Are you sick and tired of sifting through all the contradictory information about weight loss? Are you determined to drop those extra pounds, and do it the right way? Well read on and discover the truth behind popular weight loss myths. The facts are shocking!
With so many self proclaimed ‘weight loss’ guru’s around – how is one to know fact from fiction? Could it be true? Eating cabbage soup for 100 days straight will finally get you ready for bikini body season? We all wish it was that easy.
The age old truth that trumps all weight loss myths, “…if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.”
If you are looking for a quick way to lose weight and feel great, there really isn’t any. Long term weight-loss involves dedicated effort, a whole lot of knowledge and ‘oodles’ of patience.
Here are some helpful insights that may help you finally achieve that fantastically fit body you’ve always dreamed of.
1. Keep Hydrated
When did running with a garbage bag on turn into a weight loss trend? Of course it works – however, once you re-hydrate, all that weight pops right back on. Not to mention, causing the body to achieve a point of dehydration is very risky. Some health experts recommend consuming at least 2-3 liters of water per day for optimum weight-loss benefits. And that doesn’t include the water in your morning coffee either!
Ditch the dehydration and drink up some fresh filtered water many times throughout the day. This will help you drop unnecessary water retention weight, clear skin and hopefully brighten the dimmest of moods.
2. Eat More Fat
There are many ‘fad’ diets claiming that eating fat is the way to go. However, there are too many health risks associated with ‘high fat’. Is it worth the risk? There is a great article about the carb vs fat debate. Two twin brothers, who are also Doctors, decide to have a weight loss challenge bet. One eats a high fat low carb diet, the other eats a high carb, super low fat diet. The results are amazing. Click here to read more about what they discovered. To summarize, drastically limiting carbohydrates was no fun, and a low carb diet was very restricting. They suggest keeping a nice balanced diet for optimum weight loss results.
3. Push Past Your Max
High Intensity Interval Training is a super effective exercise program for people seeking long term weight loss results. However, there are a growing number of body injury reports linked to this ‘push it past your max’ fitness regime. As with all exercise programs, listen to the body – you only have one!
4. Starve Yourself
If you have tried ‘crash diets’ before, you will know how much they don’t work. At first, you lose weight fast, however, after trashing your metabolism for a few weeks the weight piles back on, you get depressed and start eating regularly again.
Usually, people who restrict calories (aka. starve themselves) eventually gain weight, or develop unhealthy eating habits, similar to eating disorders. As mentioned above, practicing a balance lifestyle and finding whole, healthy nutritious meals that help the body, not hinder its performance, is going to demonstrate the best ‘long term’ weight loss results. Another healthy habit which will help you steer away from starvation is to stop thinking about ‘losing weight’ and focus on ‘feeling great’.
5. Yoga Is For Lean People
There may be many people who practice yoga on a regular basis who are lean, but they didn’t all start out that way. Taking a Yoga class once is certainly not going to offer a ‘complete body transformation’. Yoga is a lifestyle choice. If practiced daily for years, the lean body results will arrive sooner or later. Unless you are snacking on donuts and deep fried goodies between poses….
6. Being Overweight Is Healthy
Although Meghan Trainor’s song “All About The Bass” has a catchy beat, and parts of the lyrics describe the importance of self love and ultimate acceptance, there is a slight hint of body shaming for skinny people. Not to mention the fact that it ‘up plays’ how sexy it is to have some ‘b-ass’. Unfortunately, with the rapid number of overweight youth in the first world societies, mainstream media needs to acknowledge that being overweight is not exactly healthy. Click here to read more about the health risks of being overweight.
7. Avoid Fruit At All Costs
Somewhere down the line, real fruit became a weightloss enemy. As processed foods take over our grocery stores; there needs to be greater emphasis on the weight loss benefits of eating whole, natural, unprocessed foods – including fruit. Look at Freelee the Banana Girl who swears by eating fruit all day, every day. She is a lean mean fruit eating machine!
8. Cover Your Mirror
Rather than covering your mirror – make friends with it. It’s a great idea to limit the amount of time spent in front of the mirror. However, keeping in check with how you think/feel about yourself reflection (literally) is a good thing. A great ‘positive reinforcement’ practice, perfect for weight loss inspiration, is to write on your mirror (or sticky note on mirror) things that you love about your body. Review them every time you look into the mirror.
9. Weigh Yourself Daily
Unless you started your weight loss journey yesterday, you should know weighing yourself every day is not good for ‘weightloss motivation’. The body naturally fluctuates in weight. It can be very depressing watching the scale crawl up and down all the time. Limit your ‘weigh-ins’ to once a month. With a proper diet and exercise program, this will help inspire any weight loss seeker. Especially when you finally see the numbers drop and stay there month after month.
10. Sleep Less to Weigh Less
Check out the following article on how to get a better night’s sleep (9 Ways to Sleep Better Tonight). It has been scientifically proven that people who sleep less actually gain weight. Be sure to fluff that pillow up nice and early this evening if you finally want to reach your dream fit body goals.
There are so many more weight loss myths abound. The best ways to lose weight, feel great, and keep fit for life is – no myths or gimmicks:
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Eat a complete and nutritious diet.
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Exercise regularly.
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Drink more water.
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Sleep in longer.
And most importantly… -
Be Grateful For Life!
Kaeli has always had an infatuation with keeping fit and improving life. Whether it is strength training, endurance building, or self-study research, she has devoted endless hours to them all. Her interest in health started at an early age. From swim competitions to long distance running, she discovered that keeping fit is an integral part of her life. After being diagnosed with... Read More
Barbara Laurie
That was a great tips. Thanks.