The Top 10 Weight-loss Fallacies

By Author: Steven Johnson
Total Articles: 490
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There's nothing worse than putting in lots of time, effort, and money to try to lose weight and getting no results. With that in mind, read about these commons diet myths and fallacies to save your sanity and see what tips do work.

The Low-Carb, High-Protein Diet
This diet can work, but there are a few EXTREMELY IMPORTANT GUIDELINES that you must follow to avoid serious health problems.
1) Eat at least 130 grams of carbohydrates a day. Less can cause problems like gout and kidney stones.
2) Get most of your protein from vegetable sources. Eating a high-protein diet mainly of meats will have adverse affects on your health: high blood pressure, diabetes, hormone problems, and heart disease. Furthermore, you won't get any fiber, which will cause constipation, even higher blood pressure, and a real risk of heart problems. Get protein from beans, nuts, and whole grains to fix this.

Grapefruit, Cabbage, and Celery will make you lose weight
This is simply not true. You will get calories from these foods like any other. There are certain foods that accelerate your metabolism, but these are things ...
... like berries, fruits, and almonds. The only real way to make it easier is to load up on natural whole vitamin sources and perhaps green tea - the caffeine will make your body use more energy in the short-term at least.

Skipping Meals
This will just lower your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight, especially if you are exercising like you should. And never, EVER, skip breakfast. People who eat a well rounded large breakfast are the skinniest and most energetic around. Scientific fact!

Don't Eat at 8 pm
This doesn't make you gain any more weight than eating at any other time. However, it can cause insomnia. It doesn't matter when you get the calories, just that if you have more than you use, you will store them as fat.

Vegetarians lose more weight
This depends. A vegetarian diet is usually healthier, provided you are eating lots of beans, nuts, and lentils, but it can go wrong. For instance, many vegetarians get the majority of their calories from carbohydrates and not from protein.

Just eat lots of salad
This isn't a bad idea, but you have to be smart about it. Really look at the dressing you are using. There is probably a lot of fat and sugar in it.
While leafy greens are fantastic for you, you have to make sure to get more than just lettuce. Pile on the veggies: broccoli and cauliflower. Make a salad work for you. Make it filling. Spinach>Lettuce!!!

Diet Pills make it easy to lose weight
This is rarely true. On any good diet pill, you still have to diet and exercise regularly. For instance, Meridia is a good option for the obese and overweight. The over-the-counter stuff usually just makes you have diarrhea and vomit. You lose a lot of water and become dehydrated. That isn't sustainable or healthy, and you certainly won't look better! Meridia helps you control your intake and make smart choices. Ask your doctor about these diet tips and Meridia.