The dieting world is full of myths, and some are more obvious than others.

We all know, for example, that we should probably eat less sugar and reduce our consumption of alcohol. However there are some myths that could very well get in the way of healthy slimming.

Don’t cut out major food groups

The traditional idea of many diets is to restrict what you eat, and in more extreme cases REMOVE entire food groups. This could include meat, vegetables, fruit, desserts etc.

The idea is that the food group you remove may contain a high amount of fat (red meat for example), calories (desserts) or carbohydrates (pasta and potatoes). The danger of this diet approach is that if you are made to cut out a food group which you enjoy, you may find it harder to maintain your diet and more likely to fall back into your old ways.

What should I do instead?

A diet needs to be nutritionally sound, so a reduction is certain foods is not a bad idea, but there are alternatives to outright cutting out food groups. So for example, instead of cutting out meat, you may want to reduce your meat portion by 50%. Likewise you don’t need to cut out desserts, you could replace them with lower fat alternatives.

Be careful with meal replacements

People need to be careful about the faith they place into meal replacements. Although these shakes are designed to give you all the nutrition you need in the form of a low calorie drink, they cannot replace real food in the long run. In fact it is highly recommended that you do not use them for longer than a 4 week period.

The reason they are dangerous is that they attempt to drop the amount of calories your body digests, but unfortunately the steady volume of calories you consume are required for internal organs and muscles to work properly. If the body feels deprived, it will start to eat the calories from your organs and muscles instead.

Even worse is that meal replacement drinks do not lead to a change in healthy eating. For when you come off the male replacement, you may find that your body will regain the weight it had loss. This is known as yo-yo dieting, and can be very harmful to your health in the long run.

What should I do instead?

Instead of switching over to a meal replacement diet, do everything else in small quantities; start to reduce what you eat, change to lower fat food items, start a steady exercise programme, and use the right diet pills to suit your targets.

This can be maintained over the long run more easily and safely unlike the male replacement diets.

Don’t be scared of carbohydrates!

If there is one myth that has truly lodged itself in the consciousness of dieters everywhere, and that is the idea of eating low carbohydrate diets (such as the Atkins diet).

The idea is simple; carbohydrates are the source of short term energy, and so by removing this from your diet, you body will be forced to use your fat stores. However this can be very difficult to maintain for a long period of time, and can result in you feeling like you lack energy for the day ahead.

Carbohydrates (particularly more complicated ones like whole wheat bread and pasta) can help in the long run by filling you up for longer. And can quell the feeling of hunger without bringing in too many calories.

What should I do instead?

Do some research and instead of removing all carbohydrates from your diet, replace simple carbs (white rice, white bread, potatoes etc) with complex carbs (brown rice, brown bread, sweet potatoes etc).

Complex carbs will fill you up for longer and keep your energy levels up throughout the day. This will ensure you do not snack and you are likely to eat less calories throughout the day.

Don’t be scared to eat fats

Another myth claim is that fat is completely bad for you and that it should be avoided at all costs. This is simply not the case.

In fact the body requires fat in the diet so that it can get the important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K circulating through the cardiovascular system. Also fats bring into the body some of the essential fatty acids including omega-3 and omega-6.

What should I do instead?

Making the distinction between good fats and bad fats is not that difficult to do. Typically the bad fats are those that are found in processed foods, fried food, and red meats. However good fats typically come from natural sources including olive oil, fish and nuts.

By eating more foods with “good” fats, you can help your bodies’ natural health.

You DO need to exercise to lose weight

A popular saying is that over half of weight loss comes from the kitchen. Although this is true (after all, changing your diet to reduce your intake of fat and calories will help), the idea of doing NO exercise is crazy.

To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you use, and ultimate by reducing your calorie intake you are only meeting one half of the equation. It is only by increasing your activity levels that you begin to burn more calories than you eat.

What should I do instead?

When you think exercise, you will often think of people who spend hours in the gym. However when starting on a exercise programme you don’t have to hit the gym hard. In fact gentle exercise at first will likely be more beneficial, as jumping into the deep end of the gym will likely result in you giving up due to frustration.

Even something as simple as cycling or swimming once a week is a good enough start. You can then build on this to increase your activity levels.

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