THE TRUTH ABOUT 5 COMMON DIETING MYTHS
by Anthony Ellis
------------------
For most of its history, our species was subject entirely to the
whims of Mother Nature, especially where diet was concerned. When
the conditions were right, food was plentiful; when they were not,
people starved. As a result, evolution shaped our ancestors'
bodies in such a way that during times of plenty, they were able to
pack on layers of fat to provide them with the sustenance they
needed to get through the lean times.
As humans became adept at mastering their environment, however,
famines grew rare, and the built-up fat reserves often went unused;
our ability to manipulate the environment had outstripped nature's
slow process of adaptation.
Today, obesity is rampant in wealthy nations like the United
States. Particularly hard-hit are those of us of European and
Eastern African extraction, whose ancestors needed bodies that
could efficiently manufacture fat reserves to outlast the periodic
famines. As a result, many of us have become rotund, mostly
because it's hard for us to fight the natural tendencies of our
bodies to accumulate fat. These days, some 55% of Americans are
overweight.
That said, as modern human beings, we don't have to allow nature to
get the upper hand. Being overweight isn't healthy in many
situations, especially for those of us who suffer from
hypertension, diabetes, and heart conditions.
But what's the best way to lose weight?
There are literally thousands of special diets, procedures, dieting
devices, and "miracle pills" out there, all of which promise you
they'll help you get skinnier. Some of them actually work, but how
can you tell which ones? How do you thread your way through the
minefield of dieting on your way to a healthier, slimmer you
without setting off self-destructive behaviors that can sabotage
your dieting efforts?
The answer to that question is this: very carefully.
While glib and a little facetious, it's nonetheless true. Some
things are obviously false or play on wishful thinking; for
example, there's no magic pill, grapefruit or otherwise, that can
melt off the pounds (not yet anyway). Fad diets don't work, and
neither do most of the "scientific" ones you've heard of. Despite
this, Americans are willing to spend more than $33 billion a year
on fad diets and gimmicks, when in fact the most effective dieting
advice boils down to this: "Cut your calorie intake and exercise
regularly."
We all know this is true; it's just difficult to muster the
willpower necessary to face up to such a bald, unlovely statement.
If you're serious, though, you can lose weight and keep it off. The
purpose of this article is to help you along the way as you diet,
by identifying the most common weight-loss myths that can trip you
up during your journey. We've left out the miracle claims and
ridiculous stuff in favor of more reasonable-sounding myths that an
intelligent person might be beguiled by. Let's start with the most
pervasive myth.
--------------
THE MYTH: Skipping meals can help you lose weight faster.
THE REALITY: Wrong.
--------------
It seems logical, just like its corollary ("the fewer calories you
eat, the more weight you'll lose"), but it's not true. The effect
is often the opposite of what you expect. Dieting is based on the
fact that if you burn more calories in a day than you take in, your
body will begin burning fat. While this is true, if you expect to
lose weight effectively, you need to keep eating regular meals,
especially breakfast.
Depriving your body of its necessary fuel causes it to go into
starvation mode; when this happens, your metabolism slows down so
that you can get by on less food. Once your metabolism slows, it
can be hard to bring it back up to speed, and until it speeds up
again, regular eating will just cause you to gain more weight.
It can be a vicious cycle that's hard to break. In addition,
skipping meals can make you feel dizzy and weak, can have
deleterious effects on your cholesterol levels, and can be
extremely dangerous for diabetics.
In short, fasting and crash diets are forms of self-sabotage best
avoided. Besides, eating regularly (and moderately) will make you
less hungry throughout the day, so you're less likely to give in to
your food cravings.
--------------
THE MYTH: You shouldn't eat any starches, because they're fattening.
THE REALITY: This myth is a dangerous one.
--------------
For one thing, it's difficult to completely avoid starches, since
they're a major component of staples like bread, pasta, grains,
fruits, potatoes, corn, and rice. Even if it were possible to cut
out all starches, if you did so you'd be starving your body of the
fuel it absolutely needs in order to function properly. Food
consists of only three basic substances: proteins, fats, and
carbohydrates. Starches are carbohydrates; and carbohydrates,
along with their metabolic products, are your body's basic fuel.
Most of the fuel your body uses comes from a carbohydrate called
glucose. Some glucose you might take in as candy or sodas; some
products, like starches and the carbohydrates in substances like
alcohol, quickly break down into glucose. Glucose is absorbed by
your cells and used to run your bodily processes; any excess is
stored in your liver or converted into fat, where it can be called
upon at need.
