Dieting
Myths
THE
TRUTH ABOUT 5 COMMON DIETING MYTHS
by Anthony Ellis
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For most of its history, our species was subject entirely to the whims
of Mother Nature, especially where diet was concerned. When the conditions
were right, food was plentiful; when they were not, people starved.
As a result, evolution shaped our ancestors' bodies in such a way that
during times of plenty, they were able to pack on layers of fat to provide
them with the sustenance they needed to get through the lean times.
As humans became adept at mastering their environment, however, famines
grew rare, and the built-up fat reserves often went unused; our ability
to manipulate the environment had outstripped nature's slow process
of adaptation.
Today, obesity is rampant in wealthy nations like the United States.
Particularly hard-hit are those of us of European and Eastern African
extraction, whose ancestors needed bodies that could efficiently manufacture
fat reserves to outlast the periodic famines. As a result, many of us
have become rotund, mostly because it's hard for us to fight the natural
tendencies of our bodies to accumulate fat. These days, some 55% of
Americans are overweight.
That said, as modern human beings, we don't have to allow nature to
get the upper hand. Being overweight isn't healthy in many situations,
especially for those of us who suffer from hypertension, diabetes, and
heart conditions.
But what's the best way to lose weight?
There are literally thousands of special diets, procedures, dieting
devices, and "miracle pills" out there, all of which promise
you they'll help you get skinnier. Some of them actually work, but how
can you tell which ones? How do you thread your way through the minefield
of dieting on your way to a healthier, slimmer you without setting off
self-destructive behaviors that can sabotage your dieting efforts?
The answer to that question is this: very carefully.
While glib and a little facetious, it's nonetheless true. Some things
are obviously false or play on wishful thinking; for example, there's
no magic pill, grapefruit or otherwise, that can melt off the pounds
(not yet anyway). Fad diets don't work, and neither do most of the "scientific"
ones you've heard of. Despite this, Americans are willing to spend more
than $33 billion a year on fad diets and gimmicks, when in fact the
most effective dieting advice boils down to this: "Cut your calorie
intake and exercise regularly."
We all know this is true; it's just difficult to muster the willpower
necessary to face up to such a bald, unlovely statement.
If you're serious, though, you can lose weight and keep it off. The
purpose of this article is to help you along the way as you diet, by
identifying the most common weight-loss myths that can trip you up during
your journey. We've left out the miracle claims and ridiculous stuff
in favor of more reasonable-sounding myths that an intelligent person
might be beguiled by.
Let's start with the most pervasive myth.
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THE MYTH: Skipping meals can help you lose weight faster.
THE REALITY: Wrong.
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It seems logical, just like its corollary ("the fewer calories
you eat, the more weight you'll lose"), but it's not true. The
effect is often the opposite of what you expect. Dieting is based on
the fact that if you burn more calories in a day than you take in, your
body will begin burning fat. While this is true, if you expect to lose
weight effectively, you need to keep eating regular meals, especially
breakfast.
Depriving your body of its necessary fuel causes it to go into starvation
mode; when this happens, your metabolism slows down so that you can
get by on less food. Once your metabolism slows, it can be hard to bring
it back up to speed, and until it speeds up again, regular eating will
just cause you to gain more weight.
It can be a vicious cycle that's hard to break. In addition, skipping
meals can make you feel dizzy and weak, can have deleterious effects
on your cholesterol levels, and can be extremely dangerous for diabetics.
In short, fasting and crash diets are forms of self-sabotage best avoided.
Besides, eating regularly (and moderately) will make you less hungry
throughout the day, so you're less likely to give in to your food cravings.
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THE MYTH: You shouldn't eat any starches, because they're fattening.
THE REALITY: This myth is a dangerous one.
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For one thing, it's difficult to completely avoid starches, since they're
a major component of staples like bread, pasta, grains, fruits, potatoes,
corn, and rice. Even if it were possible to cut out all starches, if
you did so you'd be starving your body of the fuel it absolutely needs
in order to function properly. Food consists of only three basic substances:
proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Starches are carbohydrates; and carbohydrates,
along with their metabolic products, are your body's basic fuel.
Most of the fuel your body uses comes from a carbohydrate called glucose.
Some glucose you might take in as candy or sodas; some products, like
starches and the carbohydrates in substances like alcohol, quickly break
down into glucose. Glucose is absorbed by your cells and used to run
your bodily processes; any excess is stored in your liver or converted
into fat, where it can be called upon at need.
If your body lacks carbohydrates and glucose, it'll eventually start
using any fuel source it can find. At first these might be fat cells,
but as they shrink, your body may begin attacking the protein reserves
in your muscles for the fuel it needs. This is a "last-resort"
move generally saved for famine conditions, so if it happens to you,
it's bad news. The message is clear: don't totally eliminate starches
from your diet, or you'll live to regret it. You can reduce them, by
cutting out the excess junk like candy or sodas or sugar, but don't
eliminate all carbs from your diet, they are needed
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THE MYTH: Vegetarian diets are healthier than omnivorous diets.
