6 "Healthy" Habits That Lead To Weight Gain

Crazy but true: Some of the choices that seem the healthiest could sabotage your slim-down. Are you your own worst weight loss enemy? Here are six habits that suggest you might be—plus ways to change your behavior for the better.

You use reusable shopping bags.

A study from Harvard Business School found that shoppers who brought their own bags to the grocery store were more likely to buy junk food than those who didn't. Researchers suspect that we feel entitled to reward ourselves with a treat (like cookies, chips, candy, or ice cream) when we've made such an Earth-friendly choice. That doesn't mean you should switch back to plastic, though: Combat those impulse buys by thinking of your bag-toting habit as the status quo, not an extraordinary good deed.

You obsess about one kind of nutrient.

Low-carb and low-fat diets abound, but scaling way back on either nutrient is not an ideal strategy for weight loss. Studies show that eating low-fat dairy can make us binge on carbs and that low-fat labeling on food packages can make us eat 50% more of that food than if there was no label claim at all. Fat keeps us full, and getting it out of your diet will only leave your stomach grumbling. And while drastically cutting carbs for a period of time can result in quick weight loss, reintroducing them will likely make you gain it right back.

Here comes the broken record: Your best bet is still a variety of fresh, whole foods, and no crazy restrictions on any one nutrient.

You buy tons of "health" foods.

Research published in the Journal of Marketing Research found that "fitness branding" on food products—when words like "fit" or "healthy" appear on the packaging—caused people to eat more of that food and exercise less later on. Authors suspect that we tend to view "fit" foods as a substitute for exercise. Don't forget: No food, no matter how healthy, can stand in for a good old-fashioned sweat session. (Plus, there are tons of foods that are marketed as healthy even though they totally aren't.)

You count calories.

Losing weight isn't just a numbers game. This weight loss strategy fails more than 95% of the time, and it can often make you heavier than when you began. Why? Eating too few calories causes your body to enter "starvation mode," when it slows down your metabolism and burns muscle instead of fat.

Laser-focusing on calorie quantity may cause you to make less-healthy food choices, too. For example, a typical sugary granola bar has fewer calories than ¼-cup of almonds, but the bar lacks important nutrients (like fiber, fat, and protein) that keep you full and prevent further snacking. A good rule to live by: When you eat whole, healthy foods that are naturally more satisfying, you don't have to count calories.

You think of foods as "good" or "evil."

Feeling righteous after you eat spinach but overwhelmed with guilt when you indulge in a doughnut? It's not doing your waistline any favors. In fact, beating yourself up for a few dietary missteps could make you eat even more. A University of Toronto study rigged scales to make dieters believe they had gained 5 pounds. Afterward, the participants who felt more shame ate more ice cream than the ones who weren't fazed by the slight gain. Patting yourself on the back for eating "good" foods like veggies can also backfire, making you feel like you have license to cheat.

How to break the cycle? Remember, you're choosing healthy foods because you like the taste and they make you feel good—not because they're inherently virtuous.

You stick to the same healthy routine every day.

Oatmeal for breakfast, salad for lunch, salmon and steamed broccoli for dinner. Repeat ad nauseam and you'll shed pounds, right? Maybe not: Research presented at a meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists suggests that limiting our diet also limits the population of good bacteria living in our guts. And those bacteria are thought to play several roles when it comes to weight loss, like controlling hunger, fullness, and blood sugar levels. Plus, researchers at the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab recently found that adventurous eaters who consistently incorporate new, exotic foods into their diet have significantly lower BMIs than those who always play it safe.