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Diet Myths Debunked
The dieting world is full of myths,
hearsay and sound bites. We all have heard them a thousand times, but does
that make them true? Is it really a good idea to ban sugar completely from
your diet? Is it really a good idea not to touch fat and alcohol ever again?
This seems to me like an invitation to failure. Too few people can swear off
certain foods forever and stick to the oath. The rest of us need a little
treat now and then. And there’s nothing wrong with getting a treat once in
while, provided that treats don’t happen every day.
The basic idea of any diet is to eat food that contains fewer calories than
your body needs to maintain its current weight. This way, the body is forced
to use the accumulated fat in order to make up for the energy it doesn’t get
from food. But a diet also has to be tasty and nutritionally sound. Simply
banning certain types of foods and ingredients is not a solution because
anybody following such a diet will have to acknowledge sooner or later that
he or she wants those foods and ingredients badly and a relapse into the old
eating habits becomes inevitable.
People should also learn not to put their faith into meal replacements, such
as Mypoplex, Slimfast or Eat-Smart. These combinations of low-fat and
high-protein substances cannot substitute a proper diet. They should never
be used for more than 4 four weeks in a row. Calories are important to the
body and nobody can go on for long without them. Cutting calories out of the
long-term nutrition is a huge mistake because the internal organs and
muscles need them to function. Using meal replacements for a week or two, as
a shock treatment, is fine. Relying on them for two months is asking for
trouble. And the same goes for single-food diets, such as the cabbage soup
diet, because they are based on the same idea.
Another widespread myth is the idea that the best approach to weight loss is
a low-carb, high-protein diet. This is one of the myths that emerged from
the Hollywood slimming industry. Nearly all movie stars and singers are on
some such diet. However, this approach is not exactly good for you because a
diet low in carbohydrates and calories forces the body to use existing carbs
located in the liver and the muscles. In time, this diet leads to weight
loss mainly from water stored in the body, instead of fat, and also strains
the internal organs.
And people should not be so afraid of potatoes, bread and pasta, the leading
sources of carbohydrates. Carbs are actually good for you because they quell
the feeling of hunger without bringing in too many calories. So you can
safely eat moderate amounts of potatoes and bread as long as you don’t use
butter or sauces, which are laden with fat. Naturally, you also have to pay
attention to how these foods are prepared. French fries are not a low-fat
food. Still, a high-carb, low-fat diet is far better than banning potatoes
and bread from your daily meals and it’s also easier to stick to.
Drinking a certain quantity of water every day is a good idea because it
keeps the body hydrated and fills the stomach. Water also keeps the
intestines healthy by facilitating the movements of undigested food to the
exit point. However, simply drinking water does not trigger weight loss.
There is only one way to lose weight and that is to burn up the existing fat
and water cannot do that. Nor should a diet be judged solely by how much
weight is lost per week. Some people claim that a diet can be considered
effective if the weekly loss of weight is above two pounds. Frankly, two
pounds per week is a lot of weight to lose and you can be sure that not all
of it is fat, but also the lean tissue that makes up the muscles.
Another myth claims that fat is absolutely bad for you. It’s not. Quite on
the contrary, the body needs some fat in order to get the important
fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K circulating through the cardiovascular
system. Moreover, fat also brings into the body the essential fatty acids
omega-3 and omega-6 that cannot be synthesized in the body. The word
“essential” means that these fatty acids simply have to be present in your
daily food since they play an important role in your health. The recommended
dose of fat is 35 percent of your daily calories.
And last of all comes the idea that a diet or eating plan is enough in
itself and does not have to be coupled with exercising. But exercising is
the most effective way of burning up the extra calories stored as fat.
Simply sitting at your desk all day long is not going to do the trick,
regardless of what diet you’re on. Remember that a diet that has plenty of
food (the right kind of food) and plenty of exercise is far better than
sitting on the sofa and drinking cabbage soup every six hours. It works
faster and is less stressful to your body.
Diet Secrets of Hollywood Stars
Diets come a dime a dozen in
Hollywood. They practically fall out of the sky. Any doctor or layman who
manages to have an original idea or, at least, a new twist on an old idea,
and is marginally successful in selling it to the public is thinking of
setting up a shop in Hollywood. There’s probably no other place on Earth
where diets and any other idea that could keep a body slim are so venerated
as in Hollywood. Hundreds of young women and men (and some of them not so
young) employ personal trainers and are up to date on the latest dieting
trends because it’s good for their jobs to do so.
The general public is also interested in finding out the dieting secrets of
movie stars and singers. They think that actors might have some tricks up
their sleeves if they manage to stay so slim and good-looking through the
years. Actually it’s not quite like that. Actors and singers are normal
human beings. They have their unique genetic make-ups which means that no
single diet works for everybody. So each one of them tries a couple of diets
in order to find out which one suits him or her. Moreover, not all Hollywood
stars stick to their diets. The crave for a treat does not discriminate.
Celebrities don’t have some sort of secret knowledge that opens the path to
a beautiful body. Most of them get their tips just as the rest of the people
do. They hear them from hairdressers and make-up girls. They get them from
agents and publicists. Or they follow the latest fashionable trainer or
dietician, just as they pick up on the latest philosophies or mystical
experiences. Moving from Atkins to cabbage soup is not more complicated than
dropping Buddhism in favor of Kabbalah. Some stars hire people who know a
lot about diets to make these decisions for them.
All these famous people have to deal with the same kind of issues we all do.
Sticking to a diet is hard on them, too, so they eat things they shouldn’t
and resent the fact that they can’t do it all the time. They worry about the
effects of such and such diets on their skin and they don’t look all that
great all the time. But for every star there’s a small army of lighting
experts, make-up artists, beauticians, image editing and visual effects
people who work hard to make sure that the faces we see on screens and in
magazines look perfect. No blemishes, no unsightly skin, no sagging
anywhere. Just perfection.
One thing that could be said for Hollywood stars is that they work harder at
their diets than most people. It’s very important for their jobs and
popularity and so they try really hard to stay in shape and look good
everyday. They’re not dieting experts and it’s unrealistic to expect them to
be so. They’re good at other things and we’re content with them being that
way. So, the bottom line is that there really is not secret to Hollywood
dieting. Just the will to carry on and the struggle to stay fit.
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