4 Weight loss myths, Part II.
Myth 4 : Those fad diets.
One of the worst weight loss myths is one that many, many people fall for and then can't figure out why they can't maintain a proper weight or even that they end up getting less healthy than when they started out.
Despite all the evidence compiled against it, people still think that a fad diet can help them achieve their goals quickly and easily. The problem with diet fads is that they never involve a balanced, healthy diet and are close to impossible to stick with over the long term.
Fad diets almost always limit you to a severely restrictive caloric intake or forbid whole groups of foods. Both of these types of fad diet are very unhealthy for more than a few days at a time. Not only do fad diets not provide the nutrition necessary to allow the body to function properly, some can actually be quite dangerous. Severely restricted low calorie intake can actually result in a weight gain in time as the body will go into survival mode. Once in survival mode, the body will slow the metabolic rate in order to conserve energy because it thinks you are literally starving!
High protein/low carbohydrate diet...
One of the most popular versions of a modern fad diet is the high protein, low carbohydrate diet. I'm sure you have heard versions of this as there are several on the market right now.
This type of diet focuses on eating most of your calories from protein sources such as meat, dairy and eggs while limiting the intake of foods high in carbohydrates like fruits, certain vegetables and grains.
The high protein/low carb diet has two major problems with it. One that is uncomfortable but not necessarily insurmountable is that this type of diet cuts most of the “comfort” foods and ends up making people feel deprived and depressed. It takes a lot of willpower to stick to a diet that makes you feel like that. The other problem is even worse, though - this type of diet can have drastic long term health effects.
Carbohydrates are what the body uses for energy so dieters following this type of plan often will feel tired and logy throughout the day. Protein and the accompanying fats produce more waste than carbohydrates so the kidneys have to work harder than they should in order to clear the toxins from the body. This can lead to dehydration as the kidneys process these toxins through the water in your body. As you become dehydrated, it leads to headaches, nausea and light-headedness. This cycle escalates as time goes on and a person can end up hospitalized with severe dehydration or even kidney failure.
Conclusion :
The only way to lose weight in a safe and healthy manner is to follow a balanced diet with foods from all of the five major food groups. A healthy weight loss goal should be no more than 2-3 pounds lost per week. Of course, exercise is an important part of any weight loss plan as it will help your body boost metabolic action to burn more calories. The key is to burn more calories than you take in - that's what creates healthy weight loss.
