LOSE THE WEIGHT

TARGET THE "TROUBLE SPOTS"

A common weight loss myth is that people can lose weight by simply exercising the most fat-filled parts of their body, namely belly, thighs and hips. The problem with this method is, instead of burning the fat, it simply moves it around. For example, if you do a lot of crunches, your belly will look visibly flatter, but in reality the fat will simply migrate to other fatty body parts. To actually lose weight, one needs to also incorporate cardio, so that the stored energy actually gets spent.

WEIGHT LOSS IS A LINEAR PROCESS

Another common myth is that weight loss is gradual, and you will consistently see weight loss every week. Unfortunately, human biology disagrees. The human body weight is not all fat; there is also water, muscle, undigested food, etc. The mass of these items constantly changes due to environment and tissue rebuilding. Finally, fat is nothing but stored energy and the body will use them based on its need. So, sometimes there will be virtually no change in weight after exercise while on other times there will be a dramatic drop, all depending on your body's need to run its internal functions.

EATING FAT MAKES YOU FAT

Some misleading research around 1970, propelled by the sugar industry, firmly planted the myth that saturated fat is the enemy of weight loss. Based on simple math, this argument makes sense. Fat has 9 calories per gram, while carbohydrates and protein have 4. Thus eating low-fat foods should allow you to eat more without gaining weight. In reality however, fat is more satiating. This means, when people eat high-fat foods, their body tells them to stop sooner, and they don't want as much. Moreover, medium-chain triglycerides found in butter and coconut oil activate appetite-suppressing hormones. Thus, you naturally eat less when you are eating high-fat food, which in turn means you intake less calories and thus gain less weight.

SUPPLEMENTS ARE EFFECTIVE

Supplement makers love to advertise their products as the panacea for weight gain, but in reality, most of them are as medicinal as unicorn flatulence. They are not regulated by US Food and Drug Administration or most other regulating medical bodies, which means they have little medical credence. In fact, there have been instances where fat-burners had been removed from market because their use led to high blood pressure, strokes, seizures, and even death. So if you are looking for a miracle to your fat problem, fat burners are most likely not it.