You may have wanted to start a diet many times in the past,

only to shy away from it because of some of the things

you've heard or the self-doubt you have to succeed. There

are many myths about dieting, and hopefully, we'll dispel

them today!

The number one myth people fall prey to is that you can

lose weight fast by eliminating as many calories as possible

from your diet or by starving yourself. This is an extremely

unhealthy way to go about it because your body goes into

starvation mode, shutting down as much weight loss as

possible. Some people only want to lose weight fast because

they have an outfit they want to fit into for a special

occasion coming up next week. Don't wait until the last

minute to start a diet.

A very harmful untruth about diets says that you must eat

one type of food, such as soup, mean, hot dogs, or even ice

cream. The diet prohibits you from eating anything else

except that food. This is very unhealthy as your body needs

other foods to be healthy. Eating only one type of food

deprives your body of essential vitamins it needs. You may

lose weight, but you could also do serious damage to your

body as well.

It's also been said that you must stay strictly to the

foods your diet calls for and you can never stray from those

foods or else you'll have to do five thousand jumping jacks

to burn off that piece of pie you ate at lunch. This is not

true. You can have a treat as long as you count the calories

and reduce the calories from your next meal. Exercise as

normal, but please, don't be a prisoner to your diet.

Don't let anybody tell you that eating before bed will

cause you to gain weight; that just isn't true. A healthy

diet means you are counting calories, exercising, and

keeping fit. If what you eat before bed is included in the

daily allotment of calories you are allowed, that will in no

way cause you to gain weight. It's all about the calories;

not when you take them in.

How about the one that says you can't eat anything between

meals? It's better that you do eat snacks. Eat smaller meals

throughout the day to keep your hunger satisfied. By

eliminating snacks between meals, you're only going to make

yourself hungrier at meal times, which cause you to eat a

lot more than you really need just to satisfy your hunger.

There's another myth that says you shouldn't consume any

dairy products at all because they're too fattening. Dairy

contains nutrients your body needs, so you should have some

dairy - n fact, some studies suggest those who consume, have

better weight loss success! Just make sure you limit your

amounts and go for the low-fat versions.

I hope this helps you to make a wise decision upon which

diet plan is best for you. Consult your dietitian or doctor

and they will help you to develop a healthy plan that works

for you.

I lost 40 lbs in 3 months with extreme dieting measures that almost destroyed my health. Spicy food + lots of milk that lead to serious diarrhea every day. I've been doing a bit of research after my dramatic weight loss experience and found that there's actually a PROGRAM designed to do what I attempted, except its basically more healthier and effective.