Do You Believe In These Weight Loss Myths?Article by Steve Jack
Many people want to lose weight but they don't know how to go about it. They end up believing the ads, fitness magazines and so call fitness experts say. The same people who have something to try and sell to them.
However complicated it may seem, losing weight the safe and health way and actually keeping it off isn't actually all that complicated. It's actually pretty simple to shed the pounds once you know what does and doesn't work.
In this article I'm going to go over a few of the most common weight loss myths. I'll explain each one and tell you why it's a myth and why it doesn't help with weight loss.
1) Some people just can't lose weight
Every single one of us is born with a certain number of fat cells. Because of this some naturally have more fat cells than others and women have much more fat cells than men. The number of them also increases, as we grow older.
Some time ago people believed that the number of fat cells you have couldn't get higher after you became an adult. It was thought only the size of the ones you already have could increase. We know now however that you can actually develop more fat cells and that they are more likely to go up at certain times and under certain circumstances.
Your current fat cells get bigger when the amount of calories you take in is more than the amount you burn off and the excess energy is stored in fat cells. Someone who is overweight can have fat cells that are up to three times larger than someone who is much slimmer.
When are the times that fat cells normally increase the most? The times when fat cells increase the most are during late childhood, early puberty, and pregnancy and during adulthood but only when loads of weight is gained.
The only times in adulthood when your fat cells will increase is if you become obese. This is because fat cells can only get so large so once your existing ones get filled up, new ones have to be made.
Some people think that because they have more fat cells than others that there is no point for them to try and lose weight, as it wont be possible. They think obesity is genetic and once you are obese you can't become thin again.
These people are wrong and just plain lazy. They are just looking for an excuse to explain their failure. Remember that those who say weight loss is not possible have never done it or even tried to do it, they are lazy and negative people or they are trying to sell your some magic solution.
Sure having a magic solution to lose weight would be amazing. I know that I would rather just take a pill or get surgery and have a rock hard lean body however it's not going to happen. You can't get a great body without putting the work in. Sure, you can't get rid of fat cells but you can make them smaller with proper diet and exercise.
Of course having more fat cells will make it harder to lose weight however it wont stop you losing weight, you'll just have to work harder and longer.
2) Fad diets are the only was to get slim
Let me tell you right know that those fad diets out there like Atkins, Glycemic Load, South Beach etc. are 100% rubbish are no way near the best way to shed the pounds and actually keep them off. The reason many people follow these diets is because of the lure of quick weight loss. They are hard to follow though and cannot be sustained for a long time meaning putting weight back on again.
They are also pretty un-healthy because most fad diets make you eat only a certain type of food meaning that you don't get all the vitamins and nutrients your body needs. Also since the weight loss is very quick and extreme you increase your risk of developing gallstones. For those of you who don't know what gallstones are, they are lumps of solid material that form in the gallbladder and they can be very painful.
Scientific research has also shown that losing weight the slow and healthy way with a good diet and exercise is the best way to lose weight and keep it off.
3) The "set point" theory tells us what we should weigh
There is something out there known as the set-point theory and it's all about that every single one of us has an internal weight regulator. This weight regulator is sort of like a thermostat and it adjusts our metabolic rate either up or down whenever we gain or lose weight, so our body can get to the weight we was born to be.
Of course there are some internal controls that do exist because if there didn't then we would all be hippos or would all look like Ethiopians. There are studies that show that when we lose weight, our metabolism changes to a normal rate for the new weight we are now at.
Make sure though that your weight loss is nice and slow, around 1 pound a week. Your body doesn't like a rapid change in weight and it has emergency response mechanisms to things like rapid weight loss.
If you try and lose weight really fast then your body will go into what is known as starvation mode. Starvation mode is where your metabolism slows down and your weight loss goes to a halt because your calories are so low, your body thinks you are starving so it tries to hold on too as much fat as possible so you can survive longer. This means that it will be harder to lose weight and once you finish your diet it will be easier to put it on.
People of course try and use this set-point theory as an excuse for being fat. It's easier to blame a theory than to admit that they are lazy and unhealthy because of their own doing.
