You diet. You exercise. So why is your gut still hanging over your belt? Because of these common pitfalls:

You Inhale Food

If you were a rat, you'd chow down for about 15 minutes, feel full, and stop eating. But you aren't. You probably eat so fast that your stomach hardly has time to alert your brain to tell your mouth to quit chewing before your stomach explodes.

Solution: Try this drill during your next meal. On every bite, chew, swallow, put down your fork, and take a sip of water. See how long it takes you to eat. Now, during subsequent meals, take just as long to eat, only without the drill. Another meal-prolonging trick for men with regular dinner partners: Turn off the TV, put down the Daily Racing Form, and actually have a conversation.

You're Starving Yourself

Slashing too many calories, particularly protein calories, pushes the body to conserve calories rather than burn them. It also forces your body to break down muscle tissue to fuel its vital operations. But that muscle is the key to your metabolism, or the speed at which you burn calories. More muscle means a faster metabolism and less body fat.

Solution: You do need to cut calories to lose weight. (Cut 500 today by eliminating one can of beer, 30 chips, and one Oreo from your diet.) But you need to make sure you\'re eating at least 1,600 to 1,800 calories each day to keep your metabolism from shutting down. And never cut protein during a diet. If you\'re a sedentary 200-pounder, you need about 75 grams of protein (about two chicken breasts) a day for muscle preservation. If you\'re lifting weights, aim for twice that much. Doing aerobics? Pick a number in between.

You Don't Get Enough Sleep

Sleep deprivation decreases the odds of shedding blubber and keeping it off. Researchers found that healthy men who snoozed only 4 or 7 hours a night for 6 nights in a row had higher glucose and insulin levels in their blood. This is a terrible state of metabolism for a man who\'s trying to lose weight, because surplus insulin boosts body-fat storage.

Solution: Hit the sack for 8 hours each and every night. And try to hit it for the same 8 hours. That is, establish a regular bedtime and waking hour. you have to wake up on most days, and make sure you\'re in bed at least 8 hours before. Company is optional

You're Too Refined

Most processed breads and cereals contain little fiber, the calorie-free component of plant foods that fills you up, not out. Plus, foods rich in fiber help control blood glucose and insulin levels.

Solution: I never thought I'd say this, but it may be a good idea to cut back on potatoes in any form (especially the fries, fellas). Experts say potatoes raise blood-glucose concentration quickly, as do snack chips, white bread, low-fiber breakfast cereals, and breakfast bars. Whole-grain cereals, nuts, and beans are blame-free, if not calorie-free.

You're Dry

When you're trying to lose weight, water is your workout partner. You need it to flush the waste products your body makes when it breaks down fat for energy, or when it processes protein. You need it to transport nutrients to your muscles. You need it to help digest food and keep your metabolism clicking along. And water keeps you from overheating during intense exercise on hot days.

Solution: Start the day by filling up a half-gallon jug with water (or any combination of smaller bottles that equals 64 ounces). Your goal is to drain the lot by the end of the day. Clear or light yellow pee is the universally recognized sign of good hydration.

You Can't Cook

So you took wood shop instead of home ec. I understand — a man needs to master power tools to feel complete. But unless you find a way to make your bird feeder edible, you need to master weight-loss tools, too. A man whose only kitchen skill involves the speed dial to Domino\'s is condemned to a diet of grease, salt, white bread, and sugar.

Solution: Step into the kitchen. (That's the room with the oven, sink, and refrigerator.) Open your freezer. You should see frozen berries and vegetables, which are as good as fresh but last many times longer. Look in your cupboards. You should see some canned vegetables, hearty low-fat soups, dried fruit, and slow-cooking oats. These foods help you lose weight because they\'re filling but low in calories. Best of all, you don\'t need much more than a can opener and a microwave to make them edible. (Dishes are optional.) This leaves you more time for your power tools.

You Think Fitness Trumps Fatness

Exercise alone won't make you thin. A recent study of military personnel who increased their exercise during a 3-year period found that they gained weight despite their extra efforts. Why? Food, most likely. They simply ate more than they burned off.

Solution: The last thing you want to hear, especially from a female, is that size matters. But trust me on this: Controlling portion size is absolutely essential to weight loss. And the best way to control portion size is to limit how often you eat out.

如果你是一只老鼠，你吃飽大概會(huì)用15分鐘，然后停止進(jìn)食。但是你不是。你可能吃飯速度非常快以至于當(dāng)你的胃實(shí)際上已經(jīng)撐漲的時(shí)候你的大腦都來(lái)不及意識(shí)到你應(yīng)該停止咀嚼了。

解決辦法：下一次吃飯的時(shí)候嘗試這些動(dòng)作：每咬一口，慢慢咀嚼，放下你的叉子，喝一小口水。看看你用了多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。再吃飯的時(shí)候，花更多一點(diǎn)的時(shí)間來(lái)吃飯可以不用以上的動(dòng)作。對(duì)飲食規(guī)律的人來(lái)說(shuō)，另外一個(gè)延長(zhǎng)吃飯時(shí)間的小計(jì)策是：關(guān)上電視，用筆記下當(dāng)天的賽馬報(bào)道，當(dāng)然也可以進(jìn)行一下交談。

