Losing weight is a difficult thing, especially at the beginning – everyone who has ever tried knows it. Changing your lifestyle, moving more, finding time for exercise, gym, running or even walking, denying yourself sweet and fatty meals … all this effectively spoils the mood. The Internet is full of miracle diets and tips that are supposed to help you lose weight quickly. However, these are just as often repeated myths that have little to do with reality…
The two golden pillars of weight loss are more exercise and a healthy diet. However, life is rarely that simple. Often the effects come too slowly, it takes time to adapt to a new lifestyle, in addition, we usually allow ourselves small “sins” such as reaching for sweets, pizza or evening snacking in front of the TV. We also look at websites in search of one effective method to lose fat. Some we use correctly, others we don’t. Let’s not get crazy – here are some diet myths that doctors and nutritionists deny.
- Water has a slimming effect – water is only a slimming aid, it is not a means to an end in itself. Although it has no calories and at the same time helps to calm down the feeling of hunger, and cleanses the body of harmful toxins, so yes – you need to drink at least 1,5 liters of it a day. At the same time, you need to ensure that you excrete as much as possible by drinking a glass of water every 1 or 2 hours. However, without diet and exercise, water does not lose weight.
- Eating pasta and potatoes is a dietary sin – the common opinion says that potatoes and pasta are fattening, which is why they are categorically forbidden on the diet. This is not true – 100g of potatoes provide the body with 90kcal, as well as light and easily digestible carbohydrates. They are a very healthy addition to dinner, which has a high content of minerals. Only additives to potatoes can be fattening – heavy sauces, margarines, butter, meat. We can lose weight by eating pasta in reasonable amounts, but just like with potatoes – not with the addition of fatty sauces and cheeses, but with light sauces and vegetables.
- Lean meat, i.e. poultry – Another myth is that all poultry is thin. It depends on how it is prepared. For example, fried chicken, in addition eaten with the skin, is a fattening meal. The case is different, for example, with steamed or other “less fatty” way.
- Frozen foods are evil – if vegetables and fruits are frozen properly, they retain their nutrients and minerals, so they are just as healthy as fresh ones. Worse are “fresh” vegetables and fruits that have been on the shelf in the store for too long.
- Dinner should be eaten no later than 18 p.m. dinner is an individual matter, because it depends on what time we go to bed. Ideally, it should be protein, in the form of a piece of lean meat. Let’s eat dinner 3 hours before bedtime.
- Skipping meals – skipping one of the meals will result in an increase in adipose tissue (the body stores energy), and will also increase appetite at subsequent meals. The body is much better at digesting small, frequent meals than large and rare ones.