Top 5 weight loss myths busted

There’s an entire industry which has been set up to help people lose weight and many of them peddle products which are just outright shams. Losing weight is not hard; all you need to do is exercise properly and eat the right kind of food and stay away from stupid myths. We bust 5 such weight loss myths. 

Myth 1: You need to go on a crazy diet to lose weight

Most people will have you believe that you need to go on some crazy diet which needs you to eat just salads and sprouts and drink only water to get rid of your weight. The truth is that weight loss is the culmination of eating right and exercising properly, basically, the number of calories you consume should be lesser than the number of calories you burn. So, to lose weight. you need to go on a diet which has all the required nutrients while cutting out ‘empty calories’ – food items which have no nutritional value but pack on the calories like colas, junk food, chips, burgers, pizzas, etc. You also need to cut down on the amount of fat, sugar and salt you consume. Here’s a guide to eating healthy.

Myth 2: You need to exercise like a maniac to lose weight

Every single day we get queries asking how to lose weight without exercising but the truth is that while it may be feasible to lose weight without exercising, it’s not the most effective way to do so. You also shouldn’t believe that you need to exercise like a maniac to lose weight. What you need to do is be consistent, pick an exercise regime – yoga, dancing, gymming, running, anything at all and stick to it. Even half an hour of exercise every day is enough, if you follow a proper diet.

Myth 3: Cardio is for weight loss and strength training is to build muscles

The cardio machines in the gym are seldom empty while most of the weights gather dust and that’s because most people live under the belief that only cardio helps them lose weight. This is the silliest myth out there because weight/strength/resistance training is a must if you want to lose weight and keep it off permanently. Fitness icon Kris Gethin writes in his book The Bodybuilding.com Guide to Your Best Body, ‘When you start training regularly with weights, your muscles develop, become denser, and burn more calories all day and night. Though cardio is a great way to assist in fat loss, it burns fat only while you’re performing the exercise, not around the clock. Lifting weights and adding lean muscle, on the other hand, turns your body into a full-time calorie-burning machine. If you were to add just 5 pounds of muscle to your frame, you could burn an additional 250 to 300 calories per day—that’s a whole meal for some people!’

The main reason for this is the lean muscle that’s added to your body through strength training. When you’re lifting weights, muscle tissues are torn apart at the microscopic level from the stress and then rebuild themselves. While this new muscle is being ‘created’ your body burns calories, thereby facilitating better weight loss.

Myth 4: Massages, steam and sauna can help in weight loss

We don’t know where these myths originated from but weight loss follows life’s rule – if you want something, you have to work hard for it. No one else can lose weight for you. A massage will just help you relax and loosen your muscles or get rid of cramps; it won’t facilitate weight loss for anyone other than the person giving a massage. In the same vein, sessions in the steam room or sauna pool will only help you lose water weight which will return later.

Myth 5: Slimming products will help you lose weight

Beware of any weight loss product that promises to help you lose weight quickly without any major effort on your part, basically, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This includes weight loss pills, herbs, sauna belts, meal replacement shakes and any other convoluted product you can think of that promises to melt away the pounds. While some herbs and products might act as a catalyst to help you lose weight, they will not actually be the real cause, you still need to exercise and eat properly. Read why weight loss products don’t work. 

You may also like to read:

• Weight loss diet by expert dietician
• Fad is bad: Say no to diets which promise speedy weight loss
• 6 diet tips to lose belly fat
• Tasty recipes for weight loss
• Eat and lose weight: 10 food items for weight loss!
• Why drinking is bad for your weight loss regime
• 10 superfoods for weight loss

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