7 Deadly Dieting Sins

You're looking fabulous, feeling great and you've overhauled your diet. You've been eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean protein and complex carbohydrates - but then it happens. You pop into a drive-thru on your way back from work and order a double cheeseburger, fries and a shake. The diet is ruined for today, obviously, so you might as well polish off that tub of ice cream in the freezer as well as those chocolate bars in the cupboard, right?

The next morning, you feel guilty and vow to get back on your super-strict regime. Sound familiar? Remember, you're only human. Sometimes you'll slip up. Sometimes you'll maintain. Sometimes you won't be able to resist that burger or that ice cream. It doesn't matter - as long as you're trying, you'll get there.

Sin Number 1: Thinking That You're Eating Better Than You Actually Are

Many people believe that they're making the right food choices - whilst actually making entirely the wrong choices. Perhaps you drink plenty of fruit juice or vegetable juice. Maybe you choose 7-grain bread. Or perhaps you have tinned vegetable soup for your lunch.

Pre-prepared juices are seriously lacking in vitamins and nutrients, 7-grain bread isn't necessarily wholegrain bread and tinned veggie soup actually contains very little vegetables. 

Fix: Eat whole, unprocessed, natural, organic food wherever possible. Always make it yourself, be it juice, soup or dinner, if you can.

Sin Number 2: Cutting Out Carbs

We all have some slightly strange beliefs about carbohydrates. Many people believe that carbohydrates in themselves cause weight gain and conversely, that no carb and low carb foods are just the same as very low calorie foods and that you can eat as much of them as you like. This isn't true - but neither is it true that carbohydrates are the food devil. You just have to eat the right type of carbohydrates.

Fix: 

Read More: The Single Biggest Mistake You Can Make with Your Bodybuilding Diet 

Sin Number 3: Ignoring Your Trigger Foods

If you completely ignore your trigger foods and your cravings for those trigger foods, it could lead to a blowout - and you'll end up consuming more calories than if you had just allowed yourself a small slice of the pizza or a small scoop of the ice cream in the first place. Instead of completely ignoring your trigger foods, remember that food is there to be enjoyed - not there to be feared. You can enjoy chocolate, ice cream, pizza and even takeaways whilst still losing weight.

Fix: Allow a 150 calorie treat once a day, or one treat day per week.

Sin Number 4: Eating Too Much

Eating too much is a problem, even if you're eating too much of the right foods. This is very typical of "foodies", who eat plenty of delicious foods like olives, oily fish, brown bread, olive oil - too much of the right thing can still be the wrong thing. Even if your plate is loaded with low fat veggies, low fat protein and complex carbohydrates, if it is groaning under the weight of your food and you're ploughing your way through the entire plate thinking "It's okay - it's all good for me!", you could still be taking in far too many calories. 

Fix: Be sensible! Measure out portions, at least at first, and eat only until you're full. Don't pile your plate high.

Sin Number 5: Eating At Night

So you eat a tiny breakfast, a salad for your lunch and a dinner of chicken and green vegetables. You've had a good day, right? Yep - but then you reach for a bag of chips and a tub of ice cream at night, completely derailing your diet. You do this because you're hungry, and because you are not meeting your daily energy needs through the day. 

Fix: Eat 2/3 of your daily calories before your evening meal. Your body needs energy whilst you're awake and moving, so give it the energy it needs.

Sin Number 6: Believing Everything You Read

As a nation, we're a sucker for a good diet book. We love reading about the latest diets and in fact, the diet book industry runs into the millions of pounds each and every year. When celebrities and experts publish a new book detailing a new diet, we want to read it - we want to know what the secret is. 

Fix: Read expert books if you must, but check that the author is properly qualified and that their advice has been tested and studied adequately. Research the book online and don't just listen to the marketing hype.

Read More: Five Awful Diets You Should Never Try

Sin Number 7: Cutting Out Sugar

Cutting out sugar completely is actually really common. Sugar becomes public enemy number one for many weight lifters and dieters and for some, cutting out sugar can actually increase your cravings.

Fix: Schedule a sugar fix once a day - after your workout. Sugar is easily burned off after a workout and you'll satisfy your cravings.