When it comes to dieting and weight loss, there are as many plans, pills, liquids and devices as there are people who want to lose weight. Most dieters will tell you they have tried everything on the market and are sure this latest one will work. The truth of the matter is the only way to lose weight safely, consistently and keep it off is to eat less food than your body needs to maintain the weight you are currently at. This means that as you shed some pounds, you will need to adjust your food intake to keep the same rate of loss. Let’s take a look at some of the most common dieting myths.
Fad Diets
If you just look at the first word, “fad,” it should tell you something. If the diet did in fact work, and keep the weight off for long after you have stopped the plan, it would not be just a fad. You may lose a good deal of weight when you follow the restrictions imposed by a fad diet. It would be hard NOT to slim down when you only eat rice and grapefruit or 800 calories a day. The problem is, you are not going to do that for the rest of your life. A diet needs to be something you can live with.
Diet Pills or Liquids
Using a pill or liquid to lose weight can be hazardous to your health. Anything that is going to speed up your metabolism is also speeding up your heart rate. If you are obese, odds are pretty good you should not be doing anything that could damage your heart. Some supplements are used only to make you feel full and therefore eat less. If you are obese, odds are pretty good you do not stop eating just because you feel full. While taking things that give you a full feeling will not necessarily do any real damage, it won’t really stop you from over eating either.
Limiting One or More of the Food Groups Results in Fast, Healthy Weight Loss
Your body needs all the different food groups. The dietary guidelines tell you how much of each group you should eat every day. If you are adjusting how much you eat, you need to adjust proportionately across all the groups to remain healthy and able to keep the weight off once you have reached your goal. Anytime you restrict or stop eating one whole group, you are also depriving your body of the nutrients it requires for building, repairing and energy.
Natural Weight Loss Supplements Are Safe
Considering some of the most potent drugs used by man are natural, it is easy to say that natural does not mean safe. Anytime you take any type of supplement you need to be aware of what it does to your body. Ephedra, digitalis, opium, marijuana, hemlock, belladonna and peyote are all naturally occurring. Many of the natural supplements used for weight loss are stimulants. In a different form, they may be used as street drugs. In most cases, they are not strong enough to be classified as a narcotic, but used enough they can damage your heart, kidneys and liver.
It may be boring, it may not have you losing 10 pounds in a week, but to truly shed the pounds you need to be healthy take it slow and steady. Remember, the tortoise wins the race.
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