Rob
09-29-2009, 11:48 PM
The diet world is full of endless myths and hearsay. If you’ve been dieting for any length of time you will of heard hundreds of myths over and over, but does that make them true? Is it really a good idea to cut out sugar? Or never to touch alcohol and fat again? This to me seems like a sure way to fail. Very few people manage to stay off certain foods forever and stick to it. Most of us need a little treat now and then. There’s nothing wrong with doing that as long as you don’t make it a habit.
Diets
The basic principle behind any diet is to eat food that contains fewer calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight. This way, your body must use the fat reserves in order to make up the energy its not getting from food. But a diet has to be nutritionally well balanced and tasty enough to eat every day. Simply cutting out certain food types and ingredients isn’t a viable option for most people because anyone following a diet like that will have to acknowledge sooner or later that they will start to crave those foods and will soon relapse into old eating habits.
Meal replacements and single-food diets
Dieters should also learn not to rely on meal replacements like Slimfast and Mypoplex. These are a combination of protein and vitamins which don’t substitute a proper diet. They should never be used for more than a few weeks at a time. Calories are important for the body to function and nobody can live for long without them. Cutting down too much on calories is a big mistake because your brain, muscles and internal organs needs the energy to function. Using meal replacements occasionally is fine but relying on them for months is asking for trouble. The same goes for diets that require you to only eat a single-food, like the cabbage soup diet, because they are based on the same idea.
High protein and low carb diets
Another myth that the quickest and best approach to weight loss is a high protein and low carb diet. This is one of the myths that came from the Hollywood slimming industry. While reducing the amount of simple carbs we eat is a good thing, reducing your carb intake too much can be a bad thing. A diet thats too low in carbohydrates has to take energy from other places in your body like your muscles and eventually your organs. Because you’re eating less carbs you’ll be eating more protein and fat which puts a massive strain on your liver. Long term low carb diets can lead to serious health problems.
Carbs
People don’t need to be so afraid of our main carbohydrate foods like bread, pasta and potatoes. Your body needs carbs for energy and they are a great way to fill you up without taking in too many calories. So you can safely eat moderate amounts of complex carbs like potato and bread as long as you don’t coat them in butter or rich sauces which are rich in calories. You should also take note of how foods are prepared. Fries are deep fried which makes them a high calories food, but home-made oven baked chips are low in calories.
Water
Drinking plenty of water every day helps you to stay healthy and fills your stomach. Water also flushes the liver out and keeps the intestines healthy by facilitating the movements of undigested food. But, just drinking water doesn’t trigger weight loss. The only way to lose weight is to use up the existing body fat and water can’t do that. A dieter shouldn’t judge their success solely on how much weight is lost per week. Some say that a diet is effective if you lose 2lbs or more a week. 2lbs a week is quite a lot to lose and you can be sure that some of that will be muscle and water weight.
Fat – bad for you?
Another common myth is that all fat is bad for you. It’s not. Quite on the contrary, the body needs some fat in order to get the important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K circulating through the cardiovascular system. Also, fat also brings into the body the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 that cannot be synthesized in the body. The word “essential” means that these fatty acids have to be in your diet because they play and important role in your health. Fat should make up 20 – 30% percent of your diet. Fish, meat, nuts, seeds and avocados are good fat sources.
Exercise
And last of all comes the idea that exercise is enough in itself and doesn’t have to be coupled with a good diet plan. Exercise is a good way to burn calories but if you continue to eat a lot more calories than your using you’re going to have to spend hours in the gym every day. Your diet is the most important factor when it comes to losing weight and improving the shape of your body.
Diets
The basic principle behind any diet is to eat food that contains fewer calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight. This way, your body must use the fat reserves in order to make up the energy its not getting from food. But a diet has to be nutritionally well balanced and tasty enough to eat every day. Simply cutting out certain food types and ingredients isn’t a viable option for most people because anyone following a diet like that will have to acknowledge sooner or later that they will start to crave those foods and will soon relapse into old eating habits.
Meal replacements and single-food diets
Dieters should also learn not to rely on meal replacements like Slimfast and Mypoplex. These are a combination of protein and vitamins which don’t substitute a proper diet. They should never be used for more than a few weeks at a time. Calories are important for the body to function and nobody can live for long without them. Cutting down too much on calories is a big mistake because your brain, muscles and internal organs needs the energy to function. Using meal replacements occasionally is fine but relying on them for months is asking for trouble. The same goes for diets that require you to only eat a single-food, like the cabbage soup diet, because they are based on the same idea.
High protein and low carb diets
Another myth that the quickest and best approach to weight loss is a high protein and low carb diet. This is one of the myths that came from the Hollywood slimming industry. While reducing the amount of simple carbs we eat is a good thing, reducing your carb intake too much can be a bad thing. A diet thats too low in carbohydrates has to take energy from other places in your body like your muscles and eventually your organs. Because you’re eating less carbs you’ll be eating more protein and fat which puts a massive strain on your liver. Long term low carb diets can lead to serious health problems.
Carbs
People don’t need to be so afraid of our main carbohydrate foods like bread, pasta and potatoes. Your body needs carbs for energy and they are a great way to fill you up without taking in too many calories. So you can safely eat moderate amounts of complex carbs like potato and bread as long as you don’t coat them in butter or rich sauces which are rich in calories. You should also take note of how foods are prepared. Fries are deep fried which makes them a high calories food, but home-made oven baked chips are low in calories.
Water
Drinking plenty of water every day helps you to stay healthy and fills your stomach. Water also flushes the liver out and keeps the intestines healthy by facilitating the movements of undigested food. But, just drinking water doesn’t trigger weight loss. The only way to lose weight is to use up the existing body fat and water can’t do that. A dieter shouldn’t judge their success solely on how much weight is lost per week. Some say that a diet is effective if you lose 2lbs or more a week. 2lbs a week is quite a lot to lose and you can be sure that some of that will be muscle and water weight.
Fat – bad for you?
Another common myth is that all fat is bad for you. It’s not. Quite on the contrary, the body needs some fat in order to get the important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K circulating through the cardiovascular system. Also, fat also brings into the body the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 that cannot be synthesized in the body. The word “essential” means that these fatty acids have to be in your diet because they play and important role in your health. Fat should make up 20 – 30% percent of your diet. Fish, meat, nuts, seeds and avocados are good fat sources.
Exercise
And last of all comes the idea that exercise is enough in itself and doesn’t have to be coupled with a good diet plan. Exercise is a good way to burn calories but if you continue to eat a lot more calories than your using you’re going to have to spend hours in the gym every day. Your diet is the most important factor when it comes to losing weight and improving the shape of your body.