7 Myths That Can Ruin Your Diet

By Lisa Collier Cool Aug 31, 2012 137 Recommend

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If youre trying to lose weight, con entional wis!o" !ictates that cutting snac#s an! increasing e$ercise are the two "ost i"%ortant ste%s to ta#e& Actually, theyre not& 'hile not entirely ineffecti e, e$ercise alone only lea!s to ery "o!est weight loss& An! eating snac#s actually lowers the ris# of obesity an! can e en curb hunger cra ing&

Heres the s#inny on se en co""on !iet "yths that can sabotage weight loss( or e en har" your health&

'( Myth) Dieters can*t ha#e dessert

+act) )esserts after brea#fast can actually hel% you lose weight, so now you can literally ha e your ca#e an! eat it too& As I e re%orte! %re iously, %eo%le who eat s"all a"ounts of ca#e, coo#ies or chocolate as %art of a %rotein an! carbohy!rate*rich brea#fast she! an a erage of +0 %oun!s "ore than those who forgo their "orning !esserts, a sur%rising stu!y showe!& ,hese sweet brea#fasts actually re!uce! le els of ghrelin, a hor"one that sti"ulates hunger& -tu!y %artici%ants who ate !esserts after brea#fast re%orte! fewer cra ings an! felt "ore satisfie! after "eals& .ust re"e"ber, though, that its %ossible to !o too "uch of a goo! thing, so o erin!ulging your sweet tooth is not the best i!ea& An ounce or two of chocolate with your brea#fast, though, "ay be sur%risingly satisfying(an! beneficial& 23 )iet /lans 0e iewe!1 )o ,hey 'or#2

,( Myth) The best %ay to slim do%n is to e-ercise more

+act) -te%%ing into the gy" "ay hel% you lose weight, but without !ietary changes, changes are "ini"al& 'or#ing out is healthy an! has nu"erous benefits, es%ecially for !isease %re ention, but it !oesnt really burn that "any calories& ,en wee#s of training 3inclu!ing two strength training an! three car!io wor#outs a wee#4 le! to only a &5 %oun! loss of bo!y weight in 36 %eo%le, a 2006 stu!y showe!& 7$ercisers lost less than three %oun!s of fat an! gaine! less than two %oun!s of "uscle than a control grou%& 8In general, for weight loss, e$ercise is %retty useless,9 obesity researcher 7ric 0a ussin tol! ,i"e Maga:ine& -o !ont gi e u% on i"%ro ing your !iet ;ust yet&

Buil! a Ho"e <y" for =n!er >1?0

.( Myth) Deto- diets are a great %ay to lose %eight

+act) Although its %ossible to lose so"e weight on !eto$ !iets that are ery low in calories, youll ha e to %ay the %rice1 not only !o you lose "uscle in the %rocess, youll also li#ely regain "uch of the weight(both because "uch of what is lost is water weight, an! because your "etabolis" slows !own in res%onse to !rastic changes& )eto$ !iets, which often inclu!e ;uice cleanses, fasting an! su%%le"ents, are not roote! in science& 8,hese fa! !iet !eto$ %lans are nothing "ore than a @uic# fi$ an! not reco""en!e! for weight loss by registere! !ietitians,9 registere! !ietitian Connie )ie#"an tol! 'ebM)& An! although !eto$ !iets clai" to ri! the bo!y of har"ful substances, the hu"an bo!y is ca%able of !oing that on its own& 8Aour bo!y is !esigne! to re"o e to$ins efficiently with organs such as the #i!neys, li er, an! colon,9 )r& Bre! -ac#s tol! 'ebM)& 8Aou !ont nee! !eto$ !iets, %ills, or %otions to hel% your bo!y !o its ;ob,9 he a!!e!&

/( Myth) Counting calories isn*t as im0ortant as 0ortion control

+act) 0e!ucing %ortion si:e is a goo! way to cut calories, but can lea e you feeling hungry at the en! of your "eal& Choosing low*calorie o%tions**an! feeling satiate! at the en! of your "eal(is the best long*ter" strategy& 87ating fewer calories !oesnt necessarily "ean eating less foo!,9 the Centers for )isease Control an! /re ention a! ise& 8,o be able to cut calories without eating less an! feeling hungry, you nee! to re%lace so"e higher calorie foo!s with those that are lower in calories and fill you u%& In general, these foo!s contain a lot of water an! are high in fiber&9 0e%lacing sugary, high*calorie !rin#s with water or tea is another o%tion&

1( Myth) ! calorie is a calorie

+act) 7ating fewer carbohy!rates, an! stic#ing to those which are !igeste! slowly, has been shown to torch "ore calories than a con entional low*fat !iet, accor!ing to a recent stu!y %ublishe! in the Journal of the American Medical Association& ,he a"ounts of calories in all three "eal %lans stu!ie! were the sa"e, but the results were !ifferent& )iets with low*glyce"ic loa! carbs 3which #ee% bloo! sugar le els stable4 burne! "ore calories than a low*fat !iet, an! ha! none of the negati e effects associate! with a ery low*carb !iet& Carbs that !igest slowly inclu!e non*starchy egetables, whole grains, fresh fruits an! nuts&

2( Myth) 3nacking sabotages %eight loss

+act) 7ating four or "ore ti"es %er !ay actually lowers the ris# of obesity, an! eating snac#s between "eals can hel% you "anage your hunger& .ust "a#e sure youre "a#ing s"art snac# choices& A %iece of fruit or a han!ful of raw eggies is better than can!y or !onuts&

7( Myth) 4ating at night 0acks on 0ounds

+act) Boo!s ha e the sa"e calories at night than they !o any other ti"e of !ay, so when you eat isnt as i"%ortant as what you eat& 8,he %roble" with late*night snac#ing is that you "ight not be eating !ue to hunger an! you coul! fin! yourself eating "ore calories than you ha! %lanne!,9 the Aca!e"y of Cutrition an! )ietetics a! ises& ,rac#ing your "eals in a foo! ;ournal is a goo! way to #ee% tabs on what you eat at any ti"e of !ay, an! is an effecti e way to !ro% the %oun!s&