Wanna lose weight?
It’s time to educate yourself — and separate fact from myth.
Here are 11 myths that will help you understand how to best lose weight!
Going Vegan Will Help
Just because it’s vegan, doesn’t mean it’s good for you. In fact, if you don’t know what you’re doing, it├óΓé¼Γäós easy to lack in vital nutrients, vitamins, and proteins, which give you energy and help keep your metabolism stoked. Plus you’re more likely to reach for processed vegan snacks, which can pack on pounds.
“While various research shows that vegetarians and vegans, on average, consume fewer calories and less fat than omnivores (a 2009 Oxford study found that vegetarians weigh 3 to 20 percent less than their meat-eating counterparts, and a National Cancer Institute study found that subjects who consumed four ounces or more of red meat weekly were 30 percent more likely to die of any cause than those who ate less), these numbers may be misleading.”
Cut All Carbs
This is a huge mistake, and yet we hear it all the time.
The fact is this — your body needs carbs for energy! Not only that but many carbohydrate foods are rich in essential vitamins, nutrients, and dietary fiber that help you stay full and fuel your workouts.
Plus cutting makes you crave!
“Eliminating carbohydrates not only reduces whole grains, B vitamins, and a good source of fiber, but it also reduces your body├óΓé¼Γäós feel-good capacity (it├óΓé¼Γäós no wonder that most comfort foods are carbohydrate based). Starches and carbs are actually an important tool in weight management. They provide belly-filling fiber, complex carbohydrates to keep your engine running all day, and they stimulate the production of serotonin, the feel-good neurotransmitter that regulates mood.”
Diet Drinks Are Great!
Diet drinks are not great.
Those fake sweeteners make you crave sweets even more:
“Artificial sweeteners tend to trigger your appetite├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥making you want more and more sugar├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥but without actually satisfying a desire for sweets like normal sugar does.Diet soda-drinkers may end up eating tons of sugary and fatty snacks in order to satisfy their cravings.”
Fat Free Snacks Are Great!
Fat free snacks are not great.
Your body DOES need fat to help absorb vitamins.
“Reduced-fat versions of snacks typically have been stripped of one quarter of their original healthy monounsaturated fats, and to replace that flavor, the brand adds in fillings, additives, and sugar├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥all for the same amount of calories. Picking reduced-fat products may even end up hurting your waistline: in one study, average-weight participants ate 22 percent more calories if the food was labeled ├óΓé¼╦£low fat├óΓé¼Γäó and overweight participants ate up to 50 percent more.”
Fruit Has Too Much Sugar
Fruit is so good for you! Getting rid of it means you’re getting rid of all that incredible stuff too!
“Eliminating fruit from your diet when trying to lose weight makes no sense.”
Church.
Protein Shakes Help You Lose Weight
This one’s iffy — are you willing to replace a whole meal with one? Because that’s the only way it’ll work.
Adding it to your intake with pack on pounds.
A High-Protein Diet is the Best Way to Shed Fat
Nope.
Protein IS important for weight loss, but you could be inviting disaster:
Eliminating other food groups (like carbs) for the sake of eating more protein could be setting you up for a carbo-loading binge later. Plus, you may be missing out on the fiber, vitamins, and minerals found in unprocessed carbohydrates, and you run the risk of eating too much fat in your diet, which can lead to high cholesterol and triglycerides.
Cut Out All Your Favorite Fattening Foods
Moderation. A thousand times, moderation.
Cutting out your faves could send you into a binge spiral.
“Moderation is key. We tend to be in ├óΓé¼╦£all or nothing├óΓé¼Γäó mode when we diet. And while you can’t have pizza, french fries, and chocolate cake all in the same day, with careful planning, you can still enjoy them in moderation.”
Eating After 8:00 p.m. Makes You Fat
Nope. Just because the time of day changes when you eat, doesn’t change what your calorie intake is. Your metabolism has no idea what time it is.
“Calories are calories, no matter when you eat them, but what does matter is what and how much of it you eat. Late-night snacking gets a bad rap because often the foods that are consumed late at night are calorie-dense foods (chips, ice cream, pizza, and other junk food) and may be in excess calories to your daily caloric needs, which translates to weight gain.”
You’ll Burn More Fat if You Don’t Eat Before a Workout
No no no.
It’s true that you could burn more right away, but chances are you’ll run out of energy before it’s helpful!
“Energy comes from calories. A study from the University of Birmingham compared two groups of cyclists├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥some ate before their workout and the others fasted. While the group who fasted did end up burning more fat, the group who ate cycled at a much higher intensity than the fasting group, and burned more calories. A person needs fuel to run, just like a car, so find the foods that give you the energy to work out at your hardest.”
You Can Eat Whatever You Want on Weekends
If you want to ruin what you’ve done during the week, go ahead an do this. Do the math: eating Fri-Sunday makes up 12 days in the month — which is basically half of it. Does that make sense??
“When you throw caution to the wind on the weekends it can actually offset the consistency and success you had all week.”
There you go guys! Now you’re much smarter and able to efficiently start getting healthy without all that misinformation!
Doesn’t it feel good??
Hell yes!
[Image via AP Images.]