How NOT to Lose Weight
A lot of people nowadays are conscious about health and fitness. The fact remains that appropriate weight loss is no longer just a matter of looking and feeling good, but it is important to attaining good health. With the risk of heart disease, obesity and other diseases greatly increased, a lot of people are keeping watch over their own weight.
As such, the topic of losing weight is a hot one and there have been a lot of myths and misconceptions that have arisen over the years. If you are bent on losing weight effectively, then make sure to take note of these no-nos.
1. Going on a fad diet
Fad diets come in different forms and may involve different techniques and tips on losing weight. Generally, however, fad diets promise instant and incredible results like losing 50lbs in just one week. More often, fad diets advice you to abstain from certain types of food like a low protein or low carbohydrates diet.
The Skinny: While fad diets may be effective in making you lose weight in a short time, they may be very difficult to follow because of the stringent limitations on what you could eat. As such, many people find themselves getting tired of the diet regimen and go off the fad diet. What’s worse, they easily gain back the weight they lost.
Fad diets may also be dangerous to your health because you are not giving your body all the nutrients you need. Without enough protein, for example, you will feel weak, and you will have problems developing muscles.
Another danger of fad diets is the increased risk of having gallstones, because of the rapid weight loss.
2. Following a high protein / low carbo diet or a low carbo / high protein diet
Depending on who you listen to, a diet that has high protein and low carbohydrates foods or vice versa can be beneficial for your health and can aid in losing weight.
The Skinny: Always strive to eat a balanced meal. Having too much or too little of certain types of food can cause problems for you. Eating too much protein may mean that you are eating too much fat, which increases the risk of obesity and heart disease. You might also be shorting yourself on fruits, vegetables and grains, which may lead to a deficiency in dietary fiber leading to constipation and other gastrointestinal problems.
Other problems that might crop up are nausea, fatigue, ketosis, gout and arthritis.
3. Avoiding starch at all cost
You have probably heard about the myth that starch is fattening and should be avoided when trying to lose weight.
The Skinny: A lot of food has high starch content but are actually low in fat. These include pasta, rice, beans, fruits and bread. The problem is that most people like to eat these with fattening food like butter and mayonnaise. As with everything else, moderation is the key. Besides, experts recommend that you should eat at least six to eleven servings of starchy foods daily. That translates to six to eleven slices of bread, or 3 cups of pasta, among others.
4. Going “natural”
Most people think that herbal and natural products that purportedly help you lose weight are safe. Also, there is a widespread belief that certain fruits and food like cabbage soup and celery can help you burn fat.
The Skinny: The sad truth it, there is no magic food that can burn fat. There are types of food that increase your metabolic rate, but these are usually temporary. As always, you should eat food with low calories that would easily be burned off by exercise.
Also, not every product that claims to be natural or herbal is safe and effective, unless it is scientifically proven to be such. Before taking any dietary supplements, consult your doctor or fitness specialist to ensure that they are not harmful to the body.
5. Believing in the low-fat and non-fat myth
Foods and drinks labeled as low fat or non-fat is believed to contain no calories whatsoever.
The Skinny: The truth is, there are certain processed foods that have the same calories, whether they are low fat, non-fat or the regular version. That is because of the additives put into them like sugar, flour or thickeners. Always check out the nutrition facts that are to be found on the label to see just how many calories are present in the low fat or non-fat product you want to buy. You would be surprised.
