The 14 misconceptions and truths about weight loss
Why can’t you lose weight? Do you have misconceptions mentioned below? It is more likely that it is these concepts that make you fail in weight loss. There’re no secretes in weight loss. Methods for weight control are already known. These weight loss methods include dieting, exercising, pharmaceutical medications, appetite suppression, bowel and stomach surgery. Moderate regulate exercise combined with a well balanced diet is the most effective way in weight control.
Misconception 1, Eating vegetables and fruits ALONE will achieve a healthy weight loss
The truth: Research shows vegetarians have leaner body mass that other people. But if you are a vegetarian, you have to work out a strict diet plan, so as avoid malnutrition due to the long-term single diet structure. The supply of nutrients necessary for human health, such as iron, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, zinc, and animal protein can not rely solely on the intake of vegetables and fruits.
Tips: Choose vegetarian diets rich in above nutrients, in combination with a healthy diet plan.
- Iron-rich foods: cashew nuts, spinach, soy products, black fungus
- Calcium-rich foods: dairy products, fortified soybean milk beverages, tofu, kale vegetables, dried small shrimps, rice, flour, spinach, cabbage, etc.
- Food rich in vitamin D: skimmed milk, cheese, nuts, fortified foods that added with vitamin D
- Vitamin B12-rich foods: soy, Stinky tofu
- Zinc-rich foods: beans, peanuts, millet, radish, cabbage
Misconception 2, Do not try weightlifting and other violent exercises that will make you an ugly ‘muscle woman’
The truth: Weightlifting, sit-ups, and other sports assist to lose weight and build muscle. Muscle tends to consume more calories than fat. Which means if you have more muscle, there’s more consumption of calories during metabolism. Of course, you don’t have to worry about to become a ‘muscle woman,’ because exercising two to three times a week is not enough to develop a strong muscular body. It only brings you solid and well-developed muscle masses though.
Tips: Apart from the regular 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, such as walking and jogging, you can also do strenuous exercise 2 to 3 time a week, such as weightlifting, pull stretch, sit-ups, push-ups, and etc.
Misconception 3, Starch-rich foods will let you gain weight
The truth: Many foods are rich in starch and with a small amount of fat and calories. Such foods include bread, rice, pasta, oats, soybeans, fruit and potatoes, and so on. The reason why they appear to make you fat is simply because you eat too much, or a variety of high-fat, high-calorie sauces such as butter, ice cream, syrup, are added in your meals. Remember, the starch is one of the three major energy sources for the human body.
Tips: Try to avoid adding high-calorie dressings to foods. You’re recommended eat 6 to 11 types of food grains in your every day’s meals. Make sure to control the total amount.
Misconception 4, Grapes, celery, and cabbage can help you burn fat and lose weight
The truth: There is no scientific proof to confirm that such fruit and vegetables can help you burn fat, despite some of the caffeine-rich food may speed up your metabolic rate in the short term, but this does not mean that it can help you lose weight.
Tips: The best way to lose weight is scientific dietary intake and moderate regular exercise.
Misconception 5, Natural or green products can help you lose weight healthily and effectively
The truth: Most of those claimed to be natural and healthy weight loss products did not undergo a rigorous scientific test. For example, some slimming products containing natural plant extract from the ephedrine. Ephedrine and will cause serious health problems. Other non-ephedrine weight loss products is not safe because they may contain other harmful ingredients.
Misconception 6, No need to control food intake for natural weight loss
The truth: To lose weight, you have to ensure that the calorie intake lower than the expenditure of calories (calories that are burned during base metabolism and physical activity). Eat whatever you take does not affect the weight loss effect. But you must not eat too much, also meanwhile take some moderate exercise.
The truth: Select low-calorie food as much as possible. If you can not stand the food temptations can not help, taste a little to satisfy your appetite.
Misconception 7, Low-fat food or food with no fat and calorie
The truth: Low-fat food does contain lower quality of calories that those contained in the high-fat food. But there’re exceptions, and some low-fat foods have equivalent quality of calories, or even more. As they may add a lot of sugar.
Tips: Before buying food, check the ingredients list to see if large amount of calories is contained.
Misconception 8, Fast food is unhealthy, step away from them if you want to lose weight
The truth: As long as you have tricks, fast food may help obesity treatment.
Tips: Do not eat large packages of snack food, and share with friends. Never drink coke, boiled water or low-fat milk. Choose some fruit and vegetable salad, and roasting food, for instance, chicken sandwiches or small Hamburg. Fried dishes, for example, French cooking, fried chicken, etc., are usually very high in concentrations of fat and calories, so do not eat often. If you really want to eat, invite a friend to enjoy and share the food.
Misconception 9, Reducing meals can help losing weight
The truth: Research shows that those who do not eat breakfast every day and have small meals have more possibility to get fat than those who adhere to having breakfast and regular meals. Often and little eating helps curb your appetite. Less meals will only make your stomach more greedy and you eat much more in very meal.
