Fat Loss Stories And Myths

We are told so many stories throughout our lives about food and fat loss. Things like 'eat all your carrots so you can see in the dark and don't need a light''eat your crusts or your hair won't curl!', 'don't swallow the apple pips or you will have a tree growing in your tummy'.

When we are young,we normally believe these stories and as we grow up we then question where these all came from. Unfortunately even by eating all your bread crusts your hair won't curl unless it normally does anyway!

Surprise, Surprise - Pips swallowed will certainly not produce a tree in your stomach. Carrots are good for our eyesight but we would have to devour a truck load regularly to help us with our eyesight and even then it may make no difference.

There are also loads more stories - perhaps as you are reading this you are remembering some stories told to you at some stage of your life.

Here are the Top Three Fat Loss Myths for you

1. You will put on Fat if you eat after 6pm

This is not necessarily the case. The main reason this is talked about is to make you think about when you are eating and how much activity you are likely to do before bedtime. It is healthier to eat meals throughout the day and not just binge at night as it can overload your system as you are going to bed.

If you go to bed straight after dinner your food doesn't turn into fat more easily. Depending on your preferences, a little food and often can be more effective for you as you are losing fat and extra inches. You have more opportunity to burn it off during the day.

Skipping breakfast is a very bad idea if you're trying to lose weight, your body needs a kick start in the morning and some fuel to get you going, otherwise you will feel the need to grab a sugary snack mid morning, which is not helpful for your body and your fat loss goal.

2. Carbohydrates make you fat

If you eat too much of anything, regardless of the amount of fats or proteins the food contains, you'll put on weight and fat. Carbohydrates, Fats, Proteins by themselves will not make you fat. It's about quantity!

How do you know if you are eating too much?

Anything that means you consume more calories than you burn each day. Carbohydrates and proteins contain about the same number of calories per gram. Fats and alcohol are more calorie dense - which means a gram of either of these foods delivers more calories than a gram of carbohydrate or protein.

Eating is a behaviour, if you eat a lot of simple carbohydrates such as soft drinks, cakes, donuts and crisps, - you may end up feeling hungry sooner. Then you feel like eating more and therefore consuming more calories than you can burn off in the day - this results in you putting on weight and extra fat stores in your body. Not an ideal situation if you are trying to lose fat.

3. Extra virgin olive oil is less fattening than other oils

If you look at the finer details you will find that all oils have about the same number of calories: 120 per tablespoon. 'Extra virgin' relates to the way the oil is produced, not its nutritional content. Similarly, 'Light' olive oil is lighter in colour and flavour but not in calories.

However, because all types of olive oil (and canola oil) are high in monounsaturated fat, they're still healthier picks than butter or other alternatives high in saturated fats. So it is good to pick your oils wisely when you are looking to achieve fat loss and shed those extra inches.

So with a fat loss plan it is important to balance the amount of food you eat and what you drink with the amount of exercise you take. Write down your fat loss plan and stick to it, eat balanced meals each day and exercise to burn those calories away and so you can see the fat loss happening each week.