你正在讓自己挨餓

你破壞了太多的熱量，尤其是蛋白質(zhì)熱量，迫使身體保存這些熱量而不是釋放。這也迫使你的身體分解肌肉組織以為身體的重要機(jī)能提供能量。但是肌肉組織是身體新陳代謝的關(guān)鍵，也就是會(huì)加速你體內(nèi)熱量的燃燒。肌肉越多說(shuō)明身體新陳代謝越快脂肪越少。

解決辦法：你需要減少熱量來(lái)減肥。（每天減少500卡通過(guò)少喝一罐啤酒，30片薯片和一塊奧利奧奶油夾心巧克力餅干。）但是你必須保證你每天至少攝入1600--1800卡的熱量以維持你新陳代謝所需要消耗的能量。而且吃飯時(shí)千萬(wàn)不要減少蛋白質(zhì)的攝入。如果你是一位體重200磅的辦公室職員，你每天需要75克蛋白質(zhì)(大約2塊雞脯肉）來(lái)維持身體組織的機(jī)能。如果你正在曾重，需要的能量是上面的2倍。做有氧運(yùn)動(dòng)？那么在此區(qū)間任選一個(gè)數(shù)字。

你沒(méi)有足夠的睡眠

睡眠不足會(huì)造成身體內(nèi)皮脂的流失。研究者發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)連續(xù)6天每天只有4-7小時(shí)睡眠的健康人體內(nèi)的葡萄糖含量和胰島素水平比較高。對(duì)一個(gè)正想減肥的人來(lái)說(shuō)這是新陳代謝的一種可怕的狀態(tài)。因?yàn)檫^(guò)剩的胰島素會(huì)增加體內(nèi)脂肪的存儲(chǔ)。

解決辦法：每晚保證8小時(shí)睡眠，并且盡可能是相同時(shí)間段的8小時(shí)。即有一個(gè)規(guī)律的就寢時(shí)間和醒來(lái)時(shí)間。你必須保證你在床上至少呆了8個(gè)小時(shí)的時(shí)候按時(shí)起床。連隊(duì)隨意。

生活過(guò)于精致

大部分加工面包和谷類植物含有微量纖維，這些無(wú)熱量植物成分使你的身體機(jī)能正常運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)。另外，富含纖維的食物有助于控制體內(nèi)葡萄糖含量和胰島素水平。

解決辦法：我不得不這樣說(shuō)，但是減少使用任何形式的土豆的確是一個(gè)好主意（尤其是油炸的）。專家說(shuō)圖都能夠迅速提高血糖濃度，薯片，白面包，低纖維食物也一樣。如果不含熱量，谷物雜糧，堅(jiān)果和豆類食品可以放心食用。

缺水

當(dāng)你想減重的時(shí)候，水會(huì)是你最好的健身搭檔。你需要水沖掉你體內(nèi)分解脂肪和蛋白時(shí)產(chǎn)生的廢物。你需要水將能量運(yùn)送到肌肉組織。你還需要水來(lái)消化食物和維持正常的新陳代謝。而且水還可以防止你在熱天運(yùn)動(dòng)時(shí)過(guò)熱。

解決辦法:在一天開(kāi)始的時(shí)候用一個(gè)半加侖的罐子裝滿水（或者其他的能夠裝下64盎司水的容器）。你的目標(biāo)就是在這一天結(jié)束的時(shí)候?qū)⑦@些水喝完。透明的或者淺黃色的小便就是你吸收良好的最好的標(biāo)志。

不做飯

比如，你可能長(zhǎng)時(shí)間呆在木工房里而不是家里。我能理解--男人總是需要通過(guò)操縱電動(dòng)工具才能感到充實(shí)。但是你也需要精通使用一些輕一點(diǎn)的工具除非你能像鳥(niǎo)一樣找到鳥(niǎo)食罐。如果一個(gè)人的廚房技能僅僅是像玩多米諾骨牌一樣的速度那么他應(yīng)該被忌食油脂、鹽、白面包和糖。

解決辦法：走進(jìn)廚房。（那個(gè)有烤箱、洗菜池和冰箱的房間）打開(kāi)冰箱，你可以看到一些冰凍漿果和一些實(shí)際上已經(jīng)是很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間但是仍然很新鮮的蔬菜。櫥柜里有罐裝蔬菜、健康的低脂湯和烹飪燕麥。這些食品有助于減重因?yàn)樗麄兪堑蜔崃渴称贰Ｗ詈玫姆椒ň褪悄阒恍枰�一個(gè)開(kāi)瓶器和一臺(tái)微波爐把這些食品做成食物。這些可以使你離開(kāi)電動(dòng)工具一些時(shí)間。

你認(rèn)為健康勝過(guò)肥胖

單純的運(yùn)動(dòng)并不能讓你變瘦。一項(xiàng)最近的研究表明那些軍人在三年的時(shí)間里盡管做了那么多的運(yùn)動(dòng)，他們的體重還是增加了。為什么？飲食，最可能的答案。相比較他們自己做飯而言他們?cè)诓筷?duì)更容易多吃。

解決辦法：你最后想聽(tīng)的，尤其是女性朋友，就是身材問(wèn)題。但是請(qǐng)相信我：控制身材的基本就是減重。并且最好的控制身材的辦法就是減少外出就餐的次數(shù)。