Tips: More meals a day, less eating in a meal. Take low-fat and green food.
Misconception 10, Eating after 8 pm will make the body gain weight
The truth: The primary cause of getting fat is not because you eat in an inappropriate time. It’s because your caloric intake is more than your caloric expenditure. Only excessive food intake will make the body gain weight.
Tips: If you want to eat something before bed, think about what you’ve eaten that day and whether these foods have met the energy needs. Avoid having snacks while watching TV, this will only make you eat more without any notice.
Misconception 11, Low-starch and high-protein food structure is conducive to weight loss
The truth: The long term health effect with high-protein low-starch diet on the human body remains to be researched. But eating high-protein foods such as eggs, meat, cheese, etc., along will cause nutritional imbalance. At the same time, this may also result in excessive intake of fat and cholesterol, increase the incidence of cardiovascular disease risk. Meanwhile, it is easy to trigger constipation without having vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain food. In addition, long-term intake of protein only will have side effects including nausea and fatigue weakness. Daily intake of less than 130 grams of starch will increase the blood ketone concentration in the human body, and results in high uric acid levels, causes kidney stones and gout.
Tips: Weight loss with high-protein diet by limiting the body’s calorie intake will be effective in a short term. But eating grains, fruits and vegetables are necessary for your health.
Misconception 12, Seed food is rich in fat and should be avoided
The truth: Seed plants such as peanuts and sunflower are rich in fat, but also contain a number of unsaturated fatty acids, e.g. linoleic acid and linolenic acid which are of great benefit to the human health. Seed plants are also rich in protein, dietary fiber, a variety of minerals.
Tips: Moderate consumption of seed food is conducive to health. But keep in mind seeds in amount of a third of small bowl contain 270 calories.
Misconception 13, Meat is not good for health and weight loss
Truth: It is a part of a healthy diet plan to eat a small amount of meat. Chicken, pork, and fish contain some nutrients for human body, for instance protein, iron, zinc, and etc. Although they contain certain amount of cholesterol and saturated fatty acids.
Tips: Choose lean meat, such as steak. pay attention to the amount of meat (2-3 ounces are enough)
Misconception 14, Fat-rich dairy products are harmful for health
The truth: Low-fat or skimmed, yogurt, and cheese are rich in nutrients as those in whole milk, but contain less fat and calories. They are rich in protein and calcium, as well as vitamin D, which’re beneficial for muscle and bone health.
Tips: Those with 9-18 years of age and people over the age of 50 should take three servings of dairy products everyday, and people of 19-49 years of age need to drink two servings of dairy products a day (a glass of milk or yogurt, 1.5 ounces of natural cheese, or 2 ounces of processed cheese)
If you have lactose intolerance syndrome, you can choose the low-lactose products or other foods equally rich in calcium and vitamin D, for example, enhanced fruit juices, soy milk beverages, or tofu.
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Comment by Randy on 2 November 2008:
This article is almost too full of truth for most folks to tolerate. A firm grasp of these misconceptions and their answers, along with thoughtful awareness of body image vs actual health, will keep almost anyone healthy. I pity those that say this is too simple to be true. Good job and thank you!
Comment by Kitty on 8 November 2008:
Can you elaborate more on how can fast food be a treatment for obesity.
Comment by Chen Yaoming on 9 November 2008:
Tips: Apart from the regular 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, such as walking and jogging, you can also do strenuous exercise 2 to 3 time a week, such as weightlifting, pull stretch, sit-ups, push-ups, and etc.
Regarding your tips above, the exercises you suggest are good, but what about swimming? Would it burn as much calories or more – after a swim, I can feel my stomach empty? Doing the above strenuous exercise is not so comfortable, especially during a hot day. I rather enjoy taking a swim in the cool of the water than to sweat it out in the gym.
Comment by sassix on 27 November 2008:
I do second Yaoming. Sweating in gym is not my cup of tea.
What about swimming ?
Or cycling for long stretch (say for 17-20KM/day with an average speed of 18-20KM/Hour ?
Comment by JHH on 16 December 2008:
What about not being so focused on weight and what the scale says. I have a girlfriend who is obsessed with the fact that after gaining some weight and then deciding to excersize to loose it, she started working out and gained a few pounds and was so concerned with this rather than trying to build up her routine and get into a habit that it is interfering with her thought process on how to stay healhier and more fit. Couldnt it be that she gained some muscle 1st because she needs to build up the muscles to do the excersize required to burn off the weight she has gained? And if this is the case, I think that more and more women should be informed not to be so affected and discouraged by what the scale says every day! The bottom line should be if you are working out and staying active as well as trying to eat right it doesnt matter if your weight fluctuates because there are more variables to it than just the scale saying you weigh less. Just because you weigh less doesnt mean you lost fat (it could have been muscle if you arent active) and vise versa. Any comments?