Five Ways to Derail Your Diet in Five Minutes

You've been diligently counting calories, hitting the gym on schedule, and managed to skip the drive-thru on more than one occasion this week. While all these healthy lifestyle strategies may be helping you reach your weight loss goals, just one or two "unaccounted for" meals and snacks will be enough to derail your diet and can undo a lot of your hard work! Writing down your meals and calories for the day can help to keep your diet on track, and also works as a reminder that you need to keep on, keeping on with your healthy diet. In addition to picking healthy foods, you need to take extra steps to avoid some serious diet disasters.

Here are five ways you can easily derail your diet in five minutes:

#1: Treating Yourself to the Coffeehouse Special
While a skinny latte or plain ol' black coffee won't derail your diet, the frozen drinks, and super-sweet concoctions will be pushing your calorie limit. A Venti Iced Peppermint White Mocha at Starbucks weighs in at 700 calories, while the seemingly-healthy Tazo Green Tea Frappuccino made with whole milk comes in at 650 calories. That's more than enough calories for an entire meal.

#2: Digging in to the Bread Basket at the Restaurant
Loading up on all those tasty white flour carbs is a major diet "don't" if you're trying to lose or maintain your weight. Even wheat bread and wheat rolls can sabotage your diet if they're eaten without some protein. These carbs are processed in your body just like sugar, so any extra calories will end up being stored as at and will also spike your blood sugar levels.

#3: Ordering a Deli Sandwich with "The Works"
Overstuffed sandwiches may fill that hearty appetite, but all those extra sandwich fixins can easily add a few hundred calories and unhealthy fats to your meal. If "the works" at your local sandwich shop means a thick layer of mayo, full-fat dressing, bacon and other high-fat add-ons, just say no. Stick with fresh veggies and low-cal dressing if you want to add some flavor to your favorite deli sandwich, and keep fat at a minimum by choosing lean cuts of turkey or chicken.

#4: Indulging in an Afternoon Chocolate Fix
Feeling a serious case of the late-afternoon blues? Avoid the temptation to reach into the candy jar for a chocolate fix. While chocolate and sugar can give your mood a boost in the middle of a long afternoon, the extra carbs can also spike your blood sugar levels and make you crash within a couple of hours. If you n-e-e-d some chocolate, stick with the darkest chocolate you can find. Super-dark chocolate has very little sugar and you can enjoy the buzz without a calorie overload.

#5: Eating an All-Carb Dinner
Whether you're digging in to a plate of steamed rice with veggies or a big bowl of spaghetti with tomato sauce, make sure you're adding plenty of protein to the mix or the extra carbs may just end up being stored as fat. Eating a meal with a high ratio of refined, starchy carbs to protein will elevate your blood sugar level and may leave you feeling sluggish, tired and irritable within a few hours. These types of meals could also make you crave more carbs just to feel better -- and the cycle continues. Choose complex carbs such as whole wheat pasta, sweet potatoes and brown rice, and balance out your meal with a lean protein such as salmon, grilled chicken breast or tuna.

More content from this contributor:
6 ways to jumpstart your summer diet
Are you too old to wear a bikini this summer?
7 portable fitness tools for summer travels