Are you a weight loss saboteur?

Are you struggling with your weight loss? Do you think you should be losing weight but are not?

When you embarked on your weight loss programme you were full of enthusiasm and followed your healthy eating plan to the letter. Now, some weeks or months into it, your weight loss has stopped and your dedication to the cause is waning.

It might be that you are making the same mistakes as last time and do not realise it. Have a look at the following and see if any of them are familiar to you. If so, now that you know what the problem is, make a conscious effort to rectify it.

All or nothing - the occasional treat IS ok! One lapse does not ruin everything. Just make sure that having had the treat you do not follow it with more and more treats because you feel you have blown the diet. Get back into the healthy eating for the very next meal.

Skipping meals - do not imagine that by skipping meals you are doing yourself or your weight loss any good. In fact, it often means that you will actually increase your calorie intake because you become so hungry that you overeat at the next meal. This can be a very counterproductive habit!

Not exercising - or not increasing your exercise levels. Exercise is important whether or not you are trying to lose weight but it is especially important if weight loss is your goal. In the long term, exercise will help you maintain your weight, help to prevent you from regaining your loss. In addition it will help to maximise your fat loss and minimise your lean muscle loss.

Be realistic - are you making changes to your diet that you can stick to in the long term? Many people make drastic changes in the hope for quick results only to abandon them and go back to their old ways. It is better to make small changes that you know you can stick to and then introduce more small changes as time progresses.

Are others sabotaging your results? - family and friends are not always as supportive as you would like when trying to lose weight. There can be many reasons for lack of support. One is that if they also need to shed a few pounds but do not have the will power, it makes them uncomfortable for someone else to be succeeding. Another can be that they think you will become a different person if you lose weight and this makes them nervous. Talk to them and try to get to the bottom of their concerns. Having a good support network is crucial to success.

Habits and routines - these are difficult to deal with but essential if you want to succeed. An example is coming home from work and having a glass of wine to help you unwind. Perhaps you could find some other calorie free way to unwind - a bath or stroll round the garden. Another example is, after dropping the kids at school, coming home and settling down to a nice calorie-laden breakfast because you are hungry and already feel you have done a days work! Try to change routines that are causing you to sabotage your diet. It may mean walking a different route to work to avoid the bakery or going for a walk after dropping the kids at school - anything to break the habit!

Buying high calorie foods for the rest of the family- it is very difficult to stick to a healthy eating plan if you are, at the same time, buying crisps, chocolate, biscuit and cakes for the rest of the family. Just having these foods in the house is setting yourself up for failure. If you must buy these for others in the family, buy small quantities that get eaten there and then - do not hold stock of them in the house! Anyway, it will encourage the whole family to have a more healthy diet.

More is less! - you do not have to skimp on food when you are on a diet. In fact, having a full plate is good providing you choose your foods carefully. Vegetables are very important for health and weight loss - make sure your plate is stacked up with them. Psychologically you will still be eating a full plate so you will not feel so deprived!

Are you mistaking thirst for hunger? - if you are not drinking enough (and I mean water here!) then you may be mistaking your thirst for hunger. When you feel hungry, try drinking a glass of water first, wait 20 minutes and see if this deals with the hunger problem. Aim to drink 2 litres of water a day - preferably plain water. Not only will this help to control hunger but it will also aid in flushing out toxins and giving your skin a healthy glow.

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