Let steep for five minutes. Pour over ice if you prefer a cold beverage. Most experts recommend three cups daily. And, don’t worry, green tea contains a lot less caffeine than coffee or black tea.

http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2010/08/a-week-of-superfoods?currentPage=7

My aunt also called me to come get piece of carrot cake she baked….I walked to get them and walked back home…..I checked the calories on line before I ate any this morning….Yeah I know, kind of early for cake….but again I felt for it…….3oz is 260 calories I believe….so I weighed mine and had 1.6 ounce of the cake

If I feel for popcorn….I first ask, anyone wants popcorn, if I get 2 or more answers, I pop the popcorn and share myself out 2 cups worth, which is 80 calories and give them the rest

Bottom line is unless you never plan to eat sweets again, don’t torture yourself, if you feel for it, have it….but small portions

A lot of people can do without sweets, kudos to them…I have a very bad sweet tooth, so I just eat it in moderation, and definitely not everyday

Later that night I was sick! I am was in so much pain! I couldn’t figure out what was happening. My “hubby” made me some tea, and I said to him; it must be the Cheetos, because everything I ate in the day, were items I normally consume. I’ve changed my eating habits; I’ll have the occassional candy or “take out” if I feel for it. It doesn’t bother me that I’ll have candies our takeout because I don’t go overboard and as such I consider this to be a treat rather than a cheat. I’m just baffled  that my body was acting this way to the Cheetos. I guess sicne I haven’t had eaten Cheetos in over a year my body freaked out; needless to say I’m still confused!  In this situation I think the saying “junk is junk” holds true, I’ll need to do some more research (and visit my doctor) because those Cheetos messed me up really bad!!