Debunking the Myths of Dieting
Keeping the Weight Off, Vegetarian Diets, Slimming Gadgets
Nov 20, 2008
The famous comic of an anorexic woman looking into a mirror and seeing a hippopotamus (or variations of it) is no longer funny; it is a scarily accurate representation of women all around the world afflicted with dieting obsessions, which can easily lead to eating disorders.
If dieting was indeed ‘hope in a jar’, the fine print underneath the label would read something like this.
Having Your Desired Body Shape Keeps You Feeling Good About Yourself
A famous Body Shop ad proclaimed that ‘There are 3 billion women who don’t look like supermodels and only eight who do’. Studies show that 45% of women who are medically underweight believe that they are fat. Hardly anybody is fully satisfied with the way she looks, and in extreme cases, it turns into body dysmorphia. Furthermore it is easy to become addicted to dieting especially if one is not careful.
Weight Lost During Diets Stay Off Easily
According to YWCA New South Wales, research has shown that three years after going on a diet, 95% of people are either the same weight or heavier than they started off with. The problem with crash dieting is that the weight that is lost comes from water and muscle weight, not fat. Calories should be consumed in moderation, but eating less than 1,000 calories a day will severely slow down your metabolism, in order to conserve energy. If you ever return to your normal eating habits, the weight would just pile on faster because your metabolism has already adapted to digesting tiny amounts of food each time.
Diets Should Consist of Fruits and Vegetables
There is a belief that vegetarians are healthier, however this theory is still under dispute. A study published in the British Medical Journal was conducted on 6000 vegetarians and 5000 non-vegetarians; with the discovery that the former group had 40% less risk of cancer and 30% less risk of heart disease than the latter. On the other hand, according to studies undertaken by the Northwestern University, protein from animal sources is vital to our diet because it contains all the nine essential amino acids. Following this reasoning, vegetarians are at a disadvantage because fruits, vegetables and legumes are considered incomplete proteins.
Diets Improve Your Health and Sex Life
Yes, confidence is a turn-on for just about anyone, and feeling good about oneself would naturally attract others. Unfortunately most women imagine that they would feel more confident about themselves if they lost just a bit more weight. Not having enough nutrition will definitely wreck one's health and sex life, as diets can drain energy as well as destroy one’s concentration.
Using Slimming Gadgets is an Easy Alternative to Crash Diets and Exercise
As the dreaded saying goes, no pain, no gain. Learn to be wary about advertisements which promise dieting machines or gadgets which do not require exercise, as muscle stimulators only apply a small electrical pulse to the muscles, and are not scientifically proven to affect body fat in any way. Basically, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. However, don’t let this be a deterrent – exercising does not have to be a chore. Find some buddies to motivate each other and play sports together if the gym is not too appealing. Experts recommend 30 minutes of activity a day to keep the body, mind and soul healthy.
At the end of the day, it is important to remember uninformed dieting can lead to more dangers than benefits. Weight loss should not be the key objective of diets, but rather the preservation of health.
 |