4) Weight gain is passed on from your parents
There is no such thing as genetic fatness. Fatness can't be passed down. There is no fat gene that causes people to be fat. Just because you're parents are fat doesn't mean that you have to be fat. Again this is another excuse people use to make themselves feel good about the fact they are fat.
Saying that fatness is not passed down is true however attitudes toward food and exercise is passed down from parent to child. If you're parents are un-healthy then it's most likely that you too are un-healthy because your parents didn't teach you to have any respect for your body.
5) High-protein/low-carbohydrate diets are a healthy way to lose weight
Currently the long-term effects on health of a diet that is low in carbs and high in protein are not yet known. Also I'm not a fan of diets that are too high in one nutrient and too low in another, a diet in my opinion should be balanced. A high protein/low carb diet is not balanced at all. You'll also be eating loads of fat and cholesterol, which may end up giving you heart disease.
You will also be eating way too little vegetables, fruits and whole grains which due to lack of fiber could lead to constipation. You will also have a lack of vitamins and minerals, which can cause a whole host of other health problems.
If you eat less than 130 grams of carbohydrates a day then you could end up making your body produce uric acid in high amounts, which is a big risk factor for getting gut and kidney stones.
These reason this type of diet works is because it's normally low in calories because of the lack of carbohydrates, which means many high calorie food, are cut out. Since calories are the key to losing weight and not a specific diet, you would be much better of eating a balanced diet of 40% protein, 40% carbs and 20% fat. Doing so would be far better for your health and fitness performance.
6) You need to eat a low fat diet to lose fat
You need a certain amount of dietary fat for optimal health and performance. Also some vitamins such as A K E D and fat soluble which means that they need fatty acids to act as their carrier.
You also need certain fatty acids to aid in the formation of cell membranes such as nerve tissue. Studies have also shown that those who follow a low diet free of fat end up with infertility, scaly skin and put themselves at greater risk of getting an infection.
One source of confusion for many when it comes to fat is the different types. There are unsaturated fats, saturated fats, poly-unsaturated fats and mono-unsaturated fats. I could go into the chemical differences between each one however that would get a bit technical so I'll just say that there are good and bad fats.
What are the bad fats? Saturated fats are the bad fats. They are the fats that are solid at room temperature and they tend to come from animal sources. For example butter is a saturated fat and it comes from milk. It is believed that too much of it is what causes cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
The good fats are called unsaturated fats and they are mono and poly. These fats are liquid when in an area that is at room temperature and they come from vegetable sources. When deciding on foods to eat make sure to go with the ones, which have the good fats and not the bad fats.
Now that you know all about fat and why it's important lets talk about how much you should be eating. You should eat around 20% of your total calories each day from fat and around 11% of that should be from saturated fat. If we do the maths then someone who is on a 2500 calorie diet would want to get 500 calories from fat and since there are 4 calories in a gram of fat that would be 55 grams of fat each day. You could have more fat if you wanted but make sure not to go lower than 20%.
7) Late night eating shouldn't be done
Many people think that you shouldn't eat at night like before bed because the food will be turned into fat. The theory behind this is that since your body isn't doing much at night time, not many calories are burned so most of it will be stored as fat.
Truth is that eating at night doesn't make you fat at all. The main factor in weight loss/weight gain is how many calories you are taking in each day. If you take in more calories than you need you will put on weight, if you eat less calories than you need then you will lose weight.
I also guess this myth is around because at night many people do end up eating loads of high calorie junk foods while watching television or playing on the computer which means more calories, which means more likely to go over the amount of calories your body needs which means more weight gain.
8) If you've failed at losing weight before then you have to use weight loss pills
Loads of people are looking for that magic pill which they can just take each day and have the fat melt away. They aren't going to find it though as there is no such pill that works. Sure many companies say that taking their pill will shed fat but it's not true. What will shed fat is diet and exercise. Now I know you might be saying, well these people do scientific studies and there are tons of reviews by consumers. Well, sorry to break it to you but many of these companies are shady and the reviews and scientific studies are fake.
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