5 Signs You’re On The Wrong Diet

Going on a diet is a huge challenge, which is why selecting the right type of diet is the most important part of actually going on a diet. Some diets that work for your sister, your friend or your co-worker may not be as effective on you. There’s also an additional challenge to keeping and selecting diets when you’re living overseas. The best way to select a diet that works for you and your lifestyle is by consulting with a Nutritionist, but if this is not an option for you, there are still things that you can do to make things work.

So here are some of the tell-tale signs that you’ve selected the wrong diet and what you can do to make it work for you.

1. You feel tired all the time

This usually happens with low protein diets. Most people try to go a full 180 from normal eating to completely vegan and that usually doesn’t work out well. Never underestimate the changes you make with the food you eat. You might think that cutting back on the carbs or protein won’t be that hard, but you’d be surprised of how a little goes a long way, so be careful when you say “How hard can it be?” which is typically when things start to go wrong.

So how do you avoid this? If you feel tired all the time, the diet you’re on is probably providing your body with less protein and energy than you actually need. Take some time to research the basic food groups and work out what is available in your current country of residence. Read the labels of the food you buy from the grocery stores so you would see the amount of nutrition that you are actually getting. Don’t go to the extremes, any diet that tells you to starve yourself is never a good diet.

2. The bathroom is now your favourite room

Whether you’re constipated or too loose in bowel movements, either way, this is a sign that you’re on the wrong diet. Getting healthy should be the first priority of dieting and one of the best signs of good health comes in the form of your bowel movements. You don’t want to be in the extremes for this activity either. You have to monitor your bowel activity and if you are constipated, this is a sign that your diet is not very big on fibre. If you’re a little too loose in the bathroom, then this is a sign that your body isn’t really taking your diet well.

Remember, a healthy bowel movement is just 2 or 3 a day. Anything fewer or more than this says a lot about your eating habits. Again, what you can do to adjust this is to monitor what you eat better. Take some time to research the kind of nutrition you’re getting from the food you eat. Fibre is an important part of your health and you need to make sure that you’re getting just the right amount of it. Regulating your bowel can be as simple as eating either a banana if your bowel is too loose or an apple when you’re constipated.

3. You don’t see results

Let’s face it, most people go on a diet to lose weight, the healthy portion just happens to come with the package, which is also why most people just cut through the work and take shortcuts with a few pills or some operation. For expats, these shortcuts won’t really be as readily available and you wouldn’t really want any kind of shortcuts that involves your health when you’re living in a foreign country, now do you? Your weighing scale should show you some improvements even after just a week of dieting. If you don’t see or feel any results, then this is a clear sign that this diet is just not meant for you.

Weigh yourself regularly and set a goal. If you feel like your skin still hangs on to your bed when you get up in the morning or if you have to actively convince yourself that you’ve lost some weight, then it’s time for you to re-think the diet that you’re on. It’s better to admit that the diet isn’t working for you earlier than waste all your time with something that is not giving you any significant results.

4. You hardly exert an effort

We said earlier that a little goes a long way with dieting and that you shouldn’t go to extremes, but that also doesn’t mean that it should be super easy. If your new meal plan is a little too convenient, then it’s probably too good to be true.

You have to really be committed in getting healthy or losing weight for dieting to actually get you to your ideal body or health. This means that you actually need to exert some effort so that you can see significant changes. If your diet is simply “only drink soda once a week” then don’t be surprised if it never really does anything for you. Commit to an actual diet that you can follow. Take note that you have to select a diet that fits well or can be adjusted to the resources available in your current country of residence. This way, you will have fewer excuses to not follow it. Staying healthy has to be a commitment and you need to decide if you’re ready for it.

5. You’re not encouraged to move or eat regularly

Good diets come with exercise, no matter how little. Movement is a key part of a healthy diet. You can’t see significant results without committing to healthy eating habits and healthy exercise. If your diet assures you that you do not have to move at all and you realize that the basic food groups are generally ignored, then there’s something wrong.

Losing weight without minding your health is a highway to disaster. You might start to find yourself getting sick a lot easier, your body a little weaker and things like this. You can make sure this doesn’t happen by arming yourself with the correct information about healthy diets. Nutrition is the key to finding the best diet that works for you. Read more about the diet that you are on, find out what types of food are readily available in the country you’re currently living in, and dedicate even just 30 minutes of your day to exercise. It doesn’t even have to be full cardio; it can be as simple as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or walking to the next bus stop instead of the closest one to and from work. You have the power to turn your diet around at anytime. You just have to know what is working for you and what is not.