The journey toward safe, healthy and lasting weight loss can be difficult. Permanent weight loss success can remain elusive, despite your best efforts in improving your diet and exercise habits. The factors involved can include everything from your age and fitness level to your meal timing and metabolic rate. Your personal quest for a slimmer body may be getting derailed by five factors you may have overlooked. These common pitfalls could be interfering with your weight loss journey. Try addressing these, along with following a balanced diet and a reasonable exercise plan.

You Need to Catch More Zzz's
So many individuals sleep less when starting a weight loss plan. They begin to wake up early to exercise or stay up late doing so. Planning to get enough sleep is an important aspect of weight loss success. Being sleep deprived can keep the weight on and slow the process of weight loss. If you are not getting approximately eight hours of sleep per night, you may be sleep deprived. Your body tends to hold on to more fat when you are in a state of persistent sleep deprivation. A good way to ensure you're getting enough sleep is to create a set sleep time for yourself and begin your evening rituals at the same time each night. You will get in a routine that helps you maintain a healthy sleep cycle and supports your journey to weight loss success.

You Eat Mindlessly
If you find yourself snacking throughout the day while at work or at home while watching television, you may be eating more calories than you realize. Mindless eating can obstruct your weight loss goals by adding calories that go "under your radar." You can eliminate mindless eating by sticking to regular meal times and one or two snack times a day. Another technique for avoiding mindless eating is to keep a notebook handy and jot down everything you eat.

You're Not Building Muscle
If your fitness plan does not include some strength training, you may not be getting as much mileage out of your exercise. Building muscle is important because muscle tissue burns calories at a greater rate than other tissues in your body - including fat. This means you can burn more calories while resting simply by improving your muscle tone. Integrate some basic strength-training exercises or simple weightlifting into your routine, two to three times per week. You may see results quicker than you'd expect.

You Deprive Yourself of Food or Fluid
Deprivation is not a good technique for weight loss. If you deprive yourself of food, not only are you putting yourself in danger of lacking essential nutrients, but you are also lowering your metabolism. You need to have a healthy metabolism to lose weight — and you also need to stay healthy and get the right amount of essential vitamins and minerals. Maintaining a balanced diet and eating frequently is a good rule of thumb for shedding unwanted pounds. Being properly hydrated is also crucial in your weight loss journey. Ample water will help you flush fat and is essential for every cellular function in your body. If you are dehydrated, you cannot be healthy. Dehydration can result in the loss of your body's natural mineral balance, which is key to healthy metabolism and slimming down. Choose a comprehensive weight loss plan, such as the Anaheim HCG Diet, to ensure your health and success in getting lean.

You Eat Late at Night
If you are prone to midnight snacking, you may be interfering with your body's weight loss functions. By eating before you sleep or in the middle of the night, you could be lowering your body's metabolism. While you're resting, your metabolism is slower, resulting in fewer calories burned during sleep. Another side effect of late-night snacking is you are likely to feel less energetic in the morning and may crave sugary breakfast food to "pick you up." By not eating for approximately two hours before sleeping, you can help your body burn more calories overnight and give your digestion system some respite. You will wake up more refreshed, radiant and ready to take on your day with vigor.