The last thing you want to do when attempting weight loss is to have to do it all over again if you gain the weight back. Think about it. You put in all that time and effort losing pounds. Then when you reach your goal, suddenly you find yourself going back in reverse with the scale creeping back up again.

What happened? The problem with weight loss is there is no magic bullet keeping it off for good. No pill, no special drink concoction, and no special formula to follow that works for everyone.

That is why each of us is susceptible to the lure of various quick fixes or supposedly miraculous cure melting the excess pounds away. With this type of mindset in place it will usually lead to mistakes that get in the way of true long-term weight loss success.

The goal then is to avoid these pitfalls that inevitably get you off-track on your journey on reaching a healthy body weight. But in order to do this, you must recognize when these pitfalls are staring right into your eyes. Once you do, you can sidestep these pitfalls and get back on the road towards a healthier you.

Here are common weight-loss mistakes many people make and how not to do so:

·Too many strict rules to follow

Fad diets are the worst. These diets tend to have a gazillion rules to follow that usually make no sense – “don’t eat past 6 pm,” or “only eat fruit on Mondays.” Weight loss diets with strict and unrealistic rules are to be avoided like the plague. They will only confuse you. They can mess with your metabolism by slowing it down. And they can result in a nutritional deficiency if you’re not careful.

What to do instead – The obvious answer is to never go on a fad diet. You can recognize fad diets by their alluring promises of “quick weight loss with no exercise,” “secret or miraculous formula,” or eliminating entire food groups. The key is to eat a balanced diet composed of a variety of fruits and veggies, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, low-fat dairy and lean protein. Eat three meals a day with one to two snacks making healthy food choices and plenty of exercise throughout the week.

·Allowing a cheat day

A “cheat day” is defined as one day a week where you are allowed to eat any food and as much of it as you want. Sounds great so why is it actually a bad idea? The reason why a cheat day is not encouraged is because that one day of noshing away on any and everything you want, can get you off track quicker than a train that derails. Cheat days are also notorious for watching healthy eating fly out the window.

What to do instead – Instead of devoting an entire day of really bad eating choices, just allow yourself a small portion size of a treat each day – maybe a small dish of ice cream or one cookie. When you do this, you won’t feel nearly as deprived or tempted throughout the week eliminating the need for a cheat day to begin with. You will discover that if you make 90% of your food choices each day healthy ones, the other 10% can be a small favorite food to indulge - a little bit – in.

·Cutting calories too much

It would make senses to slash calories quite a bit for weight loss, right? Not so fast. Women need at least 1200 calories each day while men require 1500 at a minimum daily. When we fall below those levels, the body will want to conserve calories by slowing down metabolism which will only bring down the rate at which you will be burning those calories. This means your weight loss may slow way down or even come to a screeching halt as the body attempts to conserve the calories you are feeding it.

What to do instead – Eat sensibly by never skipping meals and trying to eat about every 4-5 hours throughout the day. Focus on planning your meals to reflect high-quality, nutrient-dense foods rather than just looking at calories. Create a healthy plate by having half of it composed of either cooked or raw veggies with some fruit, one-fourth of a healthy whole grain or starch and the other one-fourth of a lean protein source. This will insure you are getting a variety of nutrients each day with adequate calories.

·Not thinking into the future

It is tempting to try out the trendy short-term cleanse diets promising quick weight loss after a seven or 21-day cleanse. But when you follow such a diet it will most likely only result in slowing down your metabolism. Then once you go off the diet and go back to your regular eating habits, the weight comes right back on.

What to do instead – Stay away from fad diets trying to reel you in to their quick fix for weight loss. Rather, stick to a way of eating that emphasizes plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, low-fat dairy, and legumes. Our body already knows how to cleanse itself without any help. Besides, losing weight means thinking long-term. Short-term diets only do so much. To make weight loss lasting, you have to think and then act on eating a healthy diet that you can do for the rest of your life to make the weight loss permanent.