The Truth About Food and Your Weight

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.

Weight loss is a multi-billion dollar industry. Companies make piles of money selling diets programs. This creates confusion for the average person as each diet touts one type of food while bashing another. Let's debunk some of the myths.

Eating this or eating that is the answer. In truth, the issue is purely one of calories. If you eat less calories than you expend in energy, you lose weight. If you eat more than you expend, you gain weight. It is as simple as that.

So, why the focus on the type of food in diets? The real reason is a diet is often designed to give you the maximum volume of food with the minimum of calories. Salads are examples. They have a lot of volume and low calorie counts.

A common myth is that if you eat late, the food you eat will turn into fat. Not true. The issue is the total calories you eat per day, not necessarily when. The French are much thinner than Americans and eat dinner at 10 at night.

Lose a billion pounds in the next 24 hours! Ah, we've all read the ads and hype. Can you lose a bunch of weight quickly. The truth is you can. The problem is almost all the weight is water, which you will gain when you end the diet.

You should avoid fats like the plague. While most of us eat way too much fat, you should not avoid all fat. The body needs some as part of a balanced diet. No, not junk food fat. Monounsaturated fats found in olive oil or seeds and nuts are best.

To lose weight, you should just skip a meal each day. This could actually have the opposite effect. When the body notes a lack of quick energy, your metabolism may slow down. The slower the metabolism, the slower you burn calories.

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.

Bicyclist in the Tour de France eat over 7,000 calories a day. Why? Because they are burning them off like mad riding 70 or 80 miles a day. You can lose weight following their lead. Eat sensibly and exercise every day. It always works.

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