When it comes to weight loss almost everyone you know can jump in with advice even before you ask. Most people have ‘heard’ a lot about one remedy or the other and would love to pass on the ‘knowledge’ to anyone who needs it irrespective of their actual weight gain problems.
To add to it, you have many half-baked blogs out there who are dishing out advice based on popular belief. The sad part is that a lot of these assumptions have never been tested and have no scientific backing. When you come across such advice, test if it works for you – or simply discard it. Here are 10 myth busters on weight loss
- Eat your breakfast to lose weight: While it does make sense that a good breakfast can keep your energy levels up and prevent binge eating, most people take the advice too seriously and over eat the king size breakfast. It’s best to wait and eat only when you are hungry to begin with. Even better if you can combine your breakfast and lunch into a healthy brunch. Follow some simple tricks like choosing a cereal with large flakes and choosing an oatmeal plus protein rich breakfast
- Crash diets or regimens to lose weight are bad: Must people who advise against a crash diet do it because of the fear of you gaining your weight back as soon as you go off diet. To begin with, there is not much research to support this. Besides, losing weight and keeping it off are two different things. Once you lose the weight, you can bring about changes in your diet and exercise to sustain it.
- Don’t weigh yourself everyday: This one is really psychological. Some people can get really motivated even with a small weight loss over 3 days. Others may feel depressed to see that needle not budging a millimeter. Keeping a constant check on your weight is a great way to see how some diets or regimens produce immediate results while others don’t. The main criteria here is to not obsessively compulsively do a weight check and let that be the only determining factor for everything else you do.
- Setting a proper weight goal is a must: Some people lose 1 kg a week. Others can lose 20 kg in a month. What’s really stopping you from setting a goal is only your imagination. Aim high – like they say – aim for the moon and even if you miss, you’ll land among the starts.
- Your genes are responsible for your weight: You can inherit the smile and lustrous hair but is best to keep off your maternal aunt’s tendency to balloon up. The ‘fat gene’ or ‘obesity gene’ is real. People do inherit everything from unhealthy food habits to tendency to gain weight. But what matters more is your lifestyle and activity level can cut down the gene’s effect up to 30%. At the end of the day, you can’t choose your parents but you can choose a better life for yourself if you are willing enough to work hard for it.
- Lots of water, lots of weight loss: Drinking water is beneficial whether you intend to lose weight or not. But having additional water without cutting down on your calorie intake will not result in weight loss. As a lot of water diets suggest, it not only matters when you drink water but also that you use water as a replacement when your mind wanders into having unnecessary empty calories.
- A calorie is a calorie: Well, not exactly. Not all calories are made equal. The difference lies in their source and how they are processed in our bodies. For example calories from whole foods like fruits are much more filling than calories from refined foods like candy
- Supplements can help lose weight: If only there was a magic pill that gave toned thighs and flat abs. But until then, steer clear of supplements no matter what claim they make
- Lose carbs to lose fat: A low carb diet is scientifically proven to help with weight loss. But that does not mean that carbs make you gain weight. Its only the refined carbs to blame
- Diets work: Here’s a revelation. Almost 85% people gain back their weight after a year. So dieting actually results in long term weight gain than loss.
With a lot of half-truths and whole lies out there, it is best to get your facts right before you embark on your weight loss journey.
I am a Certified sports & fitnessnutritionist who loves to write about health and food. Before starting my blogging career I worked with Deloitte for 5 years. Other than writing, I also love cooking a lot for my 4 years young Son.