Here are four well-intentioned approaches to weight loss that can go awry, and some proven ways to drop pounds for good. (Take back control of your eating—and lose weight in the process—with our 21-Day Challenge!)
1. You have a hearty dinner.
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For most of us, dinner tends to be our largest meal. But scarfing down a big plate of food in the evening can make your hunger-fueling hormones go haywire. It can also mess with your sleep in ways that promote overeating the next day.
Smarter move: Front-load your food intake. Overeating at night keeps you from being hungry in the morning—setting off a vicious cycle in which you're never interested in breakfast but always starving by dinner. The key is to rebalance your day so you don't set yourself up for an evening binge. To get your morning appetite back, cut your evening meal in half, experts advise. Then eat a larger breakfast that includes healthy sources of protein and fat—stuff like eggs, avocado, whole grains, fruit, and some dairy. (Try one of these healthy dinner ideas.)
2. You "graze" instead of eating regular meals.
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Dieting in this manner may contribute to weight gain, according to an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study. When researchers asked women to eat at regular, fixed times or to break their usual amount of food into unscheduled meals throughout the day, they made a startling discovery: The women actually burned more calories in the 3 hours after eating the regular meals than they did after the unplanned meals. Also, experts say people tend to eat more than they think. The more times you eat each day, the more opportunities you have to overdo it.
Smarter move: Try to stick to three meals a day—preferably a larger meal in the morning followed by smaller meals in the afternoon and evening. Again, protein and healthy sources of fat tend to keep you full longer. (Here are 20 high-protein veggies.) "It's not great to feel starved, but it is OK to feel slightly hungry," Zied says. If you've been eating throughout the day, it will take some time for your body to adjust. But after a month, your system should recalibrate.
3. You count calories.
More and more research is showing that all calories are not created equal when it comes to your health or your waistline. Also, experts say it's all but impossible to accurately count calories. Even if you could, the latest study suggests the older "calorie balance" wisdom—or trying to burn more calories than you swallow—is not the best approach for losing weight.
Smarter move: Adopt a Mediterranean or Nordic-style diet, both of which focus on eating healthy "real" foods instead of counting calories. A diet heavy in plants, fish, nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils provides lots of slow-digesting sustenance—the stuff that turns off your body's fat-storing cells and helps you avoid blood sugar swings, research shows. (Check out these 25 best dieting tips of all time.)
4. You set short-term weight loss goals.
The National Weight Control Registry estimates only 20% of dieters successfully keep off lost weight for more than a year. Why? We tend to adopt extreme diets or eating habits that reduce weight in the short term, but aren't sustainable for more than a few weeks or months. (Here are 6 major eating mistakes you might be making.)
Smarter move: People who win at weight loss adopt healthy eating habits that last a lifetime. The key: making small changes you can stick with, and not adopting crazy short-term eating plans. Start by creating a list of problem areas in your diet, and then tackle them one at a time. (Short on time? Here are easy 7-minute dinner ideas.) For example, if you snack on a handful of cookies every night before bed, set a goal of having two instead of four. Focus on gradually chipping away at those bad habits, and you'll have a better shot at losing weight for good.
