Working out hard but still can’t lose weight? 4 weight loss myths to understand at once

"I don't eat as much as before, and I exercise regularly, so why am I not losing weight?" This is the question many people who are trying to lose weight have, and it is also the reason why people become more and more discouraged the more they try to lose weight. In fact, there are many factors involved in weight loss, and it may not be effective simply by exercising more or eating less. Understand these 4 weight loss myths at once to stop you from gaining weight!

The American health information website "Prevention" has compiled several weight loss issues that nutrition experts most often hear clients complain about. Come and take a look and see if you have the same misconceptions?

Myth 1: Exercise can burn calories, so the most important thing to lose weight is to exercise more!

Many people put "exercise" at the top of their weight loss list, thinking that as long as they exercise, they can burn calories and lose weight naturally, thus ignoring other factors that affect weight.

Exercise is an important part of the weight loss process, but you also need to improve your diet and other lifestyle habits to lose weight.

Devon Golem, a professor specializing in diet and nutrition at New Mexico State University, said that research shows that if you want to lose weight in the short term, diet control is more effective than exercise; but in the long run, you need to take into account diet, exercise, and lifestyle habits to lose weight sustainably. Therefore, weight loss is not achieved through exercise alone! It will only be effective if you also improve your diet and lifestyle.

Myth 2: Since diet and exercise are both important, I will lose weight if I do these two things well!

These two things are indeed important, but the impact of sleep, stress, and environment on weight loss cannot be ignored. Professor Columbus said that it is undeniable that lack of sleep can easily lead to weight gain, and the less you sleep, the more weight you gain!

Only with adequate sleep and normal metabolism can you lose weight successfully.

In addition, too much stress and not knowing how to relieve it is also a big enemy of weight loss. If you often rely on eating delicious food or drinking to escape stress, it will be even more difficult to lose weight. Moreover, long-term stress can affect the hormones in the body that control appetite and the way the body burns calories. Excessive stress is very detrimental to weight loss.

Never use delicious food to relieve stress, and don't keep junk food at home or in the office, otherwise a slim figure will become increasingly distant from you.

Another thing to note is the environmental factor. If there are often sugary drinks in the refrigerator at home, or if the drawers of your desk are filled with biscuits and milk tea bags, it would be difficult for you to not eat them at all!

Studies show that people who often have these snacks around them may be 20 pounds (about 9 kilograms) fatter than others! Tidy up your surroundings and keep some healthy snacks (like nuts) on hand so you can grab them when you’re hungry. This can help break the bad habit of eating junk food.

But what would life be like without cakes, chips and chocolate? Is it really true that I can’t touch it at all?

As long as you eat healthy most of the time, you can give yourself a chance to indulge yourself a little once a week so that you don't make the weight loss process more and more difficult.

Myth 3: In order to lose weight successfully, high-calorie desserts and potato chips should not be eaten at all!

You know that you can’t eat high-calorie snacks without nutrition, so you try to eat nuts, fruits, and oatmeal as snacks. However, many people cannot accept completely giving up junk food, so they always fail to lose weight after a while!

don’t worry! It doesn’t mean you can only eat healthy food for the rest of your life. Professor Columbus said that people who are trying to lose weight can still leave some room for snacks that are high in oil, sugar, and sodium, and even alcohol. The key is to eat healthy and nutritious food most of the time, and only eat some junk food occasionally to satisfy your cravings!

If you are trying to lose weight and maintain a healthy diet, you can still indulge yourself a little occasionally and eat some sweets to satisfy your cravings.

After all, people still need a little flexibility. If the diet is too strictly controlled, it is easy to suddenly become unbearable and explode one day. For example, on weekends, you suddenly eat and drink to your heart's content without restraint, and your mind is full of horrible thoughts such as "Why am I so pitiful!", which makes all the previous efforts go to waste.

Professor Columbus reminds us that the key is to know how to be moderate. For example, you can allow yourself to indulge yourself a little on Friday and eat a small piece (yes, only one piece, and a small piece) of delicious cake, but you only have this opportunity once a week. On other days, you still have to stick to a healthy diet, which will help you lose weight in the long run.

Myth 4: I heard that healthy fats are also needed for weight loss, so it’s okay to eat more avocados and olive oil!

In the past, people who wanted to lose weight would turn pale at the mention of “oil” because 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories, which sounds scary! Now we know that some fats are healthy. For example, nuts, avocados, olive oil, etc. are rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Moderate intake is good for health and even helps with weight loss.

Although avocados, nuts, and olive oil are healthy fats, they should still be consumed in moderation. Eating too much is still unhealthy and will make you fat.

However, even if it is a healthy fat, it does not mean that you can consume it without restraint. Otherwise, if you supplement too much, you will still consume too many calories and end up gaining weight. For example, many people eat nuts such as cashews and pistachios while watching TV, one mouthful after another, which makes it easy to consume excessive calories without realizing it!

In addition, many people like to drizzle olive oil on their lettuce salads, which seems very healthy, but olive oil is still oil after all. If you consume too much, it will still have adverse effects on your body. Therefore, we must adhere to the principle of balance in our diet, and consume all foods in moderation. This way, we can get more diverse and rich nutrition!