Bread Is the Enemy

• With the advent of low carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins Diet and the Zone Diet, it is easy to believe that eating breads, pasta and foods that have a significant amount of carbohydrates will not help weight-loss efforts. Not so, say health experts. "The best sources of carbohydrate--whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans--promote good health by delivering vitamins, minerals, fiber and a host of important phyto-nutrients. Easily digested carbohydrates from white bread, white rice, pastries, sugared sodas and other highly processed foods may contribute to weight gain, interfere with weight loss, and promote diabetes and heart disease," says the Harvard School of Public Health. Whole grain sources of food include oats, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta, brown rice, quinoa and barley.
  
  

Low-Fat or Fat-Free Foods Are Slimming

• While some fat-free and low-fat foods are low in calories and can help reduce overall calories when monitoring food intake, a great number of these products are also filled with sugar, starches and salt to enhance flavor or to thicken food. A good example of such a product is fat-free salad dressings and sauces. Check food labels and compare chosen foods to the regular fat versions.
  
  

The Same Diet Works for Everyone

• Some people lose weight on a low-carbohydrate diet, while others will lose more weight on a low-fat diet. At the end of the day, the ultimate goal is to find a healthy eating plan that you can adopt into your lifestyle and the foods you normally eat.
  
  When the New England Journal of Medicine researched three diets, the Mediterranean, low fat and low carbohydrate diets to see which was the most effective, the conclusion was that each had its own benefits for weight loss. "Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets may be effective alternatives to low-fat diets. The more favorable effects on lipids (with the low-carbohydrate diet) and on glycemic control (with the Mediterranean diet) suggest that personal preferences and metabolic considerations might inform individualized tailoring of dietary interventions," the journal says.
  
  

Weightlifting Is Not Slimming

• Weightlifting adds muscle. A misconception is that muscle can look bulky and not slimming. While weightlifting adds muscle, muscle burns more calories than fat. According to Men's Health Magazine, "More lean muscle means a more effective resting metabolic rate. That's why every muscle plays a part in building a body that burns fat."
  
  

Eating Once Daily Lowers Caloric Intake

• For some, eating a large breakfast will take them through most of the day, while grazing on lettuce until bedtime is the answer to reducing caloric intake. Others may do the opposite and save that one meal until lunch or dinner. This one-meal-a-day method is not only dangerous, it may leave a person feeling weak and is actually counter productive, since it may slow down metabolism. Think of food as a way to fuel the body. When you eat, you keep your metabolism going and your body burns off what it needs, storing or getting rid of the excess. Try to eat at least three small meals a day to keep from getting too hungry at any point in time, or six smaller meals to keep up the body's ability to burn calories.