Overcoming Weight Gain Hype

Any way you cut it, the average American is overweight. There are many factors that have led us to this point, but our nutrition is certainly one of the big ones. That being said, there is some serious incorrect hype regarding food.

There is a lot of money to be made in helping people lose those extra pounds. Tons of companies are doing just this, but all the different approaches to cutting weight makes it difficult to know what is true and what is not. Not anymore.

Magic weight loss foods are often touted as part of diets. These magic solutions blur over the simple fact of weight gain and loss. If you eat more calories than you burn off during the day, you will gain weight. If not, then you lose weight.

The type of food you eat is important because of its caloric density. Certain foods like vegetables have low calorie counts. An entire head of lettuce has about 100 calories. A fast food specialty cheeseburger may have 700 to 1,000 calories.

Eat your last meal before five in the afternoon and you will lose weight. That's the old folks tale. It isn't accurate. The issue is what you eat, not when and the total amount of calories you take in during a 24 hour period.

Is rapid, large weight loss possible in a short period of time. The answer depends on whether you want to keep the weight off. Most of these miracle diets involve the loss of water weight. Once you stop the diet, the water pounds pile back on.

Fat is the reason we are all, well, fat. So goes the story. As with many stories, this isn't entirely true. The body needs monounsaturated fats that are found in nuts, seeds and olive oil for example.

The next myth to be debunked is the meal strategy. The story goes that if you skip just one meal a day, you will lose weight. Skipping a meal is not going to help if you make up for it by feasting during your other daily meals.

The water before the meal myth is one that actually is true. If you drink a full glass of water prior to any meal, the water will help induce a full feeling in your stomach. You will stop eating sooner and take in fewer calories.

How many body builders do you see that are fat? Not very many, yet they inhale massive amounts of calories. So, what is their secret? Exercise. Exercise burns calories. Watch what you inhale, exercise often and watch the pounds drop off.

By: Sol Ferdinand

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Sol Ferdinand writes for WeightLossLodge.com - where you can read free weight loss articles online.