Americans are losing the battle of the bulge - big time. Popular myths telling you to 'eat this, not that', may be contributing to your packing on the pounds.
Don't Believe Everything You Hear.
Weight Loss MIRACLE: LOSE up to 50 Pounds in 8 Weeks!
Eat More, Exercise Less, and watch pounds Disappear!
REVOLUTIONARY Diet Plan: Eat Cookies, Lose Weight - it's that simple.
NEW Weight Loss Secret: try Raw Chocolate!
If only these were true, or that simple. Powerful, eye-catching ad words like MIRACLE or REVOLUTIONARY grab attention instantly. Importantly, it tricks or misleads consumers into thinking that simply trying a particular diet or food can deliver promised weight-loss results, right now! Enticing it may be, but subscribing to diet myths does not sustain or promote weight loss for life.
The booming diet industry remains an impressive source of revenue for the U.S. economy, estimated at $50 billion annually. Literally, dieters desperate to shed pounds or achieve that ideal figure spare no expense on weight-loss programs and products including pills and books, while trying to attain goals that are ultimately unrealistic.
Why Are We Getting Fatter, Again?
Dieting is a serious obsession affecting seventy-two percent of American adults. So why are people getting fatter while dieting? It works like this: when you adopt bad food habits, your body stores food as fat rather than burns off fat. So, when fat is stored, weight gain occurs.
Truths, Lies, Soundbites...
Diet myths functions like a conspiracy theory - they only benefit individuals or groups promoting those particular beliefs. Misinformation, half-truths, and downright lies, unfairly traps every dieter into believing weight loss is possible forever. 'Eat this, not that', or 'just follow this plan' are basically diet myths - they're sales pitches designed to entice dieters to either buy a product or try a meal plan that promises weight loss. Truth be told, many people confuse fact and fiction when it comes to dieting.
Myth or Not.
One popular diet myth is 'cut the fat and weight be gone'. Some fats should be cut, but not all. Cutting extra fat causes the very thing dieters are trying to avoid - getting fat. Bad fats found in fast food and commercial food should be avoided. But, when put in proper perspective, bad fats should be replaced with good fats like avocado, salmon, and olive oil (major sources of omega-3 and omega-6). Fats are crucial for helping the body function optimally.
Some diet myths suggest that you can eat cabbage soup, celery, and apparently cookies, and then just watch the pounds melt away. This is true at face value, but illogical. For one, you'll be starving in no time. Second, it's impossible to maintain these types of diet long term. Really, how long can someone realistically eat cookies and stay motivated? You'll only end up sabotaging your waistline when you start binging out on what your body craves - chocolate, potato chips, burger, and fries highly saturated with excess salt and trans fat.
The Bottom Line.
The more people believe in diet myths, the fatter they get. To be sure, most diets work best in the short term. But as time goes on, the diet fundamentally backfires on people by keeping them fat.
Salad - http://www.flickr.com/photos/floodkoff/3709959426/
Cookie Diet - http://www.flickr.com/photos/runforcover/3827907320/