Copyright 2006 Brad Howard

The weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and everybody is trying to jump into the bandwagon and trying to convince you that they know what it takes to make you lose weight. Unfortunately, this information overload has given birth to a ton of misinformation. As such, it is best if you start your weight loss plan by distinguishing fact from fiction.

Weight Loss Facts and Fallacies

Skipping breakfast will make you lose weight (because you consume less food for the day). Actually, skipping breakfast achieves the opposite you gain weight! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Its basically what keeps you going for the rest of the day and a missed morning meal would make you feel hungry earlier than usual and then what? Either youll eat more than you should because you are extremely hungry or eat something thats not healthy because its the most convenient thing your hands can grab at the moment.

Nibbles dont count. A lot of weight challenged people tend to rationalize nibbling here and there would not make them gain weight. Unfortunately, it does. Just like how a couple of dimes can make a dollar, a bucketful of nibbles will be equivalent to one full meal.

Parties are exceptions. It does not matter if its a simple dinner at a small Chinese restaurant, a charity ball in a five-star hotel or a wedding reception you are STILL not excused from counting calories and paying strict attention to the dos and donts of your diet regime. Heres food for thought - no matter where you eat, chocolate will always be high on sugar.

The only way to lose weight is to commit to a fitness club. If theres a will, theres a way! Exercise, literally, is movement. As such, going up and down the stairs, walking to and from work or simply cleaning your house or doing a little gardening all counts!

Popular diets dont work. It is not that popular diets do not work it is just that they do not work for everyone. Our bodies are different from each other and react differently to different stimuli. For instance, the Atkins diet has helped thousands of people lose weight but has caused weight gain in others. So what do you do? The best and safest way to diet is to consult a nutritionist or dietician who can recommend the diet that is most suited for your body and current fitness goals.

Weight Loss = A Commitment to A New Way of Life

In your quest for weight loss, you will come across hundreds more of myths such as those listed above. However, in the middle of all of these there is one single truth that all diets and weight loss regimens concede to be true to achieve weight loss and maintain it, you need to change your lifestyle.

To lose those unwanted pounds, you simply need to burn off more energy than you acquire from the foods you eat. Period. So seriously, the secret to weight loss is really something you have known all this time right? You need to change the way you look at food, make a conscious decision to start eating healthy and start exercising daily.