What we all want is healthy permanent weight loss. If it doesn’t happen, then we get frustrated and begin to panic. We jump from one diet plan to another. In our quest for healthier living, what needs to be understood is what’s true and what’s not when it comes to weight loss.
You’ve tried a lot of diets but still haven’t been able to keep the weight off permanently. You’ve lost weight just to quickly gain it back. You feel like you’re in a never ending cycle that you can’t win. It should sound familiar since it happens to almost everyone.
Most likely, you just don’t have the right information to help you become successful in reaching your goals. There are a lot of diet misnomers floating about. The first step is distinguishing fact from fiction, the myths, and using the power of knowledge.
To begin on the proper path towards permanent weight loss and healthier living, educate yourself with the truth. Test your knowledge, inform yourself, and win the battle of the scale. Solved are the following beliefs.
Beliefs About Weight Loss And Fitness
Skipping Meals Are Good
Not True – The idea being you’ll consume fewer calories. The reality is that you’ll most likely end up consuming the same amount, sometimes more, as skipping meals lowers blood sugar.
Low blood sugar makes you hungry. In return, you end up eating faster while making poor food choices when those hunger pangs occur. Eating small meals several times per day helps in stabilizing blood sugar while controlling your appetite.
You Can Spot Reduce Fat In Different Areas Of Your Body
Not True – If you grunt through 200 situps a day, that won’t reduce that spare tire. Fat is lost evenly, so you can’t focus on just one body part and attempt to reduce just that area.
To help the trouble spots, you need to focus on overall fitness including strength training, aerobic workouts, good nutrition, etc. Combining these are the only ways to reduce fat.
Eating Later On At Night Makes You Fat
Not True – Your body doesn’t determine your weight level based on what time you eat. All it cares is how much you eat. What’s important is how many calories are coming in and how many calories are going out.
You need to find the proper balance, this based on how frequent you eat and exercise. If you eat more calories than you burn off, then the extra calories will be stored as fat. This regardless if you eat in the morning or at night.
You Can Eat As Many Fat-Free Foods As You Want
Not True – A single calorie is still a single calorie. It’s obviously a bit more complex than that, but know that for every extra 3,500 calories you eat and don’t burn off, you’ll gain a pound.
It doesn’t matter if the calories are fat-free. Your body just knows they were consumed. Also, fat makes you feel full. So if you don’t eat enough fat, you’ll find yourself constantly hungry and end up eating more.
A Diet Of 1,500 Calories Will Accelerate Weight Loss
Not True – It can have the opposite effect. What too few calories on a daily basis does is it slows down your metabolism. The body thinks it’s “starving” and will hold on to every bit of fat to ensure survival.
Then once you begin to eat normally again, your caloric needs are reduced and you’ll end up gaining more weight, even if you consume less food.
Salads Are The Best Food Choice When Dining Out
Not True – At times, you’re better off eating a burger than another salad. Most restaurant salads are smothered in high calorie and high fat dressings. Then add toppings such as croutons and bacon bits.
If you’re going to choose a salad, make sure that the dressing and extras won’t sabotage your calorie count by asking for it on the side.
You Can Lose Weight Without Exercise
True – Weight loss is all about the difference between calorie intake and how much it burns. As long as you’re ridding more calories then you consume, then you’ll lose weight.
So it doesn’t need to be exercising, although it’s the best approach. Studies show that it’s the combined maintenance of appropriate calorie intake and the efficiency of exercise, that has the best weight loss success, and the best chance of keeping it off.
Also, exercising provides a lot of additional health benefits, so it would be detrimental not including it as part of your healthy lifestyle.
Losing Just One Pound A Week Is A Bad Diet
Not True – Losing 1 to 2 pounds per week is considered an excellent weight loss rate and goal. If you’re losing more than that, then most likely it won’t be permanent.
You’ll most likely end up gaining it back. Losing quick weight is usually water weight and not fat.
Shouldn’t Exercise Every Day
True – You don’t need to exercise every day, but it’s recommended you get some type of physical activity, such as walking. It’s important to give your body a break to recover and rebuild.
You don’t want to be lifting weights everyday, working on the same muscles as they need time to recover, or do intense cardio workouts which can wear you down. It’s suggested that you rest at least one day a week.
Don’t Strength Training Until You Lose Weight
Not True – Strength training is important for better fitness, so it should be incorporated into your weekly workout regime, this regardless whether you’re wanting to lose weight, maintain muscle, or build muscle.
What firm muscles does is it helps your metabolism by burning off calories, so always do some type of strength training.