By Lura Peterson

I have a friend who believed a particular weight loss myth. He stuck to a diet, where he ate just once a day. Yes, you read that right. He only ate lunch, that’s it. In spite of experiencing really high levels of fatigue, symptoms like headache, stomach cramps, inability to sleep well at nights, he still went ahead with it. But one fine day he realized he was getting nowhere. Not only was he unable to lose weight, but he was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. That got me thinking. Weight loss myths disappoint their followers at multiple levels. It’s not the fact they don’t work at the physical level that is such a damper for the people concerned, it’s the fact they’ve been had and all their effort and sleepless nights were for nothing, which really gets people down. This mix of physical and emotional trauma is what makes weight loss myths so dangerous.

This is the reason why everybody needs to stay away from them. So let’s take a look at ten of these myths that have been fooling quite a number of people for many years now:

1. Eat a High protein Diet

Myth Busted: People who stick to a protein intensive diet to keep their calories in check are getting it partially right. It will help your body burn all the excess fat and with your diet having only protein in it, your body won’t build up excess fat deposits; this will result in weight loss. So what’s the problem? Well, what happens is that when your liver starts converting all those fats into fatty acids, it also creates a harmful by-product called ketones. Excess ketones in the body can lead to a condition called Ketosis, wherein the acidity of your blood increases above acceptable levels. This is definitely harmful for your body, so yes eat a diet filled with protein by all means, but supplement it with fibers and carbohydrates. Essentially, what you need is a

2. Carb Free Diet

Myth Busted: Not all carbohydrates are bad for you. All you need to do, is avoid processed carbs that have high sugar content and are packed with white flour. But, there are good carbs, think brown rice, whole grain breads, and even all those fruits and veggies that are actually good for you. And a totally carb-free diet, isn’t all that beneficial. If you’re suffering from weighty issues, you will be doing some exercise to burn that fat. This is when all that carb will come in handy.

3. Eat what you want but exercise

Myth Busted: I honestly don’t know where this myth is coming from but using exercise as the end all solution of all your weight loss efforts doesn’t make sense. You can’t hope to lose weight if you’re sticking to same diet that made you pile on the pounds, hoping your morning exercise routine will save the day. That’s not going to happen. You need to supplement your exercise by cutting down on your calories. This is how you lose weight.

4. The Only Fruit Breakfast

Myth Busted: Yes, there is absolutely no doubt that fruits are good for you, but a fruit intensive breakfast? No, that’s simply not on because that’s the first meal you’re having after dinner last night and there’s been a huge gap in-between. That’s why it’s called ‘break-fast’ in the first place. Fruits give your body fiber and vitamins, but not the energy that is present in complex carbohydrates. A heavy breakfast, not necessarily fatty breakfast is what you need in the morning. A heavy breakfast that contains cereals, bread, an egg or two and some meat is quite a good idea. You need carbohydrates in the morning, and fruits aren’t going to cut it for you.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this article shortly…..

– Lura Peterson is associated with Top Mobility, a leading industrial mobility products manufacturing company.