THE REALITY: Not necessarily.
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A diet consisting entirely of corn and French fries, or of bananas and
shredded wheat, can be considered vegetarian, but neither diet is healthy
in the long run. If you're careful, you can get by just fine on a properly
balanced vegetarian diet, but you'll have to your diet very carefully.
Vegetarian diets do tend to be high and fiber and low in fat, but the
fact is that humans evolved as opportunistic omnivores. That is, our
ancestors ate anything they could get their hands on: greens, tubers,
bugs, and the occasional bit of meat.
The human body evolved to expect a varied diet, one that could provide
all the nutrients it needs in a variety of packages. Meat was an important
part of their diet, perhaps the most important part because it was so
uncommon. Vegetarians must always be sure that they eat enough protein;
protein is easily available in meat, so few omnivores have to worry
about getting enough, but it's scarce in most plant foods.
Fortunately, nuts, beans, and a few other vegetable products are ready
sources of protein. If you go vegetarian, you'll also need to be sure
you get daily doses of Vitamin B12 and zinc, supplements often missing
in vegetarian diets. Most people can survive as vegetarians if they're
extremely careful, but it's a constant battle, and guess what? You can
be just as healthy and out-of-shape on a vegetarian diet as you can
on a regular diet, especially if you don't exercise regularly.
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THE MYTH: Sweating is a great way to lose weight.
THE REALITY: It sure is, as long as you're sweaty because you're
exercising.
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Otherwise, all you're doing is losing water weight. Sweating is extraordinarily
effective at doing what it was meant to do: cooling the body by coating
the skin with evaporative fluids.
It was never meant as a way to lose weight. Lose enough water, and you're
toying with dehydration. Even if you don't try to sweat off several
points in one sitting, dehydration can still get you: progressive dehydration
can occur if you fail to rehydrate yourself sufficiently after every
workout. If you get sufficiently dehydrated, your electrolyte balance
will get out of whack, your cells will be starved of the fluids they
need, and you could die. Not a happy prospect, so avoid it.
For this reason, the old sweatbox and sauna are of no use for losing
real weight. Neither are their modern "high-tech" equivalents,
such as body wraps and plastic sweat suits, no matter how many people
swear by them. All they do is make you thirsty. Yes, you lose weight:
two pounds per quart sweated away. But that's weight, not fat. And the
moment you drink enough water, you'll gain all that weight back.
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THE MYTH: If it's fat-free, I can eat all I want!
THE REALITY: Here's another myth that's completely off the mark,
so don't fall for it!
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All "fat-free" means is that a particular food has no detectable
fat content. Sadly, however, it's fat and related compounds that give
most foods their flavor. Ice cream, butter, cheese, and a whole host
of non-dairy products, including chocolate, are little more than specially
prepared, congealed fat. When manufacturers design many fat-free products,
such as bread, cookies, ice cream, and the like, they know these products
will be mostly dry and flavorless without fat.
Some fat substitutes are available, but they can cause gastrointestinal
upset, and most are expensive. This leaves one common ingredient that
manufacturers can use to make their products taste better: sugar. And
they use it liberally, so many fat-free products are high in calories.
Furthermore, plenty of foods like breads and pasta are low in fat, but
rich in carbohydratesòand we already know what that means. Carbohydrates
break down easily into our friend glucose, which can result in increased
fat when eaten in excess.
You always have to consider calorie and portion size; you're fooling
yourself if you do otherwise, just as completely as if you've accepted
the claims for the latest "fat-burning" pill advertised on
TV. Moderation is the key to dieting success.
WHAT'S NEXT
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The dieting myths explored in this article represent just the tip of
the proverbial iceberg. There are thousands of them out there: some
are ridiculous and barely worthy of noticeòlike the suggestion that
eating standing up helps you lose weight, or that you can base a diet
on your blood type or color of hairòwhile others are less obvious, like
those discussed here.
Dieting isn't easy and, while it's human nature to look for a simple
solution to a problem, that strategy just won't work in this case. So
heed these hints, and take it easy. Don't skip meals, keep your diet
properly balanced, and exercise regularly. Avoid all fads, pills, and
extravagant claims, because if it sounds too good to be true...well,
you know the rest.
You don't need to lose more than a few pounds before you'll notice a
difference in the way you look and feel. And if you lose only a few
pounds at first, even if you've been at it for a while, so what? Pick
up a five or ten pound bag of flour and carry it around for a day, and
you'll see how quickly you'll get tired of lugging that excess weight
around.
Lose that weight permanently, and you'll never have to drag it around
again.
To get the FACTS on exactly how, what & when to eat and how to train
to achieve maximum fat loss, without losing muscle or slowing down your
metabolism... AND to discover the shocking truth about the diet, weight
loss and supplement industries, check out Tom
Venuto's best selling e-book online.
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