If your body lacks carbohydrates and glucose, it'll eventually
start using any fuel source it can find. At first these might be
fat cells, but as they shrink, your body may begin attacking the
protein reserves in your muscles for the fuel it needs. This is a
"last-resort" move generally saved for famine conditions, so if it
happens to you, it's bad news. The message is clear: don't totally
eliminate starches from your diet, or you'll live to regret it. You
can reduce them, by cutting out the excess junk like candy or sodas
or sugar, but don't eliminate all carbs from your diet, they are
needed.
--------------
THE MYTH: Vegetarian diets are healthier than omnivorous diets.
THE REALITY: Not necessarily.
--------------
A diet consisting entirely of corn and French fries, or of bananas
and shredded wheat, can be considered vegetarian, but neither diet
is healthy in the long run. If you're careful, you can get by
just fine on a properly balanced vegetarian diet, but you'll have
to your diet very carefully. Vegetarian diets do tend to be high
and fiber and low in fat, but the fact is that humans evolved as
opportunistic omnivores. That is, our ancestors ate anything they
could get their hands on: greens, tubers, bugs, and the occasional
bit of meat.
The human body evolved to expect a varied diet, one that could
provide all the nutrients it needs in a variety of packages. Meat
was an important part of their diet, perhaps the most important
part because it was so uncommon. Vegetarians must always be sure
that they eat enough protein; protein is easily available in meat,
so few omnivores have to worry about getting enough, but it's
scarce in most plant foods.
Fortunately, nuts, beans, and a few other vegetable products are
ready sources of protein. If you go vegetarian, you'll also need
to be sure you get daily doses of Vitamin B12 and zinc, supplements
often missing in vegetarian diets.
Most people can survive as vegetarians if they're extremely
careful, but it's a constant battle, and guess what? You can be
just as healthy and out-of-shape on a vegetarian diet as you can on
a regular diet, especially if you don't exercise regularly.
--------------
THE MYTH: Sweating is a great way to lose weight.
THE REALITY: It sure is, as long as you're sweaty because you're
exercising.
--------------
Otherwise, all you're doing is losing water weight. Sweating is
extraordinarily effective at doing what it was meant to do: cooling
the body by coating the skin with evaporative fluids.
It was never meant as a way to lose weight. Lose enough water, and
you're toying with dehydration. Even if you don't try to sweat off
several points in one sitting, dehydration can still get you:
progressive dehydration can occur if you fail to rehydrate yourself
sufficiently after every workout. If you get sufficiently
dehydrated, your electrolyte balance will get out of whack, your
cells will be starved of the fluids they need, and you could die.
Not a happy prospect, so avoid it.
For this reason, the old sweatbox and sauna are of no use for
losing real weight. Neither are their modern "high-tech"
equivalents, such as body wraps and plastic sweat suits, no matter
how many people swear by them. All they do is make you thirsty.
Yes, you lose weight: two pounds per quart sweated away. But
that's weight, not fat. And the moment you drink enough water,
you'll gain all that weight back.
--------------
THE MYTH: If it's fat-free, I can eat all I want!
THE REALITY: Here's another myth that's completely off the mark, so
don't fall for it!
--------------
All "fat-free" means is that a particular food has no detectable
fat content. Sadly, however, it's fat and related compounds that
give most foods their flavor. Ice cream, butter, cheese, and a
whole host of non-dairy products, including chocolate, are little
more than specially prepared, congealed fat. When manufacturers
design many fat-free products, such as bread, cookies, ice cream,
and the like, they know these products will be mostly dry and
flavorless without fat.
Some fat substitutes are available, but they can cause
gastrointestinal upset, and most are expensive. This leaves one
common ingredient that manufacturers can use to make their products
taste better: sugar. And they use it liberally, so many fat-free
products are high in calories.
Furthermore, plenty of foods like breads and pasta are low in fat,
but rich in carbohydrates--and we already know what that means.
Carbohydrates break down easily into our friend glucose, which can
result in increased fat when eaten in excess.
You always have to consider calorie and portion size; you're
fooling yourself if you do otherwise, just as completely as if
you've accepted the claims for the latest "fat-burning" pill
advertised on TV. Moderation is the key to dieting success.
WHAT'S NEXT
------------
The dieting myths explored in this article represent just the tip
of the proverbial iceberg. There are thousands of them out there:
some are ridiculous and barely worthy of notice--like the suggestion
that eating standing up helps you lose weight, or that you can base
a diet on your blood type or color of hair--while others are less
obvious, like those discussed here.
