The Truth About 5 Common Dieting Myths

For most of its history, our species was subject entirely to the whims of Mother Nature, especially where diet was concerned.  When the conditions were right, food was plentiful; when they were not, people starved.  As a result, evolution shaped our ancestors' bodies in such a way that during times of plenty, they were able to pack on layers of fat to provide them with the sustenance they needed to get through the lean times. 

As humans became adept at mastering their environment, however, famines became rare, and the built-up fat reserves often went unused; our ability to manipulate the environment had outstripped nature's slow process of adaptation. 

Today, obesity is rampant in wealthy nations like the United States.  Particularly hard-hit are those of us of European and Eastern African extraction, whose ancestors needed bodies that could efficiently manufacture fat reserves to outlast the periodic famines. As a result, many of us have become rotund, mostly because it's hard for us to fight the natural tendencies of our bodies to accumulate fat. These days, some 55% of Americans are overweight. Brits are catching up fast.

That said, as modern human beings, we don't have to allow nature to get the upper hand. Being overweight isn't healthy in many situations, especially for those of us who suffer from hypertension, diabetes, and heart conditions.

But what's the best way to lose weight?

There are literally thousands of special diets, procedures, dieting devices, and "miracle pills" out there, all of which promise you they'll help you get skinnier. Some of them actually work, but how can you tell which ones? How do you thread your way through the minefield of dieting on your way to a healthier, slimmer you without setting off self-destructive behaviours that can sabotage your dieting efforts?

The answer to that question is this: very carefully.

While glib and a little facetious, it's nonetheless true. Some things are obviously false or play on wishful thinking; for example, there's no magic pill, grapefruit or otherwise, that can melt off the pounds (not yet anyway). Fad diets don't work, and neither do most of the "scientific" ones you've heard of. Despite this, people are willing to spend millions (I've just read...Americans more than $33 billion) a year on fad diets and gimmicks, when in fact the most effective dieting advice boils down to this: "Cut your calorie intake and exercise regularly."

We all know this is true; it's just difficult to muster the willpower necessary to face up to such a bald, unlovely statement.

If you're serious, though, you can lose weight and keep it off. The purpose of this article is to help you along the way as you diet, by identifying the most common weight-loss myths that can trip you up during your journey. I've left out the miracle claims and ridiculous stuff in favour of more reasonable sounding myths that might beguile an intelligent person. Let's start with the most pervasive myth.

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THE MYTH: Skipping meals can help you lose weight faster.

THE REALITY: Wrong. 

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It seems logical, just like its corollary ("the fewer calories you eat, the more weight you'll lose"), but it's not true. The effect is often the opposite of what you expect. Dieting is based on the fact that if you burn more calories in a day than you take in, your body will begin burning fat. While this is true, if you expect to lose weight effectively, you need to keep eating regular meals, especially breakfast. 

Depriving your body of its necessary fuel causes it to go into starvation mode; when this happens, your metabolism slows down so that you can get by on less food. Once your metabolism slows, it can be hard to bring it back up to speed, and until it speeds up again, regular eating will just cause you to gain more weight. 

It can be a vicious cycle that's hard to break. In addition, skipping meals can make you feel dizzy and weak, can have deleterious effects on your cholesterol levels, and can be extremely dangerous for diabetics.

In short, fasting and crash diets are forms of self-sabotage best avoided. Besides, eating regularly (and moderately) will make you less hungry throughout the day, so you're less likely to give in to your food cravings. 

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THE MYTH:  You shouldn't eat any starches, because they're fattening.

THE REALITY: This myth is a dangerous one.  

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For one thing, it's difficult to completely avoid starches, since they're a major component of staples like bread, pasta, grains, fruits, potatoes, corn, and rice. Even if it were possible to cut out all starches, if you did so you'd be starving your body of the fuel it absolutely needs in order to function properly. Food consists of only three basic substances: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Starches are carbohydrates; and carbohydrates, along with their metabolic products, are your body's basic fuel.

Most of the fuel your body uses comes from a carbohydrate called glucose. Some glucose you might take in as sweets, chocolate or fizzy drinks; some products, like starches and the carbohydrates in substances like alcohol, quickly break down into glucose. Glucose is absorbed by your cells and is used to run your bodily processes; any excess is stored in your liver or converted into fat, where it can be called upon as needed. 

If your body lacks carbohydrates and glucose, it'll eventually start using any fuel source it can find. At first these might be fat cells, but as they shrink, your body may begin attacking the protein reserves in your muscles for the fuel it needs. This is a "last-resort" move generally saved for famine conditions, so if it happens to you, it's bad news. The message is clear: don't totally eliminate starches from your diet, or you'll live to regret it. You can reduce them, by cutting out the excess junk like sweets, chocolate and sugar, but don't eliminate all carbs from your diet as they are needed.

