What’s a weight loss fact? What’s a weight loss fallacy? Why is it so hard to tell what are facts and what are fallacies? This blog will separate the facts from the fallacies.
FACT: Calories count. Yes! They count and it all comes down to reducing calories to fewer than a body is burning for its energy needs.
FALLACY: The source of calories doesn’t matter. The source of calories matters very much. The body needs a variety of nutrients from six main groups. They are proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and water. Vitamins, minerals, and water are not sources of calories, however each gram of carbohydrate and protein provide 4 calories and a gram of fat provides 9 calories. We need to eat a diet that provides our body with all of the nutrients it needs in adequate amounts. If we choose our food by calories and without regards to the nutrients we risk malnutrition.
FACT: If you become more physically active you will burn more calories. Living a sedentary lifestyle slows your metabolism (the calories your body burns at rest). Getting active, especially by reducing the long stretches of time you spend sitting, will aid your weight loss progress.
FALLACY: You can exercise yourself thin. Although it is possible to lose weight by increasing exercise, few people are actually successful with that approach. The drawbacks to exercise as a weight loss plan are a matter of overestimating how much exercise you get and underestimating how much you eat. Many weight loss experts agree that success is 80% how you eat and 20% how you exercise.
FACT: Your body shape is determined by your genes. “Salt-N-Pepa said, “Ummm, you’re packed and you’re stacked ‘specially in the back
Brother, wanna thank your mother for a butt like that (thanks, Mom)” They were right, except perhaps it wasn’t your mother, it was your father or possibly even a grandparent! The point is your body was created in accordance with a blueprint that was put in place by your genes. It’s not a lump of clay fully capable of being reshaped to fit your idea of perfection. Losing weight can minimize your “trouble spots” but if you’re looking to sculpt your body into a different shape expect to be disappointed.
FALLACY: Weight loss attempts always end in failure – sooner or later. This is false! There are people you know who don’t appear to need to lose weight. As long as you have known these people, they have never needed to lose weight. Guess what? Some of them did, indeed, lose weight but it was before you knew them. They’ve maintained their loss for so long that most people just think they’ve been thin all their life. Anybody can lose weight and keep it off. That’s not to say it’s going to be easy or that there comes a point when weight goal maintenance becomes autopilot. It’s simply saying it can be done and people do it everyday!
