As everyone knows, life is full of old wive’s tales. It’s not a problem, usually, but when they affect people’s health? It’s time to lay out the truth. If you have struggled with your weight over the years, then take a look at these common myths about dieting and weight loss to see if you are going about things the wrong way.

Starving Yourself

Although on the face of it, not eating appears to make sense when you are trying to lose weight, it’s one of the worst things you can do. The body produces a hormone called leptin, which helps you burn fat. However, once you go into starvation mode, you start producing less leptin, and your body starts consuming your muscles instead. Leaving you in an even worse state than you were before. You can find out more on leptins in this blog post – What Is The Venus Factor Secret? In short, however, you have to eat the right foods to give yourself the strength to burn fat.

healthy apple, measuring tape and dumbbells for healthy living isolated

Diet or Exercise 

Some people think they can lose weight by dieting, others think they can do it by exercising. But if you want the best results, you will need to do both. Dieting is the most effective, method, for sure. Try eating smaller portions to get you started. But you have to build up your muscle to enable you to burn off fat. So although the amount of calories you burn when you exercise is negligible, it can provide that little extra you need for healthy weight loss.

The Carb Myth

A lot of dieting fads are guilty of the ‘no-carb’ rule. However, although they are right to suggest that carbohydrates can increase your weight, they are needed for energy. Without them,  you will feel tired, listless, and won’t be able to push yourself through exercise. Seek out the right kind of carbs, like whole-grain foods, and avoid white bread and rice. They have almost no nutritional value whatsoever.

Dieting Pills

Dieting pills all seem to promise the same old miracle cure – pop one a day and lose three stone in a week! Well, even if they did actually work, we would highly recommend against using them. Firstly, they are completely unsustainable – you can’t be on diet pills for the rest of your life. It’s a change in lifestyle that you need if you want to lose weight, not a magic bullet. Secondly, they are notorious for provoking reactions in certain people. While they might work for some, you should always check in with your doctor and act on their advice first. Never order something online without a medical consultation – it is just too risky.

The Low Fat Myth

Low-fat products are highly misleading. OK, they might contain less fat than the original product, but if that already had an enormous fat content, then it isn’t saying much. Also, fat is used for flavor as much as anything. And if that flavor is reduced, it has to be replaced by something. On many occasions, you will find that the replacement is sugar – which isn’t going to help you reach your target weight.

So there you go – a few weight loss fables busted. If you have fallen for them in the past, see if you can have another go with some better advice.