If you want to lose weight your in the right
place.
 The
dieting world is full of myths, hearsay and soundbites. We all
have heard them a thousand times, but does that make them true?
Is it really a good idea to ban sugar completely from your diet?
Is it really a good idea not to touch fat and alcohol ever again?
This seems to me like an invitation to failure. Too few people
can swear off certain foods forever and stick to the oath. The
rest of us need a little treat now and then. And there’s
nothing wrong with getting a treat once in while, provided that
treats don’t happen every day.
The basic idea of any diet is
to eat food that contains fewer calories than your body needs to
maintain its current weight.
This way, the body is forced to use the
accumulated fat in order to make up for the energy it doesn’t
get from food. But a diet also has to be tasty and nutritionally
sound. Simply banning certain types of foods and ingredients is
not a solution because anybody following such a diet will have to
acknowledge sooner or later that he or she wants those foods and
ingredients badly and a relapse into the old eating habits
becomes inevitable.
People should also learn not to put their faith
into meal replacements, such as Mypoplex, Slimfast or Eat-Smart.
These combinations of low-fat and high-protein substances cannot
substitute a proper diet. They should never be used for more than
4 four weeks in a row. Calories are important to the body and
nobody can go on for long without them. Cutting calories out of
the long-term nutrition is a huge mistake because the internal
organs and muscles need them to function. Using meal replacements
for a week or two, as a shock treatment, is fine. Relying on them
for two months is asking for trouble. And the same goes for
single-food diets, such as the cabbage soup diet, because they
are based on the same idea.
Another widespread myth is the
idea that the best approach to weight loss is a low-carb,
high-protein diet.
This is one of the myths that emerged from the
Hollywood slimming industry. Nearly all movie stars and singers
are on some such diet. However, this approach is not exactly good
for you because a diet low in carbohydrates and calories forces
the body to use existing carbs located in the liver and the
muscles. In time, this diet leads to weight loss mainly from
water stored in the body, instead of fat, and also strains the
internal organs.
And people should not be so afraid of potatoes,
bread and pasta, the leading sources of carbohydrates. Carbs are
actually good for you because they quell the feeling of hunger
without bringing in too many calories. So you can safely eat
moderate amounts of potatoes and bread as long as you don’t
use butter or sauces, which are laden with fat. Naturally, you
also have to pay attention to how these foods are prepared.
French fries are not a low-fat food. Still, a high-carb, low-fat
diet is far better than banning potatoes and bread from your
daily meals and it’s also easier to stick to.
Drinking a certain quantity of water every day
is a good idea because it keeps the body hydrated and fills the
stomach. Water also keeps the intestines healthy by facilitating
the movements of undigested food to the exit point. However,
simply drinking water does not trigger weight loss. There is only
one way to lose weight and that is to burn up the existing fat
and water cannot do that. Nor should a diet be judged solely by
how much weight is lost per week. Some people claim that a diet
can be considered effective if the weekly loss of weight is above
two pounds. Frankly, two pounds per week is a lot of weight to
lose and you can be sure that not all of it is fat, but also the
lean tissue that makes up the muscles.
Another myth claims that fat is
absolutely 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. Moreover, 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 simply have
to be present in your daily food since they play an important
role in your health. The recommended dose of fat is 35 percent of
your daily calories.
And last of all comes the idea that a diet or
eating plan is enough in itself and does not have to be coupled
with exercising. But exercising is the most effective way of
burning up the extra calories stored as fat. Simply sitting at
your desk all day long is not going to do the trick, regardless
of what diet you’re on. Remember that a diet that has
plenty of food (the right kind of food) and plenty of exercise is
far better than sitting on the sofa and drinking cabbage soup
every six hours. It works faster and is less stressful to your
body.
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