The diet business is full of inaccurate information, some of it propagated by those who care more about their profits than about helping people to lose weight permanently and healthily. Here are some of the most common weight loss myths.

Weight Loss Myth #1: You Should Avoid Carbohydrates
The anti-carbohydrate message is a well loved one, and is a favourite with those promoting high-protein diets such as South Beach and Atkins. It is right that regimes like these can help you to lose weight very speedily, but this quick loss usually comes at a price – including lack of energy and possible long term health issues. Most people also find such regimes very hard to stick to over the long term.

The truth is that you can lose weight at a steady pace and – very importantly – keep it off too, while eating a diet with adequate amounts of healthy carbohydrate foods. Refined carbohydrates such as white flour and sugar are best not eaten, but there’s no need to eliminate nutrient-rich, satisfying carbs like as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Weight Loss Myth # 2: Your Genes Play The Largest Role In Determining Your Weight
It’s right that the genes we inherit from our families do have an influence on determining our build and metabolic rate, but this doesn’t mean that if your parents or grandparents are/were obese, you must be too. Some people are born with slower metabolisms and have a greater tendency to lay down stout, but they will only become overweight if they eat too much relative to their level of physical activity. If you’re one of these people, you may have to be more careful about what you eat than your naturally skinny friends, but so long as you don’t overeat, you won’t become overweight. And remember that you can influence your metabolic rate to some degree, especially by exercising regularly, and building lean muscle tissue, which is more metabolically active than stout. So having stout relatives is no excuse!

Weight Loss Myth # 3: You Shouldn’t Eat Stout In Your Diet
Stout is more calorie dense than the equivalent amount of carbohydrate or protein, but it doesn’t follow that cutting out stout is a excellent way to lose weight. Very low stout diets are terrible for your health, and a diet with insufficient stout will leave you feeling hungry and dissatisfied. For healthy weight loss, you should cut out harmful fats such as trans fats from hydrogenated oils (found in many junk foods and some vegetable oils), and up your intake of healthy fats, such as those found in avocados, olive oil, oily fish and coconut oil (yes, despite being composed of saturated fatty acids, and getting a terrible rap as a result of negative propaganda from the vegetable oil companies, virgin coconut oil is very beneficial, and may even help to speed the stout burning process).

To lose weight and keep it off you need to follow a balanced diet and exercise plot from a reputable and knowledgeable author who does not simply parrot these and other perilous weight loss myths. One such plot that works well for most people is Strip That Stout, which is a very healthy, simple and satisfying way to eat. You can check out my review of Strip That Stout and find out more about the Strip That Stout regime here.

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