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THE MYTH:  Vegetarian diets are healthier than omnivorous diets.

THE REALITY:  Not necessarily.

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A diet consisting entirely of corn and chips, or of bananas and shredded wheat, can be considered vegetarian, but neither diet is healthy in the long run. If you're careful, you can get by just fine on a properly balanced vegetarian diet, but you'll have to watch your diet very carefully. Vegetarian diets do tend to be high in fibre and low in fat, but the fact is that humans evolved as opportunistic omnivores. That is, our ancestors ate anything they could get their hands on: greens, tubers, bugs, and the occasional bit of meat.  

The human body evolved to expect a varied diet, one that could provide all the nutrients it needs in a variety of packages. Meat was an important part of their diet, perhaps the most important part because it was so uncommon. Vegetarians must always be sure that they eat enough protein; protein is easily available in meat, so few omnivores have to worry about getting enough, but it's scarce in most plant foods. 

Fortunately, nuts, beans, and a few other vegetable products are ready sources of protein. If you go vegetarian, you'll also need to be sure you get daily doses of Vitamin B12 and zinc; supplements often missing in vegetarian diets.

Most people can survive as vegetarians if they're extremely careful, but it's a constant battle, and guess what?...you can be just as healthy and out-of-shape on a vegetarian diet as you can on a regular diet, especially if you don't exercise regularly.

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THE MYTH: Sweating is a great way to lose weight.

THE REALITY:  It sure is, as long as you're sweaty because you're exercising. 

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Otherwise, all you're doing is losing water weight. Sweating is extraordinarily effective at doing what it was meant to do: cooling the body by coating the skin with evaporating fluids. 

It was never meant as a way to lose weight. Lose enough water, and you're risking dehydration. Even if you don't try to sweat off several points in one sitting, dehydration can still get you: progressive dehydration can occur if you fail to rehydrate yourself sufficiently after every workout. If you get sufficiently dehydrated, your electrolyte balance will get out of balance, your cells will be starved of the fluids they need, and you could die. Not a happy prospect, so avoid it.

For this reason, the old sweatbox and sauna are of no use for losing real weight. Neither are their modern "high-tech" equivalents, such as body wraps and plastic sweat suits, no matter how many people swear by them. All they do is make you thirsty. Yes, you lose weight: two pounds per litre sweated away. But that's weight, not fat. And the moment you drink enough water, you'll gain all that weight back. 

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THE MYTH: If it's fat-free, I can eat all I want!

THE REALITY: Here's another myth that's completely off the mark, so don't fall for it! 

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All "fat-free" means is that a particular food has no detectable fat content. Sadly, however, it's fat and related compounds that give most foods their flavour.  Ice cream, butter, cheese, and a whole host of non-dairy products, including chocolate, are little more than specially prepared, congealed fat. When manufacturers design many fat-free products, such as bread, cookies, ice cream, and the like, they know these products will be mostly dry and flavourless without fat. 

Some fat substitutes are available, but they can cause gastrointestinal upset, and most are expensive. This leaves one common ingredient that manufacturers can use to make their products taste better: sugar. And they use it liberally, so many fat-free products are high in calories. 

Furthermore, plenty of foods like breads and pasta are low in fat, but rich in carbohydrates - and we already know what that means. Carbohydrates break down easily into our friend glucose, which can result in increased fat when eaten in excess. 

You always have to consider calorie and portion size; you're fooling yourself if you do otherwise, just as completely as if you've accepted the claims for the latest "fat-burning" pill advertised on TV. Moderation is the key to dieting success.

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The dieting myths explored in this article represent just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are thousands of them out there: some are ridiculous and barely worthy of notice - like the suggestion that eating standing up helps you lose weight, or that you can base a diet on the colour of hair. Others are less obvious, like those discussed here.  

Dieting isn't easy and, while it's human nature to look for a simple solution to a problem, that strategy just won't work in this case. So heed these hints, and take it easy. Don't skip meals, keep your diet properly balanced, and exercise regularly. Avoid all fads, pills, and extravagant claims, because if it sounds too good to be true...well, you know the rest. 

You don't need to lose more than a few pounds before you'll notice a difference in the way you look and feel. And if you lose only a few pounds at first, even if you've been at it for a while, so what? Pick up a five or ten pound bag of flour and carry it around for a day, and you'll see how quickly you'll get tired of lugging that excess weight around. 

Lose that weight permanently, and you'll never have to drag it around again.

Your Friend and Coach

Adrian Lowther