Some myths are harmless. Others can endanger your health. Learn the difference, then optimize your health.

Following the advice we are constantly given by the media about ‘silver ways: fast and easy to lose weight’ is tantamount to blindly following superstition. However, there is a significant difference. Superstition is harmless, but some of the more extreme methods desperate people employ in an attempt to lose excess weight can be downright harmful, and most are a waste of time, effort, and money. Read on to find out how four weight loss myths are debunked.

skipping breakfast

Eating breakfast is important because it moves the body from starvation to action. When a body thinks it is starving, it will save energy by slowing down. Concentration becomes difficult and performance deteriorates. Hunger pangs hit before lunchtime, and the easiest food to grab may be fast food or high-fat snacks. Make breakfast part of your regular routine. There are plenty of easy, high-fiber, low-fat options to choose from. Plan a meal that contains the best choice, smart complex carbohydrates that satisfy, some protein (for example, from milk), and fruit. This will provide a slow release of energy and keep you going through the morning.

planning ahead

Planning your menu a week in advance is one of the easiest ways to make sure you have the right foods on hand for a healthy eating plan. This makes meal prep easy, rather than a daily challenge.

sweating

Your body produces sweat to cool it down when things start to heat up. Sweat is made up of water, small amounts of salts, urea, and lactate. Sweat is not melted fat. Inducing sweating by shrinking into plastic before exercising, or lounging in the sauna, won’t help in weight loss efforts. Any weight loss on the scale is simply dehydration, which will reverse when you drink your first glass of fluid.

Drink water routinely

Studies show that often when you think you’re hungry, you’re actually thirsty. Dehydration is a contributing factor to fatigue, leading people to seek out food for energy. Drinking water throughout the day should be part of your daily routine. Plan your lifestyle so that access to a glass of water is easy, effortless. Make this a lifelong commitment, not something you only do when you’re actively trying to lose weight.

Weight Loss Myths – Myths and Truths at a Glance

• Skipping breakfast – harmful
• Planning what to eat a week in advance: useful
• sweating – harmful
• Drinking water as part of a daily routine is helpful