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Comment RSS5 Weight Loss Myths You Can Do Without
May 17, 2010 # 12:57 pm # Articles, Fat Loss Tips # 4 Commentsby Stathis Denou
Are you interested in losing some weight? If you look for advice on a good diet, you’ll soon find there are many different approaches. With countless diets to choose from and so many rules to follow, sometimes it becomes a challenge to sort out fact from myth. Following, you’ll find five common dieting myths that you shouldn’t fall for.
Myth 1: Skipping Meals is Good
Many people believe that skipping a meal here or there is a great way to eat fewer calories and lose weight. The truth is that doing so will not help you lose weight. Here is why:
- When you skip a meal, chances are you become even hungrier. The next time you eat, you will likely consume more food than you normally do. This will make up for the lost meal.
- When you are hungry you eat your meal quicker. Studies have shown that people who eat fast, tend to eat more! Not only that, they feel again hungry sooner than those who eat the same meal slower. This is because eating fast causes lower levels of satiety hormones to be released in your system than eating slow does. So, by skipping a meal you may end up eating more.
Myth 2: Fat Free Means You Will Not Store Fat
Fat free foods are not going to keep you from gaining weight. Our body stores excess energy as fat regardless of the source of this energy. This process is called lipogenesis. Anything that your body does not burn, it stores in the form of fat. Whether you eat fats, proteins, or sugars, if you eat more calories than your body can use, then these excess nutrients will be converted to fat and stored in the fat cells.
Sometimes people actually gain fat from eating fat free foods! This happens when a person snacks constantly or gorges on these foods without realizing they are packed with sugars and carbs. Just like all foods, fat free foods should be eaten in moderation.
Myth 3: Never Snack Between Meals
Some say snacking between meals will make you fat. However, the only thing that makes you fat is eating more calories than you burn. So unless you are snacking in excess, this won’t be a problem. Indeed, healthy snacking helps to keep hunger from getting out of control, and might allow you to eat smaller meals and still feel full.
Of course, many people snack on treats with a high sugar or fat content. These items can easily lead to weight gain because they contain so many calories. Try snacking on healthy foods and not those packed with sugar, and make sure you snack in moderation. Eating many small meals a day keeps your metabolism at peak performance.
Myth 4: Eating Late Makes You Fat
The time at which you eat your meal makes no difference whatsoever. If you like to eat a late dinner, then go ahead. Remember, weight gain is all about the amount of calories ingested, not when you eat them. All you need to do to lose weight is make sure you ingest fewer calories than you burn each day.
Myth 5: Genetics Make You Fat
Some people believe genetics is to blame. However, this is nearly never the case. Even in families where it seems everyone is prone to obesity, genetics is not the culprit. These families share more than just genes; they also share common eating and lifestyle habits, and these are ultimately to blame for their shared weight problems.
Similarly, those from skinny families do not necessarily have “skinny” genes. Instead, members of these families grew up learning healthy eating behaviors from their parents. This is good news, because it means anyone can lose weight by changing their behavior.
Now that you can scratch five of the most common weight loss myths off your list, you’ll be better able to focus on shedding excess pounds. Remember, in the end, balancing the energy you eat with the energy you burn has a greater impact on your body weight than what you eat, when you eat, or how you eat it!
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Given his health sciences, Stathis Denou enjoys writing articles that provide insight into typically confusing topics related to diets and weight loss programs. He owns a blog at discount coupons for diet to go.
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I agree 100%. I’m an advocate for the calorie shifting diet since it’s helped me out so much, but I subscribe to the same principles you outline here. I see Myth 4 as a borderline though. Your body uses less energy while you’re sleeping and your metabolism slows down. Like you said, you need to eat less than you burn each day, but if you eat your meal too late, like just before going to bed, then it’ll be really hard for your body to burn off that meal since you’re not really requiring the energy your ingesting. So be careful with that one people.
Thanks for this post Matthew / Stathis, and for clearing up these myths!
Hi, this is a very exciting article. I’m really struggling to lose my extra pounds and cellulite in the past few months and it is motivating to read as much about the subject as possible. Do you think at any point there’ll be a reliable and affordable solution? Thank you so much for publishing my comment!
Weight loss can be simple: Eat less, of higher quality foods. Get up and MOVE more. Take supplements to get “over the hump” when needed. Unfortunately, most supplements do one of 2 things: 1. trick your body into thinking you’re full when you’re not. This is starvation. 2. rev up your metabolism, and we’ve all read about how dangerous this can be. A new set of supplements uses Leptin – the hormone your cells release to tell your brain “we’re full”. Our modern lives – stress,poor eating, etc. – mess with our body chemistry, and sometimes those messages don’t get through. Leptin supplements, like Mandura TRIM, help cut through the ‘clutter’ and make sure your brain knows when to stop eating. Naturally. Safe, effective, and Clinically Proven.
I disagree with you about the genetic thing. I come from a family of 6. 3 boys and 1 girl. All us children ate the same thing for years, until we were old enough to buy and eat on our own. My older brother and younger brother were thin growing up, while I was always a chunky kid. My sister was about average. I played every sport in the book, road my bike, skateboarded for miles, and it was almost impossible to get us to come in at night. for the exception of high school, I have always struggled with weight, as where my brothers wish they could have put weight on. I have a bad back due to a rear end collision yrs ago,and bad ankle and knees form playing sports and injuring them my whole childhood.
My dad was always a big fella like my self. My mother has always been about average. Over the years my older brother has put on some weight as well as my self, where as for my younger brother is still thin as a rail. It is hard for me to do a lot of different exercises due to my injuries.
So as for you article, I would have to disagree, as we lived under the same roof, went to the same schools, and ate the same food for years,… 3 diff body types, even though we all exercised and played sports, and ran the hood until the sun went down!