Health and Men

Weight Loss Myths And My 2 Cents On Each

by Scott on March 11th, 2008

MSN.com published this article on 10 Weight Loss Myths It’s a great list and if you have ever tried dieting or losing weight without success, poerhaps you should read this. It may clarify a few things for you.

1. “Lose 30 pounds in 30 days.” Or any other gimmick that pledges massive weight loss at breakneck speed. “It’s not healthy, and it’s not true,” Wilbert says. Permanent weight loss requires lifestyle change, not a quick fix, he adds.

This about it. 30 pounds in 30 days. It’s a no brainer that this isn’t healthy and if you think it is then perhaps you have a problem.

2. Fat is bad for you. “Dietitians forwarded that one to people for years,” says registered dietitian and nutrition teacher Rick Hall. Now they know better. The truth is that some fats are unhealthy, and some are good – indeed, necessary – for your health. (Hence the term, “essential fatty acids”!)

Controlling what and how much fat you consume is the key. Your body needs fats. Do a little research on the goods and bads of fats.

3. Carbohydrates are bad for you. First it was fat, now carbohydrates are the bad guy. Wilbert explains that this trendy idea is just too broad. When trying to lose weight, make a distinction between unhealthy carbohydrates, such as white sugar, and complex carbohydrates, such as vegetables and whole grains, which provide vital vitamins, and fiber to aid digestion.

Cutting carbs out of your diet is just stupid. Sure will you lose weight, but the weight you will lose will be muscle weight.

4. Lose weight by not eating. Uh…no. Starving deprives the body of the nutrients it needs for life and can lead to serious illness. Plus you lose muscle mass, not fat. Even if you do lose pounds, you gain them back almost immediately when you raid the fridge again.

This is obviously insane. Starve yourself…that’s the solution!

5. Don’t eat after 6 p.m. “It’s not what time you eat, it’s what you eat!” insists Dare to Lose author, Shari Lieberman, Ph.D. “In Europe they eat at 10 o’clock at night and they’re half the size of Americans.”

I still like to stick to the rule of not eating too late, but like it says, it’s What you eat.

6. Salad bars are healthy. Bacon, cheeses, fried chicken, oily dressings…The apparent allure of salad bars means they probably require as much of your considered attention as ordering at a fast food restaurant. “You have to choose the foods at a salad bar wisely,” Lieberman reminds people.

I never understood this either. Bacon, greasy croutons and crushed egg yolk. That’s healthy?

7. Diet sodas aid weight loss. This is one of Lieberman’s favorite pieces of diet-industry hype. “There isn’t a single study that shows diet sodas help you lose weight. There’s absolutely no data on that at all,” she claims.

Diet sodas do nothing but cut the extra sugar calories from your diet. While your doing good by cutting those extra sugars, the Aspartame is no good. Water is your best bet.

8. You shouldn’t step on a scale. “It’s another misconception that dietitians have passed on,” says Hall. “I completely disagree with it.” He says checking your weight on a regular basis, say once or twice a week, is an obvious way to gauge your progress and alter your diet accordingly. However, Lieberman notes that scales in and of themselves, well, suck. She encourages people to keep track of hip, thigh and tummy inches, too.

Now if your checking every day in hopes of a huge drop then your just hurting your motivation. every now and again to check progress can be a motivation booster when you start to see the pounds drop.

9. You can lose weight with a pill. “You can’t replace healthy eating and exercise with a pill,” Hall warns. “Pills aren’t a new thing, they’ve been tried for decades…[with] horrible side effects.”

I said it before. There is no magic pill. The pills can aid you in apetite suppression and fat metabolism but you just can’t expect to pop a pill and drop a pound.

10. You have to join the gym. Actually, the most recent research indicates 30 to 60 minutes per day of moderate physical activity is all it takes to balance healthy food intake. It doesn’t have to be strenuous exercise, “just move your body!” exclaims Hall.

When I trimmed off 20 pounds in 2006, I did it in a matter of 3 to 4 months but watching what I eat, doing about 30 minutes of exercise a day and keep moving with a purpose while I was at work. If you have a desk job take advantage of lunch and paid breaks by getting out of your chair and taking a steady stroll somewhere. If you have a good stair case, USE IT!

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POSTED IN: Exercises, Foods, Health Links, Health Sites, Motivation, Muscle Maintenance, Self Help, Setting Goals