How NOT To Diet - 4 Wrong Things People Do When Trying To Lose Weight

There are almost as many approaches to weight-loss as the number of adults who need to lose weight. Many of them are based on ideas that are not scientifically sound or even sensible. Faulty approaches to weight management do not help the problem... they are often responsible for the failure that individuals experience in their quest to do the right thing.

Let's look at 4 of the wrong ways of trying to lose weight:

1. The kinds of food "don't matter" as long as there is a reduction in weight loss. Wrong! Some foods burn calories just by the very act of eating them. For example, did you know that an apple has effectively fewer calories than that same amount of applesauce? This is because chewing and processing an apple requires more energy than sitting passively by while applesauce slides down your throat.

2. As long as the calories are "not from fat" you can eat freely. Wrong! We need some amount of fat in the diet to absorb certain vitamins. All foods contain calories but fat contains more per gram. (Fat contains nine calories per gram whereas protein and carbohydrate contain 4 calories per gram). Limit the amount of fat you consume to 25-30 percent of your total calories and minimize "bad" fats... saturated, cholesterol, and trans fats.

3. Drinking "large amounts of water" will cause weight loss. Wrong! Drinking water is important for all of us and at all times, whether trying to lose weight or not. Approximately two-thirds of the body is made up of water. Water is important to carry nutrients to each cell, it regulates body temperature, aids in ridding the body of toxins, and moisturizes our skin and other organs. However, drinking excessive amounts of water will not cause weight loss. (It's good to drink water before eating anything because your craving may just be based on thirst, and not hunger).

4. "Eliminate meats", and eat only vegetables to lose weight. Wrong! Cardiologists and other health professionals advocate minimizing the amount of meat that is eaten because of the fat it contains. A vegetarian can indeed satisfy all of the needs of the body. However, and this is important, very few vegetarians follow a diet that is nutritionally balanced and sound because they don't know how to do it correctly. Thus, they deprive their bodies of important nutrients risking their health and may even gain weight as a result.

The keys to healthy weight loss are, and have always been, a balanced diet and modest exercise as a way of life.

Do you want to know what diet truly works?

By Sue Bristol, R.N.

My e-Book will lead you through the way to make weight loss work for you, and your obese child, or spouse. Here's the "Secret Weight Loss Diet" that virtually EVERY successful dieter uses. (Whether or not they are even aware of it!)