Obesity has become a serious health problem, worldwide. Even though individuals know they should lose excess pounds, it is often difficult to incorporate specific diets into their normal, everyday life. Some diets require food protocols that make them unworkable for many people’s lives. Others may seem easy, but they may not be effective for losing weight and may adversely affect your health.
8 Myths of Diet Debunked
Here are just a few of the common diet myths you should avoid.
1) Cutting Out Carbs Will Help You Lose Weight Fast
Reducing carbohydrate consumption is a feature of many popular diet plans. However, there are two kinds of carbohydrates, simple carbs, and complex carbs. The simple carbs, like white bread, sugar, dairy products, and processed foods, go into the bloodstream quickly and may be stored as fat. Complex carbs, like whole grains, beans, and vegetables, are utilized more efficiently by the body and contain important nutrients, b-vitamins, and minerals that are needed to support good health. So choose complex carbohydrate foods, when you limit carb consumption.
2) You Can Eat As Much “Low-Fat” Food As You Want and Still Lose Weight
While limiting the amount and type of fats you consume can help with weight loss, eating large amounts of “low-fat” foods will not help you lose the pounds. Low-fat foods often contain increased sugar and other sweeteners to improve flavor, which works against dieters’ goal of consuming fewer calories. You’re more likely to have success by following a diet that maintains lower calorie consumption, over time. For example, the HCG diet is a four-phase system, with specific calorie restriction to help individuals lose weight. HCGDiet.com lays out phase 2 of the HCG diet, in which calorie restriction is used to jump-start weight loss.
3) Don’t Skip Breakfast If You Want To Lose Weight
This myth says that skipping breakfast undermines your ability to limit your eating during the rest of the day because you will eat more to make up for the lost meal. However, many people do not feel hungry until well into the mid-morning, and eating simply for the sake of eating at a certain time of day serves no purpose in terms of dieting. Skipping breakfast can be an effective strategy for limiting your calorie consumption. If you ordinarily skip breakfast, you can continue to do so while dieting. However, make sure you do not make up for skipping the meal by consuming more calories later in the day.
4) Eating After 8 PM Will Make You Gain Weight
This myth has been around for many years. In some ways, it has some truth, because people often resort to high sugar, high-fat snacks later in the evening to allow them to feel satisfied before nighttime. Some individuals can’t fall asleep or have disturbed sleep if they feel hungry in the evening. If you must have a snack in the evening, stick to low-calorie foods, such as vegetables, nuts or a piece of fruit. These choices will provide good nutrition and low calories, while still allowing you to have something in your stomach during the night.
5) Being Overweight Means You Are Unhealthy
Some people who carry excess weight have normal cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels. This is largely a matter of genetics. For most people, however, carrying excess pounds put them at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Extra weight can also increase the risk of joint problems. Health experts agree that maintaining your weight within the normal range and getting regular exercise is your best way to maintain good health throughout life.
6) Periodic Fasting Is the Best Way To Have Lasting Weight Loss
Fasting has become a popular way to limit caloric intake for periods of time. However, it can also have a number of unexpected effects for some people, including drops in blood sugar levels, nausea, and even fainting. Some individuals are more vulnerable to these effects, due to metabolism and activity levels. If you wish to fast, give it a try. If you begin to feel unwell, add fruit or vegetable juice to lessen the negative effects. Some people may find that fasting causes them to overeat when their fast is over, which counteracts the lower calorie intake. The only way to tell if fasting will help your weight management efforts is to try it and be prepared to adapt it if you find it doesn’t work well for you.
7) Drink Lots of Water To Fill You Up and Lose Weight
Drinking water throughout the day is a good way to maintain good hydration, but it will not help you to lose weight if you continue your usual calorie intake. The theory is that drinking water will fill you up, but there is no evidence to support the idea. You will still have to consume fewer calories and fewer high-calorie foods in order to lose weight successfully. However, sipping water can be used to give your mouth and stomach something to do, instead of snacking, though it does not, in itself, help with weight loss.
8) Changing to Sea Salt Will Help to Remove Water Weight
Salt is still salt, and every kind of salt contains sodium that helps contribute to water retention in the cells of the body. Although you may hear health claims of other types of salt, such as sea salt or Himalayan pink salt, these compounds all produce the same results in the human body. Too much sodium pulls water into blood vessels, increasing blood volume and blood pressure that can add weight and lead to strokes. Instead, try to use other spices, such as pepper, thyme, basil, cayenne and rosemary to add more flavor to foods, while reducing salt of all types.
ALSO READ: The Foodie Dilemma: Exploring Cuisines On A Strict Diet
Dieting can be a difficult process, but the rewards are better health and a more attractive appearance. If you choose the right way to diet, you can increase your odds for success, as well as reduce the discomfort and inconvenience that often occurs. The HCG diet offers a number of benefits for those interested in managing their weight.
