The weight loss industry is rife with rumours. Almost everywhere you turn you will see lotions that claim to remove fat from whichever area of the body you apply them to, diets that claim you can lose weight by just eating your favourite junk food and products that claim they can magically make your fat melt away. Many of the rumours behind these products are misleading and in some cases completely untrue. In this article I aim to set the record straight and uncover four of these weight loss myths.
Rumour 1: You can Spot Reduce Fat- Many gels, lotions, pills, diets and exercise programs claim that you can burn fat from specific areas of your body. For example, certain products state that they can burn belly fat or leg fat. Other myths suggest that fat can be removed from particular areas of the body just by exercising that body part e.g. by doing stomach crunches you can burn belly fat.
Unfortunately, the truth is that you cannot spot reduce fat. Whilst it would be nice to do a specific exercise or take a special product and remove body fat from problem areas, in reality this is just not possible. The only way to banish fat from stubborn areas of your body is to reduce your overall body fat levels and the best way to do this is through good old diet and exercise.
Rumour 2: The Best Way to Lose Weight is through Cardiovascular Exercise- Before you continue reading let me say that I am not discounting the effectiveness of cardiovascular exercise as a fat burning solution. However, it is not necessarily the best choice and you should consider the other options that are available.
Improving your diet can be a great way to lose weight. If you are currently eating unhealthy foods then you can really drop the pounds by substituting a few more healthy options into your diet. Even if you are eating a relatively healthy diet, trimming a few calories from your daily intake can work wonders for your overall weight loss. Cardio does help you burn fat but you have to remember it is not the only piece of the puzzle.
Rumour 3: Crash Diets lead to Long Term Weight Loss- Crash diets do work in the short term because you will be consuming a lot less calories than normal. However, in the long term your body adapts and goes into starvation mode which slows down your metabolic rate drastically, meaning that although you are eating fewer calories your are also burning a lot less. Furthermore, by depriving your body of calories you can stop it functioning properly and do some serious damage to your overall health.
When it comes to eating, the best way to lose weight in the long term is simply to eat more sensibly. Identify areas of your diet which require improvement and then make moderate changes. For example, if you are eating a bag of crisps every day try to swap it for a piece of fruit instead. If you feel you are eating too much try to slightly reduce the size of your portions. Small dietary changes such as these are a much better way to burn fat than the drastic and dangerous changes suggested by crash diets.
Rumour 4: HCG can help you Lose Weight- HCG or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin is a hormone produced by the placenta of pregnant women. It was originally used to determine whether or not a woman was pregnant but more recently has been touted as a weight loss solution. There are a number of people claiming that HCG can help you lose weight. However, none of these claims are backed up by evidence. At the time of writing, not one medical or scientific study can prove that HCG is an effective weight loss supplement.
I hope this article allows you to separate some of the fact from fiction in the health and fitness industry. There are a lot of myths, lies, rumours and half truths floating around the industry in the hope that you will believe them and part with your hard earned cash. However,if you look at each of them in a sensible and rational way you should be able to avoid these weight loss scams with relative ease.