Fact versus Fiction in Weight Lossby Heather Long | More from this Blogger 24 Apr 2006 06:00 PM When it comes to sorting out the fact and fiction of weight loss and diet plans, it's enough to make even the most studious person crazy. We can read all we want about ketones, proteins, carbohyhdrates and fats and at the end of the day, one diet may sound very much like another. So how do you separate fact from fiction>? Fact The facts about weight loss are that a realistic diet can help you lose around 2 pounds per week. A plan that promises faster weight loss is eliminating water and glycogen, not fat. When you lose weight very quickly, chances are you will return to your original weight just as quickly when you finish the diet. Fiction You can recognize weight loss fiction relatively easily. It will promise you that your weight loss will be simple and quick. It will tell you that exercise is not necessary. Weight loss fiction promises that you only need to perform specific exercises to spot reduce. They will also tell you that you can lose weight just by eliminating fats or carbohydrates from your meals. Fact Losing body fat is important to a weight loss program, but equally if not more important is maintaining muscle mass or building muscle. You need a food program that provides more energy in order to keep your metabolism running high. A good diet will include foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and non-fat dairy products. Fiction Losing water weight will help you achieve your long-term goals. You can lose weight without working out. You are better of skipping meals and should reduce your calorie intake below 1000 calories a day. Fact You should reduce the dense calorie foods from your regular eating habits like chips, cookies, sugary deserts and fried foods. You need to maintain a high fiber content in your diet as well as regular exercise such as strength training. Your caloric intake should be lower than your caloric burn, so if you burn about 2000 calories a day, you should eat around 1500 or 1600 calories a day. Learn more about Heather Long  Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago. Relevantweight loss tags Food | Scrapbooking | weight loss | holidays | children | pregnancy | baby | Kids | christmas | Coupons User Comments HealthDoctor (5) 08 Feb 2007 03:23 PMI'd like to make a comment about Heather's estimate of 2 pounds per week of weight loss. In my experience, that is difficult to attain and hold for most women. Men are more likely to achieve that goal as fat lost, given that they consume ~1,000 more calories per day than women do - so cutting a thousand calories still leaves men with enough food to feel satisfied. To lose 2 pounds in a week, assuming it is fat, requires a reduction in food consumption of 7,000 calories - or 1,000 less calories per day. For a woman who is only eating 1500 calories per day, that doesn't leave much for her to eat. If she also increases her caloric expenditure through exercise, then that's certainly a more likely goal. That thousand calories per day, even when both reduced intake and increased exercise are combine, is difficult to sustain for long periods of time - and may be more than most people can manage. For women, a more realistic goal is 1/2 to 1 pound per week, with plateaus built in. It doesn't sound as exciting as 'fast, easy' weight loss, but it will be fat lost (not muscle) and it will be sustainable across time. Community Tags calories, diet myths, facts, weight loss, water weight Discuss this article
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