Weight Loss Myths Dispelled

With the myriad of tips on weight loss out there, you're bound to come across some that are false. Like many of the internet myths out there, some arose from misinformation from one to another, others developed from the tendency of people to exaggerate and some are plain lies fabricated by people who have little better to do.

So what are some of the tips circulating around that are false?

1. Eating fruits before a meal helps you lose weight

Some reports have shown that eating fruits prior to having a meal can help in weight loss. Some of these myths refer to specific fruits, grapefruits, oranges, lemon or lime. Most of them refer to sour fruits, suggesting that something in the fruits helps to lose weight and works especially well with a meal.

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But the truth is, eating fruits before a meal simply fills you up so that you eat less for your meal. It's simply substituting your staple with fruits, and since fruits contain more water and fibre, most people can slim down somewhat with fruits before a meal. But if you're the type who clean out your plate no matter what your stomach says as a habit, this tip is probably going to make you gain more weight.

2. Eating celery uses more calories than you gain from eating it

The original weight loss food first began its tale with the celery (weight loss pills notwithstanding; pills aren't food). The myth suggests that the calories provided by each stalk of calories are so low that it takes you more energy simply to chew and digest them.

It's true that the calorie from each stalk of celery is a mere 6 calories. It is also true that it takes your body to digest food that you eat. But unfortunately for weight loss fanatics, processing a stalk of celery spends you approximately half a calorie or slightly more. In fact, the amount of calories you burn from processing food takes a percentage of the calories available in the food, so it's impossible to ever find food that cost more to process that it provides.

3. Eating your food raw

One of these weight loss myths would please people who lament the amount of processed food on our tables today. The myth says that by eating your food raw instead of cooking it, you can lose weight. Of course, we assume they refer to vegetables rather than meat stuff.

It's probably true that you could lose some weight by switching to a vegetarian diet without factory processing. But a true vegetarian diet is very difficult for most to keep up with. In the end, salads get lined with mayonnaise, lots of olive oil and even salt.

Eating your foods raw is only useful if you can truly eat it without adding fatty, oily sauces.

4. The weight loss cereal

Much like the original weight loss celery myth, the weight loss cereal appears to proclaim to help people lose weight by eating it. But in actual fact, it was simply a making gimmick. The weight loss cereal actually contains fewer calories than your standard cereal serving, so the tag line was asking for you to replace your current cereal with the weight loss cereal. The weight loss comes from a lower calorie count rather than an effect of the cereal itself.

5. Drinking cold water

If there were any truths in any of the myths, this is one that comes closest to be actually true. Cold drinks lower body temperature, so your body actually raises metabolism to raise temperature. But this effect is actually so minimal that it was calculated that if you actually replaced every drink you had with a cold drink for a year; you could probably lose about 1 pound of weight.

So while it's true you actually do lose weight, it's not really a solution.