by Katarzyna Radzka

Created on: August 20, 2010

With so many diets available on the market it’s no surprise that there are also many diet myths that are responsible for sabotaging your diet. False information that you take as fact is often doing you more damage than good and then you wonder why it’s so difficult to lose the flab.

Diet myth #1 – Low fat is better

Not necessarily. Many people who consume low fat products tend to consume a lot more of them because they are under the assumption that ‘low fat’ means permission to indulge. It doesn’t. If you want to get the most of our low fat products you need to stick to small portion sizes just like you would with full fat products. Low fat, skim, trim, or reduced fat doesn’t meant that you can go for double the size. If you do than you are wasting your time dieting.

Diet myth #2 – If you exercise you can eat what you want

Another lie that stops you from seeing the results that you’re after. Your diet is responsible for about 70% of your weight loss success while exercise for only about 30%. That means that it’s extremely important what you consume even if you are spending two hours at the gym every day. Besides if you are getting lots of strenuous exercise you want to supply your body with the right nutrition to maintain energy levels and avoid depleting muscles.

Diet myth #3 – Diet soft drinks are okay

They aren’t. They may be lower in fat but they still contain sugar. If you’re craving a sugary drink you’ll be better of drinking a half glass of cola than a bottle of the diet stuff.

Diet myth #4 – You can’t cheat

Cheating is a part of every successful diet plan. Why? Because it doesn’t make you feel like you’re on a diet. Having a cheat meal once a week is going to help you stick to your healthy eating plan for longer than if you’re constantly depriving yourself. That means that even if you allow yourself a slice of cake or dinner at your favorite restaurant you will still be on track to losing weight.

Diet myth #5 – Diets will help you lose weight permanently

They won’t. Most diets are short term fixes that can not be sustained for extended periods of time. Can you imagine never eating carbohydrates again? Or living solely of cabbage or apples? I didn’t think so. Food is meant to be enjoyed. The only diet that you want to go on is the one that can last a lifetime and ensure that you get enough vitamins, minerals and calories to sustain energy levels throughout the day without gaining weight.

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