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By Anna Almendrala, Posted: 10/31/2013 8:41 am
We get it: With so much contradictory advice floating around about the
best diets for weight loss, it's no wonder many of us end up confused about what
we should eat for optimal well-being and a healthy weight.
Read on for seven things you might think are helping you shed pounds,
but could actually be sabotaging your weight loss and hurting your health. If
you can drop these harmful habits, you might just become a healthy eater for
life.
7. Skipping breakfast.
About 10 percent of the U.S. population, or 31 million Americans, skip
breakfast, according to a 2011 survey. But according to a recent study from Tel
Aviv university, breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day --
especially for people who want to lose weight. The researchers put 93 obese
women into two different groups and instructed them to eat a nutritionally
similar diet of 1,400 calories a day. The only difference was that one group
made breakfast their biggest meal (at 700 calories) and the second group made
dinner their biggest meal (700 calories).
After 12 weeks, the group that had made breakfast their biggest meal
lost an average of 18 pounds and three inches from their waist, while the big
dinner group only lost seven pounds and 1.4 inches from their waists.
Additionally, while both groups lost weight, those in the big dinner group
actually had an increase in triglyceride levels, which is linked to heart
disease, diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol, reports Medical News
Today.
6. Going on a juice cleanse.
Proponents of the juice cleanse claim that going on an all-liquid diet
of pressed vegetables, fruits and a small amount of nut milk for days or even
weeks will clear your body of toxins, help you drop weight and make your skin
glow.
Don't believe the hype, warns the Mayo Clinic. Despite the appearance
of hip juice bars in your city and the popularity of juice cleanses among some
celebrities, long-term juice cleanses are one of the worst things you can do to
your body if you want to shed pounds for good.
The reason? While long-term cleanses will make you lose weight, it's
mostly water weight that will boomerang back once you resume your normal eating
habits. And it could trigger other health problems, as well, including an
out-of-whack metabolism and irritability.
If you genuinely like the feel and taste of liquified vegetables and
fruits, then juice away for a meal here or a snack there. But don't juice
exclusively for long periods of time, and remember that juicing strips many
foods of their fiber and nutrient-rich skins while concentrating the sugar in
fruit, warns Glenn D. Braunstein, M.D. of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
5. Filling up on diet soda
drinks.
It makes sense. Fizzy drinks make you feel full, which could help quell
the need to snack. But if you're turning to diet soda drinks for your fix, then
you could actually be sabotaging your weight loss.
Drinking diet soda and other artificially sweetened beverages could be
linked to weight gain, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and high blood
pressure, according to a 2013 analysis of recent studies on artificial
sweeteners by Purdue University.
The reason? Your body might be confused by artificial sweeteners,
according to lead analyst Susan E. Swithers, Ph.D., a Purdue professor of
psychological sciences and a behavioral neuroscientist. Swithers' research
suggests that your body's natural ability to manage calories based on tasting
sweet things is being seriously toyed with, thanks to the artificial sweeteners
in diet sodas. Instead of diet drinks, try plain sparkling water for that fizzy
full feeling.
4. Completely cutting out entire
food groups.
Gluten. Carbs. Sugar. Meat. There is no magic bullet to weight loss,
but for some people, elimination diets seem like a quick and easy way to feel
in control of their bodies. Unfortunately, for those at risk for disordered
eating, some elimination diets can actually just be a mask for eating disorders
like anorexia and orthorexia, according to Yahoo! Shine.
The Mayo Clinic defines orthorexia nervosa as an obsession with
"eating foods that make them feel pure and healthy," by avoiding
things like artificial additives, pesticides, genetic modification, and
unhealthy amounts of fat, sugar and salt.
But wait a second! Aren't all those ingredients good things to avoid?
Yes -- but some people with the orthorexia could become so obsessed that they
eventually "isolate themselves and often become intolerant of other
people's views about food and health." Even worse, they could be missing
out on key nutrients, especially if they fling themselves into gluten-free or
vegan diets by focusing on the foods they can't eat, instead of doing research on
the nutritious foods they can eat.
Of course, people who have diagnosed celiac disease must avoid gluten
because it damages the small intestine and prevents the body from absorbing
nutrients. When people with celiac disease eat gluten, they can suffer from
chronic diarrhea, vomiting, constipation and weight loss, according to the
National Institutes of Health. But be warned: just because a food is labeled
"gluten free," doesn't mean it's healthy for you (check out
MensHealth.com for some gluten-free foods loaded with fat and sugar).
3. Opting for low-fat versions.
Intuitively, it makes sense: If you want to get rid of body fat, stop
eating fat. But research shows that the fat you eat isn't really linked to
weight gain and disease, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.
Instead, it's the total amount of calories eaten, as well as "bad"
fats like trans and saturated fats found in meat and processed foods, that seem
to be linked to health problems. HSPH notes that people who go on low-fat diets
often end up cutting out the good fats too, like monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated fats found in olive oil and fatty fish.
Not only is fat good for you in moderation, but labels like
"low-fat" and "nonfat" actually trick people into eating
more, according to a study conducted by the Cornell University Food and Brand
Lab. Researchers found that people who saw snack foods with a "low
fat" label ate up to 50 percent more than those who ate from bags without
the label. Eaters also underestimated the calorie content of
"low–fat" M&Ms and granola by 48 percent and 50 percent,
respectively -- especially overweight people. Instead of assuming that low-fat
or nonfat foods are automatically better for you, read the nutritional labels
first. You might just find that low-fat or nonfat versions actually have more
sugar or calories than the normal-fat foods.
2. Going hungry.
For people who want to lose weight fast, dropping too many calories
could actually be an exercise in futility. A meta-analysis of 31 long-term diets
that averaged 1,200 calories a day found that while people lost weight, the
vast majority regained it all back within four or five years, reports
RealSimple.com. A better strategy would be to estimate the total amount of
calories you use in a day, and then shave a small amount off that number.
"If you want to lose weight and keep it off forever, you need a
modest calorie restriction that you simply continue and never stop,"
nutritionist Christopher Gardner told RealSimple.com. For example, if you
figure out you need about 2,500 calories a day (using this formula), simply
cutting out 250 calories a day could result in more successful, permanent
weight loss over the course of a year than if you had plummeted down to 1,200
calories a day and could only stand to deprive yourself for, say, four months.
1. Thinking about it as a
"diet" in the first place.
This is the medical truth some weight loss professionals are scared to
admit: The vast majority of people who lose weight won't be able to keep it off
for good.
But for people who prioritize lifestyle changes over diet, there is
hope when it comes to longterm weight loss, according to obesity expert Sherry
Pagoto, Ph.D. of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Pagoto
recently published an editorial calling for an end to the diet wars in the
Journal of the American Medical Association, pointing out that no diet is
better or worse at helping people shed pounds.
"The 'diet' used within a lifestyle intervention can be low-fat,
low-carb, etc. It doesn't matter," Pagoto told LiveScience.
"Adherence is key, and the way to destroy adherence is forcing foods on
someone they do not like, do not know how to prepare, or can't afford."
The faster you understand this, the better your chances are of making
small, realistic and sustainable changes that you can carry on for the rest
your life, as opposed to adopting dramatic, short-term diets that can
ultimately result in an unhealthy cycle of losing and gaining weight.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/31/diet-mistakes_n_4176210.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living
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