Top Weight Loss Myths

With over 60% of the population in the United States being overweight (with similar figures in other developed countries), it’s no wonder that weight loss is such a central and popular topic in our society today.

With hundreds of diet books and weight loss programs published every year and with thousands of websites devoted to this issue, it’s no wonder that the average person may feel overwhelmed by the amount of information (and disinformation) that surrounds us.

Information is usually a good thing and the more we have, the more educated we are. However, in the diet field, it seems like there’s as much wrong information as right one and we need to be careful before we rush to believe just everything that we hear or read.

In this article, I want to expose some of the more commonly believed weight loss myths and lay them to rest so that you can finally begin to do the right things… and the right things only for your body, your health, and your weight.

Make sure to read this article through. Don’t feel bad if you see that you yourself have fallen for some of these myths. It happens to everyone and the important thing is that you’ll leave this article with a better understanding of what doesn’t really work for fat loss.


Myth #1 – Spot Fat Reduction

One of the biggest weight loss myths is the one  involving spot fat reduction. This is the belief that by training a specific body part, you can burn off fat from that body part in particular. This myth is so common because it’s logical. After all, if you train your abs, it stands to reason that you will burn belly fat, doesn’t it?

While this may seem logical, the truth is that our body operates in a different way. It burns fat off as one complete unit. It doesn’t care which body part you trained. You lose fat from your various body parts according to your genetics. While there are some ways to burn more fat specifically, as the Final Phase Fat Loss program shows, for the most part, spot fat reduction is false. What’s worse is that it’s the basis of too many useless exercise products to count, mainly those that work the abs.


Myth #2 – All Fat Is Bad

While the purpose of dieting is to lose fat, it doesn’t mean that you need to treat fat as the enemy. Your body needs fat to function properly. It is one of the main nutrients that you simply must have in adequate amount each and every day.

The truth is that not all fat is bad. You simply have to get your fat calories from the right sources such as olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, and fish. Eating good fat will not make you fat (if you don’t overdo it, of course). It can actually help you lose fat as well as lower cholesterol and have other health benefits. In addition, the good fat will help you avoid eating the wrong fat calories, those that are harder to burn.

Fat is not to be avoided. Fat loss nutrition plans such as the 7 Day Belly Blast Diet, for instance, include plenty of it in their eating plans.


Myth #3 – Cutting calories way down will help me lose weight

This is one of the most destructive diet myths there are. Cutting your calories dramatically may indeed get you to lose weight… for the short run. In the long run, this will lead to weight gain.

Our body doesn’t react to calorie deprivation as we want it too. It reacts by slowing down our metabolism to burn less calories and help preserve our fat stores for longer. This is a survival mechanism which has evolved within us.

When you cut your calories too much, you risk metabolic slowdown which makes it harder to continue losing weight. As you can’t keep your calories down forever, your slow metabolism will likely lead to weight gain once you start eating normally again.


Myth #4 – Cardio is best for weight loss

While doing cardio workout can be good for weight loss, focusing only on these type of workouts can be counterproductive. The myth that cardio is the best form of exercise for weight loss has been discounted by many fitness experts such as Craig Ballantyne, for instance.

Strength training can be just as effective as cardio and even more so as the muscle tissue strength training helps to develop boosts your metabolism and helps you to burn more calories faster than ever before. The truth is that a combination of strength and cardio workouts is best for weight loss.


Myth #5 – There are foods that will melt away the fat

This myth rises again and again, always with a different kind of food. Sometimes it’s grapefruit, bananas, or eggs. At other times it’s some sort of berry. The reality is that while some foods can boost your metabolism a bit, you can’t expect to lose weight just by eating one specific food. It simply doesn’t work that way. You need to have a balanced diet rich with nutrients to achieve a long term and healthy weight loss.

Myth #6 – Detoxing is the key to weight loss

While some detox diets have excellent testimonials and a long track record of success. It is important to note that you can’t stay on such a diet for more than a few days at a time. Therefore, any long term and meaningful weight loss will have to include a more traditional diet and workout program. Detoxification may be useful as a way to jump-start your weight loss process but it can’t be the only way to do so. It will simply not work alone.

That being said, for a short term and big weight loss, these kinds of diets can work. One of the most well known ones is the Master Cleanse Secrets program.

In Conclusion

As you can see, there are many myths that you need to watch out for when trying to lose weight. Don’t believe everything you read or see on TV. Do some research before you buy any product that you don’t know enough about.

Above all, stay motivated. You can lose weight. It’s entirely up to you to try things and to learn from them.