Weight Loss Myths?
There are a lot of misconceptions out there when it comes to losing weight and eating healthfully. Here are a few weight loss myths to consider.
Weight Loss Myths?
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Eat Small Meals Frequently
Some thin people do tend to eat small, frequent meals. But this doesn’t necessarily mean they watch the clock, they simply listen to their bodies and eat when their body tells them they’re hungry. Paying attention to your own body’s signals and eating in a mindful way can be effective in reducing overeating.
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Drink Water to Flush Fat
Drinking water in itself doesn’t flush away fat. However, a study at Virginia Tech University found that people who drank 16 ounces of water before meals consumed 75-90 fewer
calories than a control group. All of those who participated in the study maintained a low calorie diet but, on average, those who drank water lost 4.5 more pounds than those who didn’t.
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Avoid Eating After 7PM
For the most part weight loss is simply a matter of burning off more calories than you consume. But some people tend to consume most of their calories in the evening, with dinner and snacks afterward. So if that’s true for you, limiting what you eat in the evening hours could help you lose weight. Weight loss myth? Depends on your eating habits.
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Sugar is Better than High Fructose Corn Syrup
The American Medical Association, when asked to issue a warning against high fructose corn syrup, declined, citing no evidence that this kind of sweetener contributes to obesity any more than regular table sugar. Because both types of sweeteners contain the same ingredients in somewhat the same proportions, some researchers believe they have a similar effect on the body.
However, results of resent research by a team of Princeton University scientists found that rats that consumed high fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those who ate regular sugar, even though they consumes the same amount of calories overall.
Bottom line, they both provide empty calories and, if you’re trying to lose weight, they should be avoided.
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Honey is Better Than Sugar
While honey does have some health benefits, it is a form of sugar. Honey contains trace amounts of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids while sugar does not. It wouldn’t be worth the calories as you would need to consume large amounts of honey to obtain any health benefits. Honey could even be worse for a diet because it contains 63 calories per tablespoon vs sugar, which contains 48.
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Diet Soda is Better than Regular Soda
Most of us fall for this weight loss myth. The average American drinks over 50 gallons of soda per year, most of which are full of corn syrup, sugar and calories. But diet sodas aren’t any better, and in fact may be worse, because they’re full of chemicals that can have negative effects on our health and weight. When we drink diet sodas it can trigger the brain to crave more food.
In addition to that some of the artificial sweeteners in diet soda have been linked to brain tumors and obesity.
So skip the soda and stick to natural beverages like water with a squeeze of lemon or lime, mineral water or carbonated waters.
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Treat Yourself to a “cheat day” once a week
This is another weight loss myth that depends on individual habits. It could make sense for some people if it helps them stay on track for the other six days of the week. But it could cause you to overeat on the seventh day, even if you have the best of intentions. Again, it comes down to calories in vs calories burned and if you’ve stuck to your diet all week, a day off could be just what you need to stay motivated.
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Avoid All Refined Grains
We’re all aware that it’s important to choose whole grains, like whole wheat bread, rather than the refined grains found in white bread. Whole grains contain more fiber and are metabolized more slowly than refined grains, but current government guidelines that we consume whole grains half the time.
For myself, I prefer to aim for whole grains as often as possible. But if I’m going to “cheat” it’s going to be a flour tortilla or some crusty french bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar…delicious!
As always I welcome your thought and input so please leave a comment and join the conversation!
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Surprisingly, eating French fries led to more weight gain than eating sugary desserts. And eating whole grains was associated with weight loss, diametrically opposite to the significant weight gain associated with refined grains despite equal caloric content.
Yes, french fries are one of the worst things you can eat when trying to lose weight.
Unfortunately they are one of my very favorite foods! I’ve replaced them with home made, baked sweet potato “fries.”