The length of sleep can be crucial to how successful your diet is. Why? People who sleep only a few hours a night produce more ghrelin. This hormone is responsible, among other things, for controlling hunger and satiety. In addition, it slows down the energy metabolism and thus prevents fat stores from being broken down. It is important to maintain a steady sleep rhythm. By the way: the body burns calories even in sheep – around 70 kilocalories per hour.

2. Dressing in the dark

Instead of getting dressed drowsy in the dark bedroom, you should draw the curtains. This not only prevents you from wearing an outfit that doesn’t look right together, but also helps you lose weight. A study has shown that the morning sun helps to boost your metabolism. And that in turn has an effect on effective fat burning.

3. Coffee for breakfast

After a good night’s sleep you are dehydrated – even if you have sipped a glass of water from time to time. And that whets our appetite. If you immediately reach for a cup of coffee or tea, you won’t do anything about it. On the contrary: drinks containing caffeine or teaine (black and green tea) intensify the effect of dehydration. Better: first thing in the morning, drink a large glass of water, also to get the metabolism going.

4. Avoid dairy products

Those who are not intolerant to lactose should eat dairy products in the morning. And do not give it up for wrong reasons, for example to save calories. The main reason: Calcium is an important component for blood clotting and muscle contraction – and this can have a positive effect on the weight loss process. According to the German Nutrition Society (DGE), the daily calcium requirement is around 900 milligrams for an adult.

5. Eating cereals

Muesli may be a satiating base, but proteins are better for starting the day. Eggs also satiate and provide the body with the energy it needs. Eating protein also releases the hormone orexin, which stimulates the burning of calories. Eggs also provide important nutrients and vitamins, and inhibit the desire for small snacks between meals.

6. Morning stress

Do you use the snooze function on your alarm clock too often, so you have to rush to work a lot? Then you should reconsider this habit, because stress in the morning causes cortisol to be released. The hormone interrupts the build-up of proteins in the body and instead draws proteins from the muscles to convert them into glucose. Then you’d better get up a little earlier.

7. Not taking a lunch break

If you skip lunch and simply work through the break, you are not doing yourself or your body any favours. Why is that? It’s simple: if you skip a meal, your body reduces its energy consumption and this also slows down fat loss. Our tip: Before your performance also suffers from the lack of food and the ravenous appetite attack in the evening surprises you, eat something small instead.

8. Whining about the diet

If your diet makes you overdo it, so that you whine about it to everyone, it is time to let it go. I mean, you probably wouldn’t have gone on this diet anyway. Better is a weight loss strategy that you stand behind with your whole personality – and that is not characterized by prohibitions, but by the joy of healthy food.

9. Not taking one step on foot

“Every step keeps you fit, every gait makes you slim” is a saying – and there is definitely something to it. Transferred to work: Better go to your colleague than call him. In everyday life: always use stairs instead of the elevator and walk short distances. Better than getting the car out of the garage. If you take these little things to heart, you already provide a basic amount of exercise.

10. Chill music for the workout

Lounge music and slow instrumental songs may be suitable for the spa area and for relaxing, but not for a sporty workout. If you train on a treadmill or stepper, it’s better to plug up your ears with swinging music. Then it runs twice as fast.

11. Just doing cardio training

Endurance sports are wonderful, but you should also make sure that you train your muscles. The reason for this is that you build up muscle mass, which has a positive effect on your fat metabolism. This means: the more muscles you have, the more fat you burn – even when you are at rest. If your body consumes more energy than it receives in the form of food, it is forced to go to the fat reserves.

12. not carrying heavy loads

As mentioned above, it is important to train muscles. However, if you not only want to keep them in shape, but also build them up, the weights should already be a bit heavier. Otherwise you will probably not see any physical changes. Important: Vary the exercises and their intensity.

13. To reward with sugar

Anyone who has a week of hard training and healthy food behind him wants to reward himself with something at the weekend. In this case, don’t reach for sugary foods or drinks, but reward yourself with a great movie, a manicure or a massage. This will keep you off hundreds of calories and help you keep track of your weight loss goals.

14. Not using oil

We all know that saturated fats are unhealthy for our bodies in large amounts – not only because they can lead to overweight, but also because they increase blood fat levels. And that in turn can increase the risk of heart disease. Unsaturated fatty acids, on the other hand, are good for the body and even help you lose weight. This is because the lipids they contain slow down the passage of carbohydrates into the blood. Olive oil can therefore be used without hesitation.

15. Eating in front of the television

Do you prefer to sit in front of the TV in the evening with your food to be sprinkled? Not a good idea. Better save the film or series for the evening and concentrate instead on what you have on your plate. This will prevent you from eating too much and too fast – and learn to listen to your body.

16. Heating in the bedroom

If your heating in the bedroom is always running at full power, then let me tell you: that habit can sabotage your desire to lose weight. The reason for this is that in colder bedroom temperatures the body needs to expend a minimum of energy to bring the body to the appropriate sleeping temperature. And this in turn burns calories.

17. Pushing meals between appointments

Do you just want to eat something quickly before you take your child to the football club or to dance school? Then you definitely don’t give your body enough time to realize that it’s full. Our tip: Eat only half of your planned meal at first and save the rest for when you’re done. If you are still hungry, you can eat the second half of the plate.

18. Instagram out of bed

Just before going to bed, many people reach for their smartphones once again to share the last snapshot of the day on Instagram or to read the news of the day. A mistake that could probably even prevent us from losing weight. The blue LED light hinders the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. Insomnia and increased appetite attacks can be the result.