Dieting isn't easy and, while it's human nature to look for a
simple solution to a problem, that strategy just won't work in this
case. So heed these hints, and take it easy. Don't skip meals,
keep your diet properly balanced, and exercise regularly. Avoid
all fads, pills, and extravagant claims, because if it sounds too
good to be true...well, you know the rest.
You don't need to lose more than a few pounds before you'll notice
a difference in the way you look and feel. And if you lose only a
few pounds at first, even if you've been at it for a while, so
what? Pick up a five or ten pound bag of flour and carry it around
for a day, and you'll see how quickly you'll get tired of lugging
that excess weight around.
Lose that weight permanently, and you'll never have to drag it
around again.
To get the FACTS on exactly how, what & when to eat and how to
train to achieve maximum fat loss, without losing muscle or slowing
down your metabolism... AND to discover the shocking truth about
the diet, weight loss and supplement industries, Check out Tom
Venuto's e-book online at http://www.fatlosstips.com/burnfat
Sincerely,
Anthony Ellis
FREE TOOLBAR
-------------
Please take a moment to download this great Internet Explorer
fitness toolbar. It contains many of my most helpful fitness links.
Including many research websites I use quite often.
Download it here: http://www.natural-health-and-fitness.com
If you can't access that page, just use this link:
http://www.natural-health-and-fitness.com/fitness_toolbar.exe
This is totally free, and can be extremely helpful. Feel free to
email this link to anyone you feel would enjoy this toolbar. Also,
if you know of any great sites that I have forgotten, please let me
know and I will add them to the toolbar.
WARNING
---------
DO NOT start any fat loss diet or program without tracking your
body fat each week. If you do, you won't know if you are losing fat
or muscle. If you still don't know your body fat, make sure you
download the Composition Tracker Software at
http://www.comptracker.com. It will do all the calculations for
you and allow you to track your composition changes over time.
--- Disclaimer ----
The information contained in this e-mail is strictly for
informational purposes. You should consult a physician before
beginning any new nutrition, exercise, or dietary supplement
program. The information contained in this email are not meant to
provide medical advice. Specific medical advice should be obtained
from a licensed health-care practitioner.
Anthony Ellis, Tom Venuto and Cutting Edge Publishing will not
assume any liability, nor be held responsible for any injury,
illness or personal loss due to the utilization of any information
contained herein.
by Anthony Ellis
------------------
For most of its history, our species was subject entirely to the
whims of Mother Nature, especially where diet was concerned. When
the conditions were right, food was plentiful; when they were not,
people starved. As a result, evolution shaped our ancestors'
bodies in such a way that during times of plenty, they were able to
pack on layers of fat to provide them with the sustenance they
needed to get through the lean times.
As humans became adept at mastering their environment, however,
famines grew rare, and the built-up fat reserves often went unused;
our ability to manipulate the environment had outstripped nature's
slow process of adaptation.
Today, obesity is rampant in wealthy nations like the United
States. Particularly hard-hit are those of us of European and
Eastern African extraction, whose ancestors needed bodies that
could efficiently manufacture fat reserves to outlast the periodic
famines. As a result, many of us have become rotund, mostly
because it's hard for us to fight the natural tendencies of our
bodies to accumulate fat. These days, some 55% of Americans are
overweight.
That said, as modern human beings, we don't have to allow nature to
get the upper hand. Being overweight isn't healthy in many
situations, especially for those of us who suffer from
hypertension, diabetes, and heart conditions.
But what's the best way to lose weight?
There are literally thousands of special diets, procedures, dieting
devices, and "miracle pills" out there, all of which promise you
they'll help you get skinnier. Some of them actually work, but how
can you tell which ones? How do you thread your way through the
minefield of dieting on your way to a healthier, slimmer you
without setting off self-destructive behaviors that can sabotage
your dieting efforts?
The answer to that question is this: very carefully.
While glib and a little facetious, it's nonetheless true. Some
things are obviously false or play on wishful thinking; for
example, there's no magic pill, grapefruit or otherwise, that can
melt off the pounds (not yet anyway). Fad diets don't work, and
neither do most of the "scientific" ones you've heard of. Despite
this, Americans are willing to spend more than $33 billion a year
on fad diets and gimmicks, when in fact the most effective dieting
advice boils down to this: "Cut your calorie intake and exercise
regularly."
We all know this is true; it's just difficult to muster the
willpower necessary to face up to such a bald, unlovely statement.
