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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Silly Diet Myths That You Still Might Be Falling For

As you go about your fat loss diet plan that aims to help you shed those last few pesky pounds while helping to enhance your overall level of health, you have to take caution with all the information that you come across.

Some people come to believe rather silly myths that significantly hold them back from seeing the results that they deserve.

If you’re someone who is looking to maximize your results, you won’t want to miss the following. If you currently believe any of these diet myths, it’s time to set the record straight for yourself once and for all so that you aren’t faltering in your progress.

Diet Myth #1: Anything You Eat Before Bed Converts Straight To Body Fat

The first myth that never seems to die out is the myth that eating before bed automatically spells weight gain.

To help see the light with this myth, ask yourself whether the body stops functioning at 10pm? Obviously it doesn’t – your body is carrying out processes regardless of the hour, whether it’s digestion based processes, cell regeneration based processes, or simply making sure that your heart keeps beating.

Each of these tasks is going to require fuel for energy, therefore your calorie burn doesn’t stop when the clock strikes 10.  While you definitely don’t want to sit down to a high-calorie feast minutes before you go to bed, a light snack does not mean you’ll pack on the pounds.

Just make sure to include it in your total daily calorie target and you’ll be on track to great results.  It’s only when the foods you eat before bed put you way above your calorie target that problems will occur.

Diet Myth #2: Eating Carbs And Fats Together Causes Rapid Weight Gain

Second, another diet myth that seems to be spread around quite frequently is that eating fats and carbs together will lead to fast weight gain.  Again, this isn’t the case.

While you will have to balance both out and make sure that you aren’t overeating in calories, eating both these nutrients at the same meal isn’t going to cause fat gain itself.  In fact, adding some healthy fats to the carbohydrates you eat can reduce the blood spike you experience, so this can help you maintain more stable blood sugar levels and keep hunger down.

Just be sure to choose healthy forms of carbs and fats and you’re fine having them together in the same meal. They really aren’t enemies.

Diet Myth #3: Certain Foods Have ‘Negative’ Calories

Moving along, the third diet myth that you must make sure that you take into account is the myth that certain foods have ‘negative’ calories.

Some people come to believe that some foods cause the body to burn off more calories chewing them than what they provide.

While some foods that are so low in calories may come close (celery and cucumbers would be a good example), you’ll never net a negative calorie balance.

Any food that you eat will contribute some degree of calorie value to your diet, but this does vary widely based on the food in question.

Fruits and vegetables tend to have the lowest calorie values since these foods are composed of so much water.

Diet Myth #4: Skipping Food Before And After Exercise Makes You Burn Fat Faster

The fourth diet myth to note is the myth that skipping eating before and after your workout session is a great way to guarantee your fat loss success.

Again, not so.  Think about it this way.  What time period in the day does your body need the most energy?

Obviously right before and after your workout session. So would it make any sense to avoid eating at this point? Don’t you think you might just do more harm than good by doing so?

The fact of the matter is that whether or not you lose body fat comes down to your total calorie balance at the end of the day, not when you create a calorie deficit.

You’re far better off fueling your hard-working body before and after your workout and cutting back on food at later points during the day as necessary to create the calorie deficit you need.

Do this and you’ll see far greater overall results.  Doing a workout with no food inside you is a fast recipe for less than optimal performance – not to mention the fact you may even to start to feel faint and light-headed.

Diet Myth #5: You Must Eat The Exact Same Number Of Calories Each And Every Day

The final diet myth that you need to make sure that you’re aware of is the myth that you must consume the exact same number of calories each and every day.  Far too many people get caught up in this myth because they figure that by doing so, they can guarantee they see the fastest rate of weight loss possible.

While it is true that you do want to keep your calories down low enough on a day-to-day basis, the odd higher calorie day added into the mix is a very smart diet strategy.

When you use a very low-calorie diet for days and days on end, the metabolism does tend to slow down and this can cause a stall in progress.

By boosting your calorie intake up for a day, you send a strong signal to the body that it can speed up again, and this can jump-start your fat loss results.

If you’re ever facing a weight loss plateau, this is one very great way to get past it.  A high calorie day can often do more good than most people realize.

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