Dieting: The Biggest Myths Busted

Dieting: The Biggest Myths Busted

Dieting is a difficult task for everyone, and the huge amount of dieting myths certainly does not help. In fact they just confuse many people and increase the chances of them giving up.

Many myths have left people afraid of carbs and practically starving themselves in order to lose a few pounds, all of which is counterproductive.

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Even a short trip to the supermarket can lieve dieters bewildered with countless products containing confusing ingredients and claiming they have no fat.

However, dieting is not as confusing as it sounds. Once you bust the biggest dieting myths you will be able to dramatically improve you, become healthier, happier and wear your dream swimsuit.

Here are the biggest dieting myths:

Myth: Carbs are bad

The carbs are bad is possibly one of the most misunderstood myth. Carbs are certainly not bad. When people think of carbs, they only look at one side of the carbohydrate family, which is the simple carbs such as, sugar, white rice, white bread, pasta and potatoes.

Many people have never heard of complex carbs which are great energy sources and do not contain a lot of calories. These include fruits, vegetables, whole grains and many more.

Complex carb contain more fibre, which leaves you feeling fuller for longer, which helps avoid snacking.

When you eat simple carbs, combined with fat, your body increases the production of insulin, which increases the amount of fat cells stored. If you are looking to lose weight, avoid simple and refined carbs and chose the complex carbs and whole grains instead.

Myth: Don’t eat after 8pm

Many people do not eat after 8pm because it is said that, as you burn less calories at night compared to the beginning of the day, the calories will sit in your body and turn to fat.

The thing is, the calories you consume do not know the time of day. If you do eat calories after 8pm, they will sit around a little longer, however, you body will use them when you move around and go about your daily routine the day.

However, it does depend on what you eat. If you relax at night with a bowl of ice cream and with bars of chocolate, this will contribute to considerable weight gain if it is your nightly routine.

If you are really hungry after your dinner and it is late in the evening, the best advice is to have a light snack.

Myth: Granola is good for you

When people look at granola, they see oats and fruit. Oats are good for you, and so are fruits. However granola is basically oats and fruit covered in sugar and then baked in oil.

The amount of sugar and oil used varies from different manufacturers; however, a bowl of granola is certainly more fattening than your standard bowl of oatmeal.

The best advice is to stick to oatmeal for you breakfast if you want to lose weight. Although it may be bland, you will soon see a difference in your weight.

Myth: Only eat when you’re hungry

Eating when you are hungry is not the most effective weight to lose weight. Research has shown that spacing your food throughout at regular intervals has led to better success when attempting to lose weight.

There are many benefits to spacing our meals out through the day. People that do are better nourished and lose weight quicker. People who skip meals are more likely to increase their weight as they will probably snack on the wrong foods throughout the day and eat the wrong foods when it comes to their meal.

It is recommended that you eat every four to five hours to maintain your optimum weight.

Myth: The more you work out, the more you lose

Working out does not burn as much calories as you may think. For someone to play a 20-minute game of football that is around 125 pounds, they will only burn around 130 calories.

To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume. We burn calories every second, even when we are sleeping. The more demanding the activity, the more calories you use.

Working out alone will only lead to small weight loss and may take a long time. To maximise your weight loss, you need to reduce your caloric intake and increase your physical activity.

This will allow for a steady weight loss for the long term.

Eating Small, Frequent Meals Boosts Your Metabolism

It is said eating small meals frequently will help boost your metabolism and help you lose weight. However, this is not the case.

Eating food often has a negligible effect on your metabolism. The best way to increase your metabolism is to increase your muscle mass. Studies have shown that one pound of muscle will burn around 14 calories a day, compared to a pound of fat which will only burn around three calories a day.

What do you think of this blog? Can you think of anymore dieting myths? If so, please let us know in the comments below.
This blog was written by Jennifer Smith on behalf of The Light, a retail and leisure complex containing a multitude of shops and restaurants.