If you're serious, though, you can lose weight and keep it off. The
purpose of this article is to help you along the way as you diet,
by identifying the most common weight-loss myths that can trip you
up during your journey. We've left out the miracle claims and
ridiculous stuff in favor of more reasonable-sounding myths that an
intelligent person might be beguiled by. Let's start with the most
pervasive myth.
--------------
THE MYTH: Skipping meals can help you lose weight faster.
THE REALITY: Wrong.
--------------
It seems logical, just like its corollary ("the fewer calories you
eat, the more weight you'll lose"), but it's not true. The effect
is often the opposite of what you expect. Dieting is based on the
fact that if you burn more calories in a day than you take in, your
body will begin burning fat. While this is true, if you expect to
lose weight effectively, you need to keep eating regular meals,
especially breakfast.
Depriving your body of its necessary fuel causes it to go into
starvation mode; when this happens, your metabolism slows down so
that you can get by on less food. Once your metabolism slows, it
can be hard to bring it back up to speed, and until it speeds up
again, regular eating will just cause you to gain more weight.
It can be a vicious cycle that's hard to break. In addition,
skipping meals can make you feel dizzy and weak, can have
deleterious effects on your cholesterol levels, and can be
extremely dangerous for diabetics.
In short, fasting and crash diets are forms of self-sabotage best
avoided. Besides, eating regularly (and moderately) will make you
less hungry throughout the day, so you're less likely to give in to
your food cravings.
--------------
THE MYTH: You shouldn't eat any starches, because they're fattening.
THE REALITY: This myth is a dangerous one.
--------------
For one thing, it's difficult to completely avoid starches, since
they're a major component of staples like bread, pasta, grains,
fruits, potatoes, corn, and rice. Even if it were possible to cut
out all starches, if you did so you'd be starving your body of the
fuel it absolutely needs in order to function properly. Food
consists of only three basic substances: proteins, fats, and
carbohydrates. Starches are carbohydrates; and carbohydrates,
along with their metabolic products, are your body's basic fuel.
Most of the fuel your body uses comes from a carbohydrate called
glucose. Some glucose you might take in as candy or sodas; some
products, like starches and the carbohydrates in substances like
alcohol, quickly break down into glucose. Glucose is absorbed by
your cells and used to run your bodily processes; any excess is
stored in your liver or converted into fat, where it can be called
upon at need.
If your body lacks carbohydrates and glucose, it'll eventually
start using any fuel source it can find. At first these might be
fat cells, but as they shrink, your body may begin attacking the
protein reserves in your muscles for the fuel it needs. This is a
"last-resort" move generally saved for famine conditions, so if it
happens to you, it's bad news. The message is clear: don't totally
eliminate starches from your diet, or you'll live to regret it. You
can reduce them, by cutting out the excess junk like candy or sodas
or sugar, but don't eliminate all carbs from your diet, they are
needed.
--------------
THE MYTH: Vegetarian diets are healthier than omnivorous diets.
THE REALITY: Not necessarily.
--------------
A diet consisting entirely of corn and French fries, or of bananas
and shredded wheat, can be considered vegetarian, but neither diet
is healthy in the long run. If you're careful, you can get by
just fine on a properly balanced vegetarian diet, but you'll have
to your diet very carefully. Vegetarian diets do tend to be high
and fiber and low in fat, but the fact is that humans evolved as
opportunistic omnivores. That is, our ancestors ate anything they
could get their hands on: greens, tubers, bugs, and the occasional
bit of meat.
The human body evolved to expect a varied diet, one that could
provide all the nutrients it needs in a variety of packages. Meat
was an important part of their diet, perhaps the most important
part because it was so uncommon. Vegetarians must always be sure
that they eat enough protein; protein is easily available in meat,
so few omnivores have to worry about getting enough, but it's
scarce in most plant foods.
Fortunately, nuts, beans, and a few other vegetable products are
ready sources of protein. If you go vegetarian, you'll also need
to be sure you get daily doses of Vitamin B12 and zinc, supplements
often missing in vegetarian diets.
Most people can survive as vegetarians if they're extremely
careful, but it's a constant battle, and guess what? You can be
just as healthy and out-of-shape on a vegetarian diet as you can on
a regular diet, especially if you don't exercise regularly.
--------------
THE MYTH: Sweating is a great way to lose weight.
THE REALITY: It sure is, as long as you're sweaty because you're
exercising.
--------------
Otherwise, all you're doing is losing water weight. Sweating is
extraordinarily effective at doing what it was meant to do: cooling
the body by coating the skin with evaporative fluids.
