There are many common weight loss myths that people follow when it comes to their health. Sometimes it is difficult to separate the myths and facts of weight loss from what is true. Many ring true, while others are just ridiculous. I once read somewhere that if you drink water at night you will gain weight or that if you scratch your head too often you will lose your hair…
Weight Loss Myth #1
The more weight I have to lose, the more intense my exercise routine should be.
Weight Loss Truth: Although having an intense exercise routine is great, there are a few things to consider: The first is that everyone is at a different level when it comes to their fitness and the intensity they can really handle. If you have been physically inactive for several years, strenuous exercise for you might be walking half a mile a day. After walking that half mile you realize that you are sweating profusely and that you are tired. However, for someone who has been physically active for many years, walking half a mile can be done without breaking a sweat. Everyone has a different definition of what “intense” is.
If exercising for an hour a day is intense for you, but due to life’s hectic schedule, you only have time for 20 minutes a day, then those 20 minutes will go a long way. It may not necessarily classify as “intense,” based on your definition, but those little moments of cardio will have positive health-altering effects.
Fat Loss Myth #2
Stress and weight gain don’t go hand in hand.
Weight Loss Fact: This is one of those “laughable” myths. To learn more about how stress adds on the pounds. to your life, download my free eBook, “Psychology of Weight Loss”
Weight loss myth #3
I can lose weight by eating whatever I want
The Truth About Weight Loss: Sir Isaac Newton once said, “What goes up must come down.” There are natural principles that govern our lives. If you throw a ball into the air, it will fall back down. You can sit on your sofa and imagine and visualize that the ball will stay floating in the air, but natural principles teach us that it will go down. The same is true when it comes to our weight.
This is one of the most common myths about weight loss. It’s illogical to think that your health and weight are going to balance if your nutrition consists primarily of twinkies, French fries, and donuts. Sure you can burn it off by exercising, but most people whose diet consists mostly of junk food probably aren’t disciplined enough to stick to an exercise routine. I know some people who, on the outside, appear to be in good shape, because they are not “fat, but have high cholesterol.”
Just because I’m sorry I’ve crushed the hearts of so many twinkie lovers, I’d say this. You can eat junk food, cookies, chips, ice cream, pizza, hamburgers… All those “soul-satisfying foods”, but it should be in moderation. Anything in excess is never good.
Fat Loss Myth #4
Skipping meals is a good way to lose weight
Weight Loss Fact: There are numerous studies showing that people who skip breakfast and eat fewer times throughout the day tend to be much more likely to have a healthy nutritious breakfast and then eat 4-6 small meals during the day. day. The reason for this could be the fact that they are hungrier later in the day and may have a tendency to overeat during other meals of the day.
Weight Loss Myth #5
I’m not going to lose weight by eating at night.
Truth about weight loss: You can enjoy food too much during the day and eat nothing at night and you will gain weight. As is the fact that you can starve yourself during the day and eat all night and still gain weight. The key here is balance. If your body tells you that it’s hungry, maybe you should listen to it. The truth is that overeating, without exercising, will make you gain weight; no matter what time of day you eat. Whenever I get hungry at night, as is my habit with other meals during the day, I try to select something that is natural in nature. Something like fruits, vegetables, or I could even make myself a fruit smoothie. During those times when I have a craving for ice cream or something sweet, I allow myself to have a little bit and NOT feel guilty about it. Many overweight people live their lives with guilt and shame. I allow myself to get some, however, IN MODERATION.
Fat Loss Myth #6
I’m not acceptable until I lose weight.
Weight loss fact: The person who doesn’t feel acceptable because they are fat is because they are not acceptable to themselves in the first place. The way you think others see you is based on your view of yourself. I honestly believe that one has to be emotionally fit before being physically fit. I’ve been through these self-limiting emotions before. Once I realized that I was ALREADY ENOUGH in God’s eyes and that I didn’t need to prove myself to anyone or receive external validation for my self worth, that made all the difference for me. Once you accept yourself for who you are RIGHT NOW and realize that you are already enough in the eyes of God, you will not feel unacceptable because of your weight.
Weight Loss Myth #7
I need to cut calories to lose weight faster.
Weight Loss Truth: Cutting calories can be a great thing, if you’re drastically overeating and gorging. However, if you’re eating proportionately, cutting calories could have an aversive effect. If you’re cutting calories and starving your body, that will lower your metabolism—or in other words, slow it down—which can result in you not actually losing any weight at all, even if you’re “cutting calories.”
