#1 Mind-Blowing Secret … Shh … The Weight Loss Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know This

Shhhhh….it’s a secret!

Just because they claim that it works does not mean that it works.

I know that I have tried one of the many fad diets, tips or trends through the years.  (pssst…I know you have too, that is why you are reading this.)  From the grapefruit diet to the acai diet to the diet pills like Garcinia Cambogia (get a full list here); it seems like there is always a new “lose weight fast” diet or trend being talked about.  This can cause a lot of confusion and frustration among people like you and me who want to lose weight but are constantly being told “this works better,” or “that doesn’t work anymore.”

This confusion and frustration stems from the fact that just because the company claims it works, does not mean that it works continually or for everyone.  People are very different, which means that they lose weight differently as well.  Can you say that you live exactly the same as your closest family member, or best friend? No? Then how can all those claims of how people lost weight work exactly the same for you?

Here are some of the craziest claims made in the most recent years:

Chewing sugar-free gum and other foods low in calories like celery will help you burn more calories. Really?  I’m not exactly sure where this claim came from, but it hardly burns enough calories to help you lose weight.  Sure every movement you make does burn calories, so this would include chewing, but the act of chewing still burns fewer calories than that stick of celery has.  Every food item you put into your mouth has a calorie count, there is no such thing as negative-calorie foods.  Even the foods with 0 calories have some, just so few that they can claim that it has 0.

Coffee increases your metabolism. Coffee does have caffeine in it, which does stimulate your nervous system.  This is how you get that burst of energy.  It certainly can help move you along in the morning, but it still only helps you burn 50-75 calories in 4 hours.  That is not a significant amount to create a weight loss.  If you drink milk, cream, or sugar in your coffee you can forget about any extra calorie burn as you will not be burning more calories than you are putting in.

Eating after 8pm will make you gain weight.  Your body is still running, which means your metabolism is still going.  I am going to tell you right now that your body does not stop working while you sleep; it continues to burn calories just at a slower rate, as you are resting instead of moving about.  Since your body does not shut off, that snack you eat before bed will not automatically be stored as fat.  You want to make sure you eat what your body needs.  If it needs that night times snack, then eat it.  (Going to bed hungry will not help you lose weight, rather it may actually keep you focused on that making you get less rest.) The catch is that you want to eat foods such as veggies, fruits, dairy (depending you’re your internal system) rather than that piece of cake.  This is simply due to the fact that carbs sit differently in the stomach of most people causing them to have a difficult time sleeping.

Skip breakfast if you can’t eat a well-balanced meal.  You have been sleeping for the past 7-9 hours, plus your last meal was probably supper, your body is hungry.  When you go that long without food during the day it is often called “fasting.”  You need fuel in your body to give it energy.  The better choice here is to eat something no matter how small or what you have to grab on your way out of the house.  Something is better than nothing.  When your body goes long periods of time without food, it will begin to store extra as fat because it knows that it will need it to run.  When you skip meals your body gets concerned for your health so it stores what it has as fat.

You burn more fat when you exercise on an empty stomach.  Here’s the truth.  It does burn more fat, but you also exercise less because you lack the energy for a longer workout.  While you may be burning more fat, you are burning less over the long run because of shorter workouts.  Whether you are exercising to lose weight or stay fit, it is better that you eat a small snack about 30 minutes before your workout.  Eating a 150-200 calorie snack will give you the energy you need for a longer workout, plus after burning those 750 calories you will have a larger deficit than if you skipped the snack and only burned 200 calories.

Give yourself some love and listen to your body.  Remember that you are different; your weight loss is going to be personal to you.  When someone makes a claim about something that helped them lose weight, take a few minutes to think about you and your body before making the purchase or implementing the advice.

What diet plan or tips have you tried in the past that failed?  Share below.

Do you want to know more about which fad diets, tips and trends don’t work?