News & Updates

Most Common Dieting Mistake!

February 07, 2012

As millions of dieters resolve to lose weight in 2012, it can be helpful to know what not to do as you start a new diet. According to Diana Davis, RD, LDN, for Wilmington Health Weight Management, an HMR Program, in Wilmington, there is one popular diet strategy that is almost certainly doomed to fail.

“The idea of eating less in order to lose weight is one of the biggest dieting myths that exist today,” said Davis. “If you follow that advice, chances are you’re going to feel deprived and hungry. And when people are hungry, they go for the quickest food they can find, which in most cases will be higher calorie.” 

She adds, “It may be possible to muscle through being really hungry and stick to your diet, but for every time someone does stare down the cookies or the chips, pizza, candy, etc., there are countless times when the cookies will win. When you let yourself get hungry, all bets are off, and for that moment, the diet is over.”

Eat More Lower Calorie Food

The good news is that dieting doesn’t have to be that way. Davis says the research is clear: instead of simply trying to eat less, you can eat more—a lot more—lower calorie, higher volume foods such as fruits and vegetables that can actually fill you up without the calories adding up. Being full makes it a lot easier to resist temptations to eat off the diet, and as a result, you lose more weight. 

“In our HMR weight-loss program we tell our dieters that it’s possible to eat a lot of food and still lose weight,” says Davis. “It’s much more important to change what you’re eating than it is to try to change how much you’re allowing yourself to eat.”

She offers the following examples:

Breakfast:

Instead of a 3 oz. donut for about 350 calories, have a weight-loss shake with a cup of strawberries blended in. You’ll feel fuller with almost a half-pound of food for only 200 calories.

Lunch:

Instead of a fast food burger and fries (940 calories and about 14 oz. of food) have a low-calorie packaged entree with two cups of vegetables for 20 oz. of food and only 320 calories.

For more easy and filling calorie “wins” from HMR, visit our Succeed section at www.wilmingtonhealth.hmrdiet.com.

These are just some of the strategies used by dieters at Wilmington Health Weight Management, an HMR Program, which offers diet classes; at-home diet kits; and a line of low-calorie, high-volume meal replacements including shakes and entrees. To learn more about the program, call 910.362.4535.

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