Be careful.

If you're trying to lose weight or even cut down on foods deemed 'bad', there's a major pitfall that happens to the best of us and that's undereating. With the vast amount of diets and eating plans readily available, some of which are completely bonkers, people become obsessed with following every little step and not veering from the very strict guidelines. If you're following a specific plan, (I hate the word diet), and doing regular exercise at the same time, then you need to make sure you're eating enough to keep your energy levels high. If your calorie intake is low and you're burning what little do you eat off in the gym, then you run the risk of undereating. Lead dietician at the Dallas Eating Recovery Centre, Kathryn Johnson, explains how detrimental undereating can be:

"Undereating ultimately leads to more weight gain and another extreme diet".

It makes sense too because if you're not eating enough, you're likely to binge at some point and if this is a recurring cycle, weight gain can creep up on you. You might be sick of hearing it but a balanced diet is key When that happens, you're right back to where you started in the first place and the vicious circle starts all over again. How do you make sure you don't fall into the undereating trap then? Johnson says you need to be "calculated" about how many calories your body needs to keep going. Figuring out this number is dependent on a number of factors including age, how often you exercise, metabolism and your daily physical activity which is often largely dictated by your job. This professional recommends looking at what you eat in a day and making sure that all food groups are catered for. She stresses that the below tip is majorly important for healthy weight loss.

"Make sure you're varying your menu for a more balanced approach to weight loss".