It was never meant as a way to lose weight. Lose enough water, and
you're toying with dehydration. Even if you don't try to sweat off
several points in one sitting, dehydration can still get you:
progressive dehydration can occur if you fail to rehydrate yourself
sufficiently after every workout. If you get sufficiently
dehydrated, your electrolyte balance will get out of whack, your
cells will be starved of the fluids they need, and you could die.
Not a happy prospect, so avoid it.
For this reason, the old sweatbox and sauna are of no use for
losing real weight. Neither are their modern "high-tech"
equivalents, such as body wraps and plastic sweat suits, no matter
how many people swear by them. All they do is make you thirsty.
Yes, you lose weight: two pounds per quart sweated away. But
that's weight, not fat. And the moment you drink enough water,
you'll gain all that weight back.
--------------
THE MYTH: If it's fat-free, I can eat all I want!
THE REALITY: Here's another myth that's completely off the mark, so
don't fall for it!
--------------
All "fat-free" means is that a particular food has no detectable
fat content. Sadly, however, it's fat and related compounds that
give most foods their flavor. Ice cream, butter, cheese, and a
whole host of non-dairy products, including chocolate, are little
more than specially prepared, congealed fat. When manufacturers
design many fat-free products, such as bread, cookies, ice cream,
and the like, they know these products will be mostly dry and
flavorless without fat.
Some fat substitutes are available, but they can cause
gastrointestinal upset, and most are expensive. This leaves one
common ingredient that manufacturers can use to make their products
taste better: sugar. And they use it liberally, so many fat-free
products are high in calories.
Furthermore, plenty of foods like breads and pasta are low in fat,
but rich in carbohydrates--and we already know what that means.
Carbohydrates break down easily into our friend glucose, which can
result in increased fat when eaten in excess.
You always have to consider calorie and portion size; you're
fooling yourself if you do otherwise, just as completely as if
you've accepted the claims for the latest "fat-burning" pill
advertised on TV. Moderation is the key to dieting success.
WHAT'S NEXT
------------
The dieting myths explored in this article represent just the tip
of the proverbial iceberg. There are thousands of them out there:
some are ridiculous and barely worthy of notice--like the suggestion
that eating standing up helps you lose weight, or that you can base
a diet on your blood type or color of hair--while others are less
obvious, like those discussed here.
Dieting isn't easy and, while it's human nature to look for a
simple solution to a problem, that strategy just won't work in this
case. So heed these hints, and take it easy. Don't skip meals,
keep your diet properly balanced, and exercise regularly. Avoid
all fads, pills, and extravagant claims, because if it sounds too
good to be true...well, you know the rest.
You don't need to lose more than a few pounds before you'll notice
a difference in the way you look and feel. And if you lose only a
few pounds at first, even if you've been at it for a while, so
what? Pick up a five or ten pound bag of flour and carry it around
for a day, and you'll see how quickly you'll get tired of lugging
that excess weight around.
Lose that weight permanently, and you'll never have to drag it
around again.
To get the FACTS on exactly how, what & when to eat and how to
train to achieve maximum fat loss, without losing muscle or slowing
down your metabolism... AND to discover the shocking truth about
the diet, weight loss and supplement industries, Check out Tom
Venuto's e-book online at http://www.fatlosstips.com/burnfat
Sincerely,
Anthony Ellis
FREE TOOLBAR
-------------
Please take a moment to download this great Internet Explorer
fitness toolbar. It contains many of my most helpful fitness links.
Including many research websites I use quite often.
Download it here: http://www.natural-health-and-fitness.com
If you can't access that page, just use this link:
http://www.natural-health-and-fitness.com/fitness_toolbar.exe
This is totally free, and can be extremely helpful. Feel free to
email this link to anyone you feel would enjoy this toolbar. Also,
if you know of any great sites that I have forgotten, please let me
know and I will add them to the toolbar.
WARNING
---------
DO NOT start any fat loss diet or program without tracking your
body fat each week. If you do, you won't know if you are losing fat
or muscle. If you still don't know your body fat, make sure you
download the Composition Tracker Software at
http://www.comptracker.com. It will do all the calculations for
you and allow you to track your composition changes over time.
--- Disclaimer ----
The information contained in this e-mail is strictly for
informational purposes. You should consult a physician before
beginning any new nutrition, exercise, or dietary supplement
program. The information contained in this email are not meant to
provide medical advice. Specific medical advice should be obtained
from a licensed health-care practitioner.
Anthony Ellis, Tom Venuto and Cutting Edge Publishing will not
assume any liability, nor be held responsible for any injury,
illness or personal loss due to the utilization of any information
contained herein.
