Weight Lose

For someone who is trying to lose weight, the word weight loss is a daunting prospect and can cause the person a lot of stress and heartache. With so many weight loss myths out there, anybody attempting to lose weight can lose his or her mind. The moment a well wishing relative or friend realizes that you are trying to lose weight, there comes the advice.  Beta, eat this, don’t eat that, walk, run, don’t lift weights, lift weights… the advice is endless. And with the advice comes a wide selection of weight loss myths. 

Here are some common weight loss myths that you should steer clear off:

Myth: If you’re trying to lose weight do more and more cardio.

Fact: In order to lose weight you need to shock your body. If you have never exercised before, sure running everyday will definitely shock your body and make you lose a lot of weight initially, but for how long will you be able to sustain it is the question. Over time, you will reach a weight loss plateau and eventually start gaining weight again, because of repetitive workouts. Instead try a variety of workouts like yoga, weight training, and cardio. You can keep upping your weights and fine-tuning your workout, therefore bringing about a change in workout so necessary in sustained weight management.

Myth: Buy low fat foods when on a diet.

Fact: Yes, low fat foods are lower in calories, so when comparing the nutritional information on two packets anyone on a diet will tend to pick up something that is lower in calories, it’s only common sense right? But beware of the hidden calories from sugar. It is now a known fact that manufacturers increase fructose in many low fat foods (like slim milk) in order to ensure that the product tastes good. So when lowering fat content, more sugar gets added and consuming foods richer in hidden sugars is not the right approach to weight loss efforts. Another drawback with eating low-fat foods is that these products are highly processed. So moderation is ok, but depending on low fat for everything from your milk and yoghurt to ice cream and whipped cream is not.

Myth: I can snack on anything I want, as long as it is not fried, but baked.

Fact: There is a plethora of so-called ‘healthy’ baked snacks out there in the market. And people guiltless in their innocence, munch incessantly on these, happy with the knowledge that at least they are not snacking on something fried. While on the surface this is perfectly good logic, it depends on what the baked snack that you are munching on is. For e.g., if you are munching on baked nuts instead of fried nuts or baked chicken over fried chicken or baked nachni chips over fried, then by all means you are making a healthier choice by avoiding the excess oils. But let's say on the other hand that you are munching on baked chakris or baked bhakarvadis then you are indeed eating something that is highly processed, with high levels of sodium and maida. I would not call that a healthy snack in anyway, as it all adds up when you are trying to lose weight.

When confronted with weight loss dilemmas, it will make sense to dig deeper into what’s being said in order to make an informed decision. By just taking advice and tips at face value, you may not foresee the damage that is being caused by something that may not entirely ring true.

Image and Article Credit: http://healthmeup.com