Weight Loss Myths That You Should Know!

These days, when people are becoming more and more concerned about weight loss and their fitness, majority of them are misinformed and are also misled by the many promises of the weight loss industry. Everywhere you look, you see or hear of people promising “Dramatic Weight Loss” with products such as “The Fat Trapper”, or “Exercise in a Bottle”, or even “Lose xx pounds in 2-3 days”. Then you also have the hundreds of diets out there such as “The Zone”, “Sugar Busters” or “The Atkins Diet”. I am sure you have heard many of these yourself. You might have even tried some of them.

Unfortunately, these products and diets are not the quick fix, or the miracles they are portrayed as. On the other hand they can be dangerous to use. Some of these companies offer money back guarantee but that is just another psychological trap to convince the buyer about the product. Majority of these products contain stimulants that produce weight loss when used over a short period of time, but adversely affect the body in the long-run.

We do not say all weight loss products or weight loss programs are misleading, but you should take note of everything you experiment with, and know few things about the genuine weight loss programs.

Below are some common misconceptions among people with regard to exercise and nutrition.

1. You need to exercise to burn fat. The truth is you do not gain body fat because of a lack of exercise. You gain it because your blood sugar levels exceed what you are using. Basically, you are eating too many calories at one time than what your body requires depending upon your activity level. If you eat more than required, you will gain weight anyway.

2. Your metabolism slows down once you hit 30. Quite a common misconception! Actually, hundreds of research studies have shown that the slow down in metabolism is due to a loss of muscle tissue, and the loss of muscle tissue is directly related to a lack of hard physical activity.

3. Pasta and bread are fattening. Anything is fattening if you overeat. Any amount of excess energy is stored in our body as fat to use it later on. Even lettuce can be fattening this way if you eat it excessively! Any food or drink, which contains calories, can be stored as body fat if it causes your blood sugar levels to exceed what the body needs at that time. Bread and pasta are actually good sources of complex carbohydrates! The key is how much you eat and when you eat it.

4. Eating after 7pm will make you fat. It is another false notion! It all depends on whether or not the body needs that amount of calories at that time. Keep in mind your body is constantly burning calories, 24 hours per day, just the amount varies.

5. Strength training will make you bulk up. Another myth! It seems as if most women are concerned about this one. Muscle size is primarily affected by genetics and hormone production; therefore, most women do not have the potential to build very large muscles. Muscle burns calories, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn which makes easier to burn fat and harder to gain it!

By no means is this a complete list. There are many other myths that we can list here, and dedicate more posts on them. However, the key is in education, but not by reading those fitness magazines that provide these false myths just to advertise certain products. Therefore, it is always advisable to search about every ingredient that is there in those weight loss products, and know fully about its actions before using or trying any of them. In our next post we will discuss about some of the common ingredients that are used in weight loss products, and their major effects on the body.