Myths And Facts Of Dieting

Dieting Myths Cleared

Diet Tips are meant to help you lose weight but only if taken from a professional. Before following any kind of “Diet Tip”  you should know the facts about it. We've all heard many dieting myths and, unfortunately, believed most of them. From food restriction to fending off fat, these are a few dieting myths straightened if you want to follow healthy Diet Tips

1. If I drastically cut calories, I'll lose weight faster.

When you extremely cut down on your caloric intake, you are actually sending your body into a "starvation mode". Your body will think you are “starving” and hence slow down your metabolism and store fats in order to maintain weight.

2. The stricter the diet, the better it will work.

The stricter a diet is ;completely eliminating entire food groups; eating just one food (e.g. cabbage soup diet); the less effective it will be in the end. You are actually depriving your body of particular nutrients in turn making yourself prone to deficiency diseases. You'll also get tired of the allowed food and when you feel really deprived, you're likely to call it quits altogether.

3. I should get rid of my favorite less-than-healthful foods.

By treating yourself to your old favorites now and again, you'll stay motivated and you'll be less likely to give in to a binge. Just make sure you get back on track after your treat. Moderation is the key to successful, long-term weight loss.

4. Eating late at night will cause me to gain weight.

All things considered, it sometimes doesn't really matter when you eat, only how many calories you eat and burn in a day. Whether you're eating in the morning or at midnight your body will turn any extra calories into fat. Therefore late night snacking on junk foods like chips or chocolates are actually the reason for weight gain. In fact, eating a light snack like fruits or yoghurt or skimmed milk before bed may help you to follow your diet better, sleep better and avoid weight gain which can only be because the body’s metabolism is lower in the latter part of the day.

5.      I shouldn't eat/snack between meals.

On the contrary, eating a small, healthful snack between meals will help keep your blood sugar in control and keep your metabolism running. You'll also avoid getting too hungry so you don't over-eat at your next meal. In reality, you can snack even when you're trying to lose weight, especially if you lead an active lifestyle. What you need to watch out for are the snacks you eat. Cookies, potato chips, and cakes are not healthy snacks, and you should avoid them as much as possible. Instead, snack on fruits, tuna and crackers, yogurt, vegetables, rice cakes, granola bars, and boiled peanuts.

6. Fat is bad.

Everybody needs to include some fat in their diet. We need it to help absorption of some vitamins; plus, it makes dishes more satisfying and palatable. Some fats are even good for you, like omega-3 fatty acids, which are found predominantly in nuts, fish, olive oil.

7. Dairy is a “No-No” when on healthy diets.

With ways to include and availabilityof non- and low-fat varieties of most dairy products, working dairy into your diet is a definite "Yes-Yes". We need the calcium rich dairy products to help bone and heart health. Also eating enough calcium gives our weight loss efforts a good boost.

8. Drinking a lot of water can help me lose weight.

Drinking water in and of itself will not lead to weight loss. Of course, water is key to a healthy lifestyle and drinking enough has tons of benefits; but when people lose weight due to drinking water, it's most likely because they're substituting if for high-calorie juices and sodas.

9.      Always go for the salad when you eat out because it's the healthiest thing on the menu.

Unfortunately, always going for that salad when you're eating out is not a sure bet that you're going to lose all that weight. How come? Have you looked at what most salads consist of? Most salads today come with extras like mayonnaise, croutons, ham, chicken, cheese, eggs, and bacon. And don't forget the salad dressings. Most salads are served drenched in high-calorie dressings. You might think your salad is healthy, but think again. This isn't to say you shouldn't order salad anymore when you eat out! Far from it. What you need to do is make sure the salad you order is low in calories. It needs to have lots of leafy green vegetables and make sure it has lean proteins like salmon, black beans, grilled chicken (without the skin), shrimp, tuna, and chickpeas. Order your salad without any fried or crispy ingredients and have the salad dressing on the side.

10.   You'll lose weight if you start eating organic foods.

While organic food is the healthier choice over non-organic food, it doesn't mean you'll lose weight just by eating completely organic foods. According to studies, organic foods are certainly more nutritious than their non-organic counterpart since they don't have any of the harmful chemicals (e.g., pesticides, preservatives, hormones). But in terms of weight loss, organic foods don't have fewer calories than non-organic foods. Of course, it's still a good idea (and a healthy one too) to eat organic foods as much as possible. Just know that choosing them over non-organic foods won't benefit you in terms of weight loss.

11.   You can lose weight by eating foods that have the words "fat-free", "non-fat", or 'low fat" on their labels.

If you're conscious about weight gain, it's understandable to look for products labeled "non-fat", "low fat", or "fat free" when you're shopping. However, remember that food products with any of these labels aren't necessary low in calories or free of calories. Just because a food item is labeled "fat free" doesn't mean it's "calorie free". If you look closely on their labels, they may have the same amounts, if not more, of calories as the regular products. It's because these products have added sugar, flour, or starch thickeners in order to enhance their taste and texture. Sure, you may not get calories from the fat, but you're getting them from the other ingredients. Make sure you look at the calories per serving on the label before putting any food item in your shopping bag.