Many of us often try to lose weight but get lost in the constant back and forth of what to do and what not to do in terms of dieting and losing weight. Here are some myths that may have confused you up until now.
Myth 1: The only way to lose weight is to avoid carbs.
Carbohydrates, or carbs can be both good and bad. It is important to identify good carbs from bad carbs. Good carbs come from grains, vegetables, legumes, fruits etc. whereas bad carbs come from white bread, sugary drinks, refined foods etc. You must learn to cut out bad carbs and focus on healthy, unprocessed and fresh forms of carbohydrates. “Carbohydrate-rich foods, such as vegetables (including beans and peas), fruits and whole grains, are the foundation of each of these healthy eating patterns,”
Myth 2: It doesn’t matter what you eat as long as you count calories.
It is always important to pay attention to what you put into your body. Counting calories and food restriction is never a healthy way to lose weight as your body becomes deprived of many vitamins and minerals that it needs to function and this can even cause adverse effects to your weight loss attempts. You need to fill yourself up with healthy foods that suit your body, not restrict yourself from these foods and replace them with artificial supplements.
Myth 3: If you want to lose weight, you’ll have to go hungry.
You also must remember to never skip meals and go hungry! All this will do is weaken you as well as your metabolism over time. It can lead you to feel irritable and frustrated and, in the end, when you decide to stop dieting all your progress will be lost as your body resets itself. A healthy way to cut down your portions is to smaller meals throughout the day more frequently.
Myth 4: Cutting fat from your diet helps you lose weight.
Similar to carbohydrates, there are healthy fats and unhealthy fats, too much unhealthy fat will obviously have adverse effects on you but your body and your cells require fat to replenish themselves so you must educate yourself about the different kinds of healthy fats you can incorporate into your diet. Some sources of healthy fats are beans, eggs, seeds, walnuts, fish etc.
Myth 5: Intense working out will help you lose weight.
Many believe think it’s okay to eat whatever they want as long as they work out because they will be burning it off, but there is a saying that everyone should remember and it’s “abs are made in the gym but shown in the kitchen” this means that regardless of how much you work out, you will only see true results prompted by a healthy change in your dietary habits. Although working out is effective your body needs nutritious food to help it heal and regenerate itself otherwise your workout will become obsolete if your body can not recover and rebuild from it. Weight loss requires you to change your life in all aspects not simply just the gym. If you have unhealthy eating habits it will show on your body, if not when you are young when you are older and it becomes hard for your body to burn off unhealthy foods. This is why it is important to incorporate a healthy diet which has all the right amount of fats, carbs, fibre etc. that you need in order to maintain a healthy weight.
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