Weight Loss Gimmicks to Avoid

Many people are looking to lose weight and lose weight fast, so they fall for many weight-loss gimmicks.  The best way to lose weight is to change your lifestyle, healthier eating and more exercise.  But a lot of people don’t want to make the effort.  They look for an easy way to lose weight and then try one or more weight-loss gimmicks.  What are some of these weight-loss gimmicks that you should avoid? 

• Short, 7-Minute Workouts – you have seen these headlines:  Lose weight by exercising only 7 minutes a day.  Any exercise is good for you but exercising only 7 minutes a day won’t lead to weight loss.  If you keep repeating the 7-minute workout and exercise for 21 minutes or more, then the exercise can burn up some calories.
  
• Detox and Teas that promote weight loss – I have heard many people say they are on a “detox diet” thinking this is a good thing.  But your liver “detoxes” every day and you don’t need to go on a “detox diet”.  Johns Hopkins Medicine states: “Your liver represents the human body’s filtration system, converting toxins into waste products, cleansing your blood, and metabolizing nutrients and medications...”   Many of the detox teas want you to skip meals and drink the tea instead. Yes, this would lead to weight loss but because you are eating less calories.  Some people promote Green Tea for weight loss.  Green Tea is certainly healthy, as it is full of good antioxidants.  But many studies have found weight loss from drinking Green Tea wasn’t significant.  Nothing wrong with drinking Green Tea – I really enjoy drinking it in colder weather.  And, if you exercise and switch to a healthier diet, drinking Green Tea can fill you up so you may eat less.

Say no to any detox diet. 

• Juice Cleanses – a person I know goes on a “juice cleanse” diet for a week every year.  During that week, he admits to having low energy and feeling weak and tired.  He truly thinks this week of sacrificing is good for his health.  MedicalNewsToday notes some downsides of juice cleanses.  “Consuming an insufficient number of calories can cause a person to experience symptoms relating to low blood sugar because the body does not have enough energy.  Examples of these symptoms include fainting, weakness, dehydration, headaches, and hunger.”  No wonder “Mr. Cleanse” felt weak and tired when on his juice cleanse for a week.  The juice cleanse consists of fruit and/or vegetable juices with usually no solid food.  Will you lose weight on a juice cleanse?  Probably.  But the weight loss is lots of water, some fat but also some muscle – lean muscle mass you really don’t want to lose.  Then, when you go back to eating your regular diet, you will probably see the weight you lost return because you really haven’t changed your lifestyle.  Brian Kiselstein, a certified fitness professional, states, “Juice cleanses do not promote a healthy lifestyle and won’t make you healthier, other than just losing a few pounds.”  And pounds you probably gain back pretty quickly.

Drink the juice but skip the juice cleanse diet.

• No-Carb Diet – So many diet myths and the myths about carbs and dieting are on top of the list.  Many people think “carbs are bad” and go on a low-carb or even a no-carb diet.   A common such diet is the Atkins Diet.  You actually need carbs in your diet as carbs are your body’s energy nutrient.  In fact, most of the calories you eat each day should come from carbs.  Will you lose weight on a low-carb or no-carb diet?  Probably.  But US News & World Report notes:  “In 2003, researchers who analyzed about 100 low-carb studies concluded in the Journal of the American Medical Association that weight loss on those diets was associated with cutting calories and not with cutting carbs.”  If you want to lose some weight, check out the pros and cons of Best Weight Loss Diets for 2020.    

Keep the carbs, the energy nutrient.

• Diets that eliminate one or more food groups – some people fall for diets that eliminate dairy, grains, fruit and/or vegetables.  The reason there are food groups is because each food group provides important vitamins and minerals and other nutrients your body needs.  Eliminate an entire food group and you eliminate or reduce your intake of important nutrients.  To be healthy you want all food groups in your diet.  You don’t want to eliminate grains but focus on eating more whole grains. Eliminate dairy and you will be eating less calcium and less vitamin D and missing out on a high quality protein source.  A healthy weight loss diet focuses on whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean protein and low-fat dairy.  

Losing weight and keeping it off means lifestyle changes, not quick fixes.  No low-carb diet for me.  I love carbs and enjoy my oatmeal for breakfast, my whole grain bread at lunch, and whole grain crackers or popcorn for snacks.  As for dairy – I have real dairy at every meal.  Real cow’s milk at breakfast, yogurt and usually cheese at lunch and milk at dinner.  I include all the food groups and don’t eliminate any.  Skip the gimmicks and focus on eating healthier and moving more.

Sources:  gimmicks , liver , Johns Hopkins Medicine , Green Tea , MedicalNewsToday , states , US News & World Report , Best Weight Loss Diets for 2020  Image Sources: Juice , detox , carbs