7 Dieting Don'ts Every Woman Needs to Know ...

One of the top dieting don’ts of them all is to eat too few calories. If you are constantly cold or always feeling weak, these are two signs you’re not eating enough and that your metabolism has slowed down to conserve fat for fuel. In fact, eating more healthy sources of calories can actually help you lose more weight instead of gain it - lucky you!

Fearing food not only leads to insufficient calorie intake, but also a warped mindset around food. Remember, food is fuel for your body that allows you to have the energy to do the things you love. Embrace nourishing your body, not depriving it out of fear.

When your blood sugar gets so low that you become shaky, moody, and starving, two things happen: First, your body goes into fat-storing mode, and two, your insulin levels skyrocket and then nosedive minutes later leaving you weak and exhausted. Not fun, right? To prevent this health tragedy, be sure you eat whole sources of food every 3-4 hours.

Getting too little sleep is also a major dieting don’t if you want to lose some serious weight. Sleep allows your hormones to “do their thing” and increase fat-burning around the clock. Without at least 7 hours, you’re setting yourself up for overeating, fat-storing, and cravings just by getting too little shut-eye. So go to bed already!

Iron shuttles energy into your blood cells which spikes your metabolism around the clock. It also helps improve digestion, which is important for weight loss too. Top sources of iron in foods include seaweed, meat, seafood, chocolate, raisins, chia seeds and leafy greens.

Protein is important for both your blood sugar and metabolism, which both lead to enhanced weight loss. It boosts metabolic burn and enhances lean muscle formation to burn fat even if you’re not active. Weight loss friendly choices include: plain nonfat yogurt, fish, egg whites, chia seeds, hemp protein, chicken, turkey, and leafy greens.

Short-term juice cleanses can help reset your body if done properly, but in terms of real weight loss, I don’t recommend them. It’s fine to add homemade vegetable juice to your day, but don’t rely on juices for food alone. Fruit juices can also wreak havoc on your blood sugar, which is a major dieting don't too.

One last thing to keep in mind is before you start any diet at all, make sure you really need to lose weight to begin with. Because the worst dieting don’t of them all is to put your body at risk and become underweight. This sets you up for a slow metabolism, along with many health risks too. So what about you? What’s your number one “dieting don’t” tip?