When it comes to dieting, popular wisdom is hit and miss, so you should be well informed before making any decisions which may end up pointless or even harmful for your health and your weight loss plan. Once you know the worst diet tips ever, it’ll be easier to avoid bad advice.
From eating “diet” foods without actually checking the label to other misconceptions about cleanses and crash diets, here are the big don’ts of dieting.
1. You Can Trust “Diet” Foods
While they may have less calories, fats or carbs, foods that are marketed as “diet” options aren’t always better for you, or even for your weight loss plan. Many diets foods, especially those advertised as low fat, still have high levels of sugar and a high glycemic index. They’re also usually highly processed and may lack important nutrients.
2. You Need to Give Up Fats
Avoiding all fats is a bad idea and one of the worst diet tips ever. Healthy, unsaturated fats found in nuts, seeds, fish and some vegetables and fruits are important in the weight loss process. You will gain weight if you eat too many fats, but your goal should be restricting the saturated fats found in red meat and dairy and the trans fats found in many processed and fried foods.
3. Go Gluten Free
While a gluten-free diet is the only option for people who suffer from Celiac disease, it’s not the best way to lose weight for everyone else. Gluten-free foods are more expensive and more processed. While some people experience weight loss after going on a gluten-free diet, gluten itself isn’t fattening, and cutting out refined carbs in favor of whole grains is the better dietary choice.
4. Stick to Egg Whites and Forget the Yolks
Eating just the eggwhites is the right call when you’re facing a high risk of cardiovascular disease, because it’s the yolks that contain cholesterol, but it’s also one of the worst diet tips ever for everyone else. The protein found in egg yolks is important for a healthy body and studies have shown that eggs actually increase the HDL “good” cholesterol, not the “bad” LDL one. Eat them in moderation and they’ll fuel your body towards your weight loss goal.
5. Replace Butter With Low Fat Margarine
Just like eggs, butter can increase your risk of heart disease when it’s eaten in excess. However, replacing it with margarine is a bad idea. Made from refined vegetable oil, margarine can be even worse for both your health and for your weight loss plan. Even if you’re eating a low fat version of it, it’s still a highly processed food that will not have a beneficial impact on weight loss.
6. Reduce Snacking
While eating less snacks might seem like it leads to eating less overall, you’re losing the important benefit of hunger control. If you skip snacks when you’re hungry, you’ll end up binge eating when you get to your next meal. Just like eating every 2 hours, snack reduction is one of the worst diet tips ever. The key to weight loss is moderation and focusing on healthy snacks.
7. Eat Less Carbs
Low carb diets are very popular and they do work, but if your quest for a low carb diet ends with eating less fruits, vegetables and whole grains, you’re missing the point. Refined carbohydrates, from white flour to white rice, are the ones you should be avoiding, not the healthy ones found in less processed foods.
8. A Regular Cleanse Helps You Detox and Lose Weight
Most dietitians agree the human body can detoxify itself as long as you’re not overwhelming it with extra toxins from processed foods for every meal. Regular cleanses that include drinking only juice are one of the worst diet tips ever, since they’re depriving your body of important nutrients and pushing it into starvation mode, actually increasing the rate at which fat is stored.
9. You Can Skip Fruits and Vegetables If You Drink Their Juice
Juices that include pulp are better than those that don’t but you’re still missing out on fiber if you don’t eat fruits and vegetables. Fiber is also found in the skin of most fruit and it can improve your digestion, which in turn helps you lose weight.
10. Reduce Calories Drastically for Quick Results
Going on a crash diet is definitely one of the worst diet tips ever, since it slows down your metabolism and any quick results will fade away very fast. Aim for sustainable weight loss, by eating healthier and staying active, instead of the quick fix.
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