Weight loss myths

Myth: Fad diets work for permanent weight loss.
FACT: Fad diets are not the best way to lose weight and keep it off. Fad diets oftern promise quick weight loss or tell you to cut certain foods out from your diet. You may lose weight at first on one of these diets. But diets that strictly limit calories or food choices are hard to follow. Most people quickly get tired of them and regain any lost weight. Furthermore, fad diets may be unhealthy because they may not provide all the nutrients your body needs.
TIP: Research suggests that losing 1/2 to 2 pounds a week by making healthy food choices, eating moderate portions, and building physical activity into your daily life is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. By adopting healthy eating and physical activity habits, you may also lower you risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Myth: Certain foods, like grapefruit, celery, or cabbage soup, can burn fat and make you lose weight.
FACT: No foods can burn fat. Some foods with caffeine may speed up your metabolism (the way your body uses energy, or calories) for a short time, but they do not cause weight loss.
TIP: The best way to lose weight is to cut back on the number of calories you eat and be more physically active.

Myth: Natural or herbal weight-loss products are safe and effective.
FACT: A weight-loss product that claims to be "natural" or "herlbal" is not necessarily safe. These products are not usually scientifically tested to prove that they are safe or that they work.
TIP: Talk with your health care provider before using any weight-loss product. Some natural or herbal weight-loss products can be harmful.

Myth: Low-fat or fat-free means no calories.
FACT: A low-fat or fat-free food is often lower in calories that a full-fat product in the same size portion. But many processed low-fat or fat-free foods have just as many calories as the full fat version of the same food. They may contain added sugar, flour, or starch thickeners to improve flavor and texture adter fat is removed. These ingridients add calories.
TIP: Read the Nutrition Facts on a food package to find out how many calories are in a serving. Check the serving size too, it may be less that you are used to eating.

Myth: Fast foods are always an unhealthy choice and you should not eat them when dieting.
FACT: Fast foods can be part of a healtyh weight-loss program with a little bit of know-how.
TIP: Avoid supersize combo meals, or split one with a friend. Sip on water or fat-free milk instead of soda. Choose salads and grilled foods, like a grilled chicken breasts sandwich or small hamburger. Fried foods, like french fries and fried chicken, are high in fat and calories, so order them only once in a while, order a small portion, or split an order with a friend. Also, use only small amounts of high-fat, high calorie toppings, like regular mayonnaise, salad dressings, bacon, and cheese.

Myth: Dairy products are fattening and unhealthy.
FACT: Low-fat and fat-free milk, yogurt, and cheese are just as nutritious as whole milk dairy products, but they are lower in fat and calories. Dairy products have many nutrients your body needs. They offer protien to build muscles and help organs work properly, and calcium to strengthen bones. Most milks and some yogurts are fortified with vitamin D to help your body use calcium.
TIP: If you connot digest lactose (sugar found in dairy products) choose low-lactose or lactose-free dairy products, or other foods and beverages that offer calcium and vitamin D (listed below)
- Calcium: soy-based beverages or tofu made with calcium sulfate; canned salmon; dark leafy greens like collards or kale
- vitamin D: soy-based beverage or tofu cereal (getting some sunlight on your skin also gives you a small amount of vitamin D)

Myth: "Going vegetarian" means you are sure to lose weight and be healthier.
FACt: Research shows that people who follow a vegetarian eating plan, on average, eat fewer calories and less fat than non-vegetarians. They also tend to have lower body weights relative to their heigths than non-vegetarians. Choosing a vegetarian eating plan ith a low-fat content may be helpful for weight loss. But vegetarians can also make food choices that contribute to weight gain, like eating large amount of high0fat, high-calorie foods or foods with little or not nutritional value.
Vegetarian diets should be as carefully planned as non-vegeratian diets to make sure they are balanced. Nutrients that non-vegetarians normally get from animal products, but that are not always found in a vegeratian eating plan, are iron, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, zinc, and protien.
TIP: Choose a vegetarian eating plan that is low in fat and that provides all of the nutrients your body needs. Food and beverage sources of nutrients that may be lacking in a vegetarian diet are listed below.
-Iron: cashew, spinach, lentils, fortified bread or cereal
-Calcium: dairy products, fortified soy-based beverages, tofu made with calcium sulfate, collard greens, broccoli
-vitamin D: fortified foods and beverages including milk, soy-based bevarages, or cereal
-Vitamin B12: eggs, dairy products, fortified cereal or soy-based beverages, tempeh, miso (tempe and miso are foods are made from soybeans)
-Zinc: whole graines (especially the germ and bran of the grain), nuts, tofu, leafy vegetables (spinach, cabbage, lettuce)
-Protien: eggs, dairy products, beans, peas, nuts, seeds, tofu, tempeh, soy-based burgers

The Sloane Clinic Guide To Successful Weight Loss
http://www.sloaneclinic.com/