The Top 10 Diet and Nutrition Myths

When it comes to getting a hold over your food intake to help you reach your goals, you need to be careful you do not fall for some of the big diet and nutrition myths. With all the various information becoming available on the suggested best diet programs to use to get results, it's not surprising you'd be a little confused.

Here are the biggest diet and nutrition myths you need to watch out for.

1-Eating At Night Causes Weight Gain

The first big nutrition myth is that eating at night causes weight gain. Excess calories are what cause weight gain. If eating at night puts you over your daily needs, then yes, that will cause weight gain. If it does not and is a planned part of your diet, it definitely will not cause you to gain weight.

2-Dairy Products Should Be Avoided While On a Diet

Dairy has gotten a very bad rap as far as fat loss is concerned, which is unfortunate because some studies have actually demonstrated very well that including dairy on a regular basis as part of your diet can actually increase your rate of fat loss and help you maintain your body weight. As long as you are making smart choices, dairy products can certainly be part of a good weight loss diet.

3-Eating After A Workout Prevents Faster Fat Burning

Many individuals think that if they skip eating after a workout, they will continue to burn fat at an accelerated pace. Again, this is incorrect. The food you eat after a workout is actually least likely to end up as body fat, meaning that is the time you really do want to be consuming a good source of protein and carbohydrates.

4-You Should Eat Lots of Protein To Build Muscle

Another common myth is that the more protein you eat while trying to build muscle, the faster you'll see results. While you do need to be meeting your protein needs to build muscle effectively, there is no reason to go above your needs. The body will just get rid of the excess protein when you go to the bathroom.

5-Vegetarians Can not Get All Their Nutrients

If you happen to be a vegetarian, take comfort in knowing that you can lead a very healthy lifestyle but you will definitely have to put a bit more thought and planning into your diet than someone who is not. You will have no problem reaching your requirements for a variety of vitamins and minerals, but there are some you may start to fall short in including protein, iron, and calcium. By looking into alternative sources for these nutrients or adding some supplements to your diet you can help yourself overcome this issue.

6-The More Calories You Cut From Your Diet, The Faster You Will Lose Weight

Another mistake you might fall for is the thought pattern that if reducing your food intake some is good, reducing it more is better. The problem here is that while you definitely do need to reduce your calorie intake in order to experience weight loss, if you drop that intake too low, the metabolism is going to slow and further weight loss is going to become very difficult.

7-If You Take a Protein Powder You Will Build Big Muscles Quickly

Another myth with regards to protein is that if you take a protein powder supplement, you'll automatically 'get huge'. Wrong again. Protein powders can be very beneficial when you struggle to get enough protein in from your usual food intake. While whole food will always be better than any supplement, there are times when a supplement can help make or break a diet, as in the case of not meeting your protein needs.

8-When Trying To Maximize Fat Loss You Should Avoid Snacking

Snacking is another thing that gets a bad rap while dieting as people think this will bump their calorie intake up too high. While it will if you are not reducing the size of your normal meals, most people find that having smaller meals throughout the day and then adding two or three snacks makes sticking with their diet that much more manageable. Again, it's going to be total calorie take that's going to make the biggest difference when it comes to success or not with your diet.

9-Going Off Your Diet Will Lead To Weight Gain

Most dieter's cling to the thought that going off their diet is basically going to be an allout disaster. While you definitely do not want to make cheating on your diet a regular occurrence, indulging in the odd high-calorie meal can actually be a good thing as it will help relieve the psychological anxiety that's associated with food restriction. Plus, over the long haul, one or two higher calorie meals every now and then is certainly not going to set you back so bad that you wind up showing no progress.

10-Fat-Free Foods Are Good Options for Fat Loss

Finally, the last myth you might be falling for is that fat-free foods are a good option for weight loss. While the fat macronutrient does contain the most calories per gram so you do need to be careful how much you consume, you have to watch out because many times when manufacturers make something fat-free, they add in a great deal of sugar or additional carbs to compensate for the lack of fat. So, even though it may be fat-free, it's filled with other nutrient-void calories that can easily add up and stop fat loss.

So, be sure you're keeping these points in mind. It's important if you hope to have success with your diet and get results as quickly as possible.

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