The desire to lose weight seems like a healthy goal, but it’s misguided. Your true goal should be better health and a fit lifestyle.
Millions of folks strive to lose weight each year, especially when the new year is just around the corner. Along with an increase in ads pushing common weight loss myths, you’ll see fitness centers come alive with activity and gym memberships soar in numbers.
Untangling three of the most popular weight loss myths can help explain why focusing on losing pounds rather than embracing a healthier lifestyle often ends in failure. In fact, following these weight loss myths can actually end in weight gain.
Myth 1: No More Carbs
If you begin your journey toward better health by depriving yourself of foods you’ve loved for years, you will feel deprived. This starts a difficult mental process that could cause you to lose weight and gain resentment. Ultimately, it will end in rebounding and gaining back what you lost.
Instead, think “moderation” and “modification.”
Modify your drink choice from sodas or sweetened tea—choose bottled water instead. Water has awesome benefits for your body.
If you give yourself 10 minutes a day to pack a small cooler with grapes, small cheese cubes, or a power lunch, you’ll find yourself less inclined to wait around in the seemingly endless fast food drive-through.
Choose carbs made with whole grains and avoid highly processed carbohydrates and snacks made with refined sugars. Buy organic when you can.
Myth 2: Detox for Weight Loss
There isn’t much evidence that dietary cleanses lead to weight loss. For most folks, their liver and kidneys will do a fine job of filtering out what the body doesn’t need.
Drinking water regularly is a natural way to detox the body, because it helps the kidneys and colon move waste out. You can also enjoy a nice cup of green tea for its natural antioxidants, rather than a “detox tea.”
Never rely on supplements to remove toxins, either. High-fiber foods, plenty of water, and less refined/processed foods will detox sufficiently and effectively.
Myth 3: Less Calories, More Exercise
In theory, eating less and exercising more should result in weight loss. In reality, it often leads to only temporary weight loss and even insufficient nutrition. The biggest problem with this weight loss myth is that eating less calories and exercising more is an enormous challenge for folks who have had a longtime battle with weight gain. In addition to eating less and exercising more, there are psychological hurdles they must overcome. Doctors at the Nutrition Science Initiative in San Diego feel the focus should rather be on what we eat instead of how much we eat.
These three weight loss myths perpetuate wrong approaches to healthy living, providing misguided promises of easy and fast weight loss. The professionals at Cause and Effects Fitness can help you focus on living healthy and getting fit the right way. Contact us to learn more about how we can work together to improve your fitness and nutrition habits.