Are you sabotaging your body’s ability to burn calories? Avoid these common eating errors to increase metabolism and burn fat faster!

1. You eat too many white foods.
If your waistline looks like a marshmallow puff or pastry dough, there’s good reason. Foods like potatoes, rice, white bread and refined sugar are often referred to as “white hazards” because they have a very high glycemic index and wreak havoc on your metabolism.

These kinds of Fast Carbs are made up almost entirely of simple sugars, which convert quickly in your body and spike blood sugar levels, causing your metabolism to slow to a crawl. As an alternative, choose whole grain breads, brown rice and sweet potatoes.

2. You drink your calories.
Drinks like soda, fruit juice and alcohol are sugar bombs that convert almost instantly to fat in your body ― and all those calories provide almost no nutrition and very little in the way of satisfaction. Calories from solids take more time to digest, so they help you stay satisfied longer — plus, the extra work required by your digestive system helps to burn calories.

3. You eat mindlessly.
Simply paying attention to your body while you eat can have a huge impact on your ability to lose weight. This is called “mindful eating.” It’s a simple matter of tuning into your body’s hunger signals so you can try to stop eating once you’re full. The next time you eat, try to recognize what your hunger feels like. Think of it as a sliding scale from starving, to satisfied, to stuffed. Over time, you will learn to stop eating as soon as you become satisfied.

4. You take food marketers at their word.
If a loaf of bread says “Seven-Grain Bread” in big letters on the packaging, it sounds pretty healthy, right? Don’t believe it. Those big, bold messages on the front of the package can be very misleading. And it also goes for supposedly healthy foods like canned soup, low-fat microwave meals and fruit juices.

The only words that really matter are the little words in the Nutrition Facts on the side of the package. That’s where you’ll see whether the bread uses whole grains (good) or enriched flour (bad), how much sodium is in your soup, and how much sugar in a serving of fruit juice.

5. You don’t eat enough fiber.
Research shows that eating more fiber can rev up your fat burning by as much as 30%. People who eat more fiber lose more weight over time. Boost your fiber intake by opting for whole grain bread, pasta and cereal, choosing brown rice over white rice, and eating more fruits and vegetables. Slow Carbs are loaded with fiber. Aim for about 25g a day ― the amount in about three servings each of whole fruits (not juices) and vegetables.

6. You don’t eat enough Protein.
Protein helps to slow down the conversion of carbohydrates to fat in the body, so it’s critical to make sure Protein is a component of every meal you eat in order to prevent blood sugar spikes. Not only does Protein help to improve your metabolism by balancing blood sugar spikes, it also helps you develop and maintain lean muscle, which enhances fat burning.

7. You don’t eat enough, period.
While it’s true that you should limit overall calorie intake when you want to lose weight, most “dieters” go way too far. By drastically cutting calories, you train your metabolism to slow down. On the other hand, having a balanced meal or sensible snack every 3 to 4 hours keeps your metabolism cranking, so you burn more calories over the course of a day. Several studies have also shown that people who snack regularly eat less at meal time.of the keys to shedding fat and sustaining weight loss for life is learning how to make informed food choices.