Trying to lose weight ? Here are some common dieting methods you should know about:- Dieting can be a tricky path to follow. It’s often hard to separate the facts from fiction. Which eating behaviors will help you lose weight and which will hinder your progress? To help you out, here are five common dieting myths that can stand in the way of the new, slimmer you. 1. You can eat as much as you want as long as you eat healthy foods. Healthy food can have just as many calories as unhealthy food. Yes, healthy food offers more in the way of nutrition. But healthy food can be fattening too, when not eaten in moderation. Brown rice, whole wheat pasta, organic cheese, red wine, dark chocolate, olive oil, honey and lean organic meat—to name just a few foods—still need to be eaten with caloric intake in mind. The dieting equation is still the same for healthy food: you want to burn off more calories than you consume. 2. Losing weight as quickly and efficiently as possible is the way to go. Time and time again it’s been proven that losing weight slowly and steadily over the long term is the most successful way to diet. When the body loses weight in this way, it gives your metabolism time to adapt. It’s got to learn to deal with a little less, while you learn to add in a little more activity each day. It also takes time to break old habits like exchanging whole grains for white bread or fruits and vegetables for snacks instead of junk food. 3. Fats are bad—they make you gain weight. You can’t diet by going fat-free. Fat is an essential part of the diet. Many bodily systems rely on fat as a source of energy. Your brain also needs fat to function properly. If you don’t eat fat, you’ll soon experience cravings. Your body will let you know that it needs this food group to get you through each day. Rather than cut out fat, look for foods that are made with olive oil, safflower oil, canola oil, flax oil or sunflower oil. A little bit of these oils goes a long way. A tablespoon of olive oil mixed with balsamic vinegar on a salad will help you out much more nutritionally than a tablespoon of fat-free dressing. 4. Eating lots of salad is the best way to lose weight. Yes, salad is good for you, but make sure you add a little protein too. Add some grilled fish or even a can of tuna to your spinach or greens salad. Your body needs the antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals found in vegetables, which are naturally low-calorie, every day. But it also needs protein to help build muscle to replace the fat that you are slowly losing as you follow your diet. 5. Skipping meals is the quickest way to weight loss. If you want to lose weight, research suggests that eating breakfast may be a key component of any weight loss program. What’s more, eating protein at breakfast will give your body some slow-burning energy to sustain you until lunch time. Leaving protein out of breakfast means that you’re likely to experience a drop in energy mid-morning that could drive you to reach for sweets and carbohydrates. Eat some yogurt and berries at breakfast, or a slice of whole grain bread with 100% peanut butter (not the kind with icing sugar added).
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 04:31:57 +0000