Myth #1 - The most effective way to lose weight is to drastically cut your calories.

Theoretically, this concept seems to make sense. We have all gone on drastic diets and the weight does come off, well at least at first it does. However in time, the weight loss slows down and then comes to a halt—moreover the weight eventually starts to creep back up even if you are starving yourself! Why does this happen? Isn't it true that if you consume fewer calories than you burn then you will lose weight? Yes, it is absolutely correct that if you consume fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. However, this does not necessarily happen when you go on a crash diet.

Starvation diets do not work because your body has been programmed for survival. When you go on a crash diet, your body thinks that there is a famine and it will instinctively reduce its metabolism to conserve energy. When your body reduces its metabolism, it is reducing the amount of calories you burn. As such, when you go on a crash diet, you might be consuming fewer calories but at the same time, you are also burning fewer calories—as such your weight loss will be minimal. Another negative aspect of drastically cutting calories is that your body will conserve as much fat as possible and burn muscle for energy.

Myth #2 - By eliminating carbohydrates from my diet, I will lose weight easily since my body will be forced to burn fat for energy.

Millions of people across the globe believe that they can lose weight by eliminating carbohydrates from their diet. Known as the low carbohydrate or the low carb/high protein diet, this is the most popular and misleading fad diet. Why is this diet so misleading? The reason is quite simple; you lose weight initially and you think that this weight loss will continue as long as you stay on this diet.

However, after a short term the weight loss stops; moreover what you may not realize is that the initial weight loss is mostly water and muscle loss and not actual fat loss. Then once you come off the low carb diet, your weight shoots up and you regain the weight you lost plus a few additional pounds. Due to the fact that low carb diets are so misleading, we have devoted an entire section to this topic in the members' section of the site.

Myth #3 - You cannot gain weight by eating "fat-free" or "low-fat" foods.

You should strive to eat a diet that is low in fat. However, this does not mean that you should eat man-made processed foods simply because those products state that they are "fat-free". Remember that those fat-free or low-fat products still contain calories. In fact they probably contain lots of calories since even though they may be low in fat, they are also usually high in sugar content. Usually fat-free processed foods are not very filling; as such you may consume larger portions than normal. Remember that weight loss comes down to how many calories you consume versus how many calories you burn. As such, don't be deceived into eating processed fat-free products!

Myth #4 - You can lose weight by skipping breakfast and lunch; then in the evening you can reward yourself with a large supper.

When most people go on diets the first thing they do is to cut back on their food intake by skipping breakfast and lunch. Unfortunately, skipping breakfast and lunch is probably the worst thing that you can do if you wish to lose weight. Sure, you may minimize on your calorie intake by not eating breakfast and lunch, but you will more than make that up by binging at dinner time. Yet the main problem with not eating breakfast and lunch is that your body believes that it is starving and as such slows down its metabolism—a slow metabolism inhibits weight loss. Furthermore, by not eating breakfast or lunch, you body's supply of glucose is disrupted and this can play havoc on your body's insulin regulation system.

The most successful people at losing weight on a permanent basis have one thing in common: they all eat a good breakfast. The reason you need to eat breakfast is to rev up your metabolism. Your body's metabolism drops off at night when you are sleeping—to kick it back into high gear, you need to eat a good and healthy breakfast. The process of digesting food boosts your metabolism, so it is essential that you eat after getting up.

Myth #5 - Lifting weights or strength training is not a good strategy for losing weight since it will bulk me up.

Many people feel that weight lifting is meant only for bodybuilders; and that lifting weights can bulk up your body. This myth is by far from the truth! Weight lifting should be an integral part of a healthy fitness and weight loss program. It is important to realize that muscle burns calories by doing absolutely nothing! As such, by increasing your muscle mass, you will increase you body's metabolism—which is a key factor in losing weight.

If you are a woman you must be wondering why you should include strength training in your fitness regimen? It is after all practiced by athletes and bodybuilders and is essentially a guy thing! This belief is a misconception—strength training is in fact just as good for women as it is for men. By participating in regular weight training exercises you will neither produce bulging muscles nor will you injure yourself lifting heavy weights. Since women have high levels of the hormone estrogen, they generally do not develop large muscles. So it is absolutely safe for a woman to practice strength training.