All adverts I see for vitamins have the same stock phrase - ' Vitamin and mineral supplements may be beneficial to children and the elderly '. Does that mean that other groups do not need them.

But I have also heard that when you exercise, you use up more vitamins, so maybe you do need to supplement

I have a bit of a problem with #20....

I think that obsessing about calories is bad, but until you fully understand and realise the number of calories you are consuming from the minute you get out of bed to the minute you go back to bed after the midnight snack - I don't think you can be successful with your diet or lifestyle change. For those who have read my extremely long newbie intro lol - you have a glimpse as to what plan I'm on. I have to keep a journal that details the food, the calories, the protein, the carbs, the fiber and the fat from everything i eat each day. Until I did this, I HAD NO IDEA TRULY what I was consuming. It's amazing. So while obsessing is bad, having a reality check is good.

Obsessing over weighing is also not good, but it also depends on your personality type. I see my doctor every Monday or Wednesday. During the middle of the week, I start to feel the 'this is pointless, must binge'. So I get on the scale and say WOW I lost 2lbs or 3lbs or whatever - and I'm re-focused. It gives me that bit of boost that I need.

25. Not living each day to the fullest. Thinking that will come when they are thinner.


This is definitely me...

Word. To me, #25 seems like the most obvious problem--putting your life on hold, having the idea that you'll be the "real you" when you've taken the pounds off. I'm absolutely guilty of that, and it's really destructive.

I agree. Most of this advice is awesome, but I think #3 needs work or should be elaborated on. It's very important to reduce your intake of calories--in fact, it's the one thing all successful diets share in common. According to studies it's the only thing that will make you lose fat if you are a woman (guys can lose a little through exercise for some reason but most women have a harder time and need to reduce cals).

What I think #3 should say is when you first start working on calories and diet, not to be obsessed with getting down to the max amount from day 1. It takes a little time for body and mind to adjust to new eating habits, and you have to do things gradually or you will feel hungry and end up over-eating to compensate.

For me, tracking my calories has been a big contributor to weight loss. Years ago I used it to lose and keep off 60 pounds for over 5 years. When I gained back 40 pounds this year due to health problems, I have been using calorie counting again and lost over 10 pounds so far without feeling hungry.

As far as weighing goes, I don't think it's terrible to weigh yourself a couple times a week, but when you first start on weight reduction--or if you hit a plateau--it helps to hide the scale and keep the weighing down to once every couple weeks (or even once a month). Sometimes the body needs a little time to kick into weightloss mode and if you don't see the pounds coming off right away it can be very discouraging.

It is very important to keep the balance right, though. The problems with becoming too obsessive when losing weight isn't just because you can become frusterated and go off your diet. It is also bad because you can stay obsessed and become suseptible to a dangerous eating disorder after you hit your goal weight.

This isn't uncommon for those of us who have eating disorders to begin with (like emotional over-eating and binging). The first time I lost, I surpassed my goal weight and became border ana. I was 103--just under a healthy weight for my height, but my skeletal system is built broad and it was a very BAD look on me. I also was not healthy at all. I got sick all the time, felt weak and had troubles sleeping.

Luckily, my husband had a talk with me, and forced me to look in the mirror and see that my face was starting to look skeletal. I stopped counting calories and got into distance running instead. I gained some weight back in muscle and ended up looking (and FEELING) better than I ever did when I was dieting alone.

One of my relatives went through something like that--but even more extreme. He went from from being obese during his childhood and young adulthood to becoming dangerously anorexic. He ended up in a hospital and had to be retaught how to view food so he didn't die.

He then refocused his obsession into making his body HEALTHY--instead of just skinny. He started weight-training and now competes as a body builder instead (but his wife keeps on him to prevent him from over-exercising--which can be another unhealthy obsession).

I apologize for rambling... Most of us here are still working on getting to our goal weights and may not have to worry about this when we get there, but I had to share this... It's really important to remember these things once we get to our GWs so we all stay healthy (and HAPPY) afterwords.

I completely agree with you on the above....its been time to make a change for years now but I procrastinated and no better time than now!!

~ Sara Maria ~

Of the original list, I nominate the following as favourite mistakes often made in attempted weight loss (I had to narrow down!):

1st Prize goes to: 19. Starving all day, thinking it’s the only way to lose weight.
2nd: 18. Skipping breakfast.
3rd: 46. Thinking dieting -- not total lifestyle change -- will lead to lasting weight loss.
4th: 22. Not believing they have the ability to change

I am new to this Forum and just found this list!
Wonderful I think I answered yes to 80%
I'm so happy, because I had a feeling it was me and not so much the diet plans. That list confirmed it- I'm mental about dieting
(now I see things different)
Thanks

I am guilty of numbers:

1, 3, 4, 13, 14, 15, 19, 21, 24, 31, 34, 47

38: I have already attempted to loose weight about three or four times in my life, the last time because I wanted to be fit to become a police officer... but this time, I have far more reasons... girls

Thirteen in total... that's not very good...

I'm guilty of at least 15 of them, and until I joined this forum, I was guilty about #50 as well.

Okay this one gets me:

24. Thinking they are unattractive.

I don't necessarily think i'm unattractive, I actually think I'm cute! But for some reason hearing others give me compliments helps my dieting/exercise out come more so then me telling myself...Does that make sense?

Its amazing! you have given such a true reasons for diet. 50 dieting mistakes, its such a great knowledge for those who are not aware of these mistakes

Yeah, I'm guilty of a couple of them.

Specially the obsession over how many calories I'm consuming a day...

[QUOTE=wonderwoman;33248]this is according to ediets:

50 mistakes made by dieters

5. Not drinking enough water. Oh so true!!

6. Drinking sugar-laden drinks, such as lemonade, sodas, gourmet coffees, fruity blends, etc. My biggest bad habit! Stopped cold turkey when I got on this kick!

7. Eating more bread, pasta and potatoes than proteins, lean meats, fruits and vegetables. Yeah, there's a reason why my bf calls me a bread-atarian!

8. Consuming processed foods more often than fresh foods. It's ridiculous how many more calories it takes to feel full on this junk!

13. Not having a plan. The downfall of most goals, not just weightloss, huh?

15. Finishing every last bite even after they are full. Something I didn't use to do, but always felt guilty about wasting food at restaurants!!!

24. Thinking they are unattractive. Wow. Yeah. Totally.

31. Thinking of exercise as a must do or chore. Retraining yourself to think of it as FUN is sooooooo important!

40. Tasting and nibbling on the food while cooking. Oh, so guilty! Especially when baking COOKIES!!

Most of these are soooooo true.

But I agree with some of the posts about the calorie counting. Knowing all the intimate details of everything that goes in my mouth is the only way I've been able to understand what I'm doing, and tweak. For some people, this would be way too much information, and it would sabotage the healthy eating efforts - they need to think of it more generally (and perhaps, less obsessive-compulsively!). I guess it comes down to each person.