Fat Loss Myth #8
Skipping meals will help me lose weight.
Weight Loss Fact: Skipping meals can cause you to gain weight! You will be too hungry and will eventually have to eat. This will throw off your metabolism and eventually slow it down. Think of a car running low on gas (food), if you don’t fill it up it will eventually stop running. The same goes for our body, we need to keep it constantly fed.
Weight Loss Myth #9
I think I have genetic weight gain, it runs in the family!
Weight Loss Truth: Can Anyone Say EXCUSES? I won’t deny that there may be tendencies in heavy parents to raise heavy children who will remain heavy all their lives, but I don’t think there really is such a thing as a “fat” gene or DNA. What we do inherit from our family, mainly from those who directly raised us, are our opinions and beliefs. Your views on food, money, religion, politics, education, etc. they are based on how you were raised. If you were raised in a household where the main meals were cooked with fried foods, then you might have a tendency to continue cooking and eating fried foods throughout your life. If that’s the case, you may have a bit of weight around your waist. The easy thing is to blame those who were in charge of your education, however, you ALWAYS have the option to change.
Fat Loss Myth #10
Eating healthy is very difficult
Weight Loss Fact: Eating healthy is the easiest thing in the world…once you’ve trained yourself to do it. How many times have you set a goal to lose weight or “eat better”? The first few days he is doing very well, eating all kinds of food that he normally would not eat. Then something funny started to happen, you went back to your old habits and behaviors. This has happened to you in other areas outside of your health. It could be making money, looking for a new job, or in your relationships. Creating a new habit takes time because our brains don’t like change. Switching to the brain is dangerous. Anyway, if you want to learn more about how our brains try to sabotage us from creating new habits, download my free eBook, “The Psychology of Weight Release.”
Weight Loss Myth #11
You have to give up your favorite foods to lose weight
Weight Loss Truth: What would a world without chocolate and pepperoni pizza look like? I think it would be a torturous world to live in! lol, now on a real note, I completely disagree with this myth. You can definitely eat your favorite foods. Depriving yourself of this kind of pleasure is no fun, and frankly, you’ll probably eat it anyway. As mentioned before, the real key is moderation. If you are a meat lover, then maybe it is not best to eat it every day, but maybe once or twice a week. Those who know me personally know that I LOVE chicken wings on pizza. In a perfect world where I wouldn’t gain any weight and my arteries wouldn’t clog, I’d love to eat it several times a week, well more like every day. However, I know those are not the healthiest food options, so I eat them 2-3 times a month. I’m not giving up my favorite foods, I’m just eating them in moderation so they don’t catch up with me in the form of excess weight.
Fat Loss Myth #12
Overeating is caused by hunger.
Weight Loss Fact: Nice try. I wish we could blame “hunger” for it. In fact, this person we call hunger has nothing to do with you OVEREATING. It may have something to do with your body telling you that it’s time to “fuel up” and that you need food, but that’s not an indication that one should overeat. What causes many people to overeat are different reasons. One of the main ones is the feeling of stress, depression, loneliness, anxiety, fear and other degrading emotions of that nature. Many times food can be a means to satisfy your needs. You may actually get your needs met through your food. For example, if you live a lonely life and are not very happy, then food could be a means to make you feel happy and comfortable. There are other articles I’ve written on this topic, but suffice it to say that overeating is NOT caused by being hungry.
Weight Loss Myth #13
Only drastic diets work
Weight Loss Truth: There goes that word again… DIET… those “crash diets” are only good for rapid weight loss and rapid weight gain once you do. These crash diets range from the “cookie diet” hehehe… All the way to the “water only diet”… I’m sure you can lose weight while following these DIEs, however, the weight will will win properly. backwards and usually with some extra weight as a bonus
Fat Loss Myth #14
I’m too fat and too far along to start
Weight loss fact: A long journey begins one step at a time. It’s natural to expect instant results and even dread the road ahead; especially if you are very overweight. The secret here is to make SMALL incremental changes. Don’t expect perfection because that will lead to disappointment. You’re never too far down the road where you can’t see the sunlight…
Weight Loss Myth #15
I can’t do it, I’ve tried many times and failed.
The Truth About Weight Loss – The great Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”… It’s 90% mindset and 10% weight loss . your ass and do something about it. You fall, you get up again… you fall down, you get up again. If you’ve tried to lose weight in the past, it’s time to keep trying. Discouragement is to lose weight as a piece of fried chicken is to a vegetarian…… They DO NOT go hand in hand.