It’s a cruel fact of life; there are diet tips and tricks out there that end up making you gain more weight! Rude!
Usually, you can spot these fails because they have one thing in common… you just have to add or take away ONE thing in your diet to shed the pounds painlessly.
You’ve been warned.
You Have to Stay Hungry
You’re not going to stick to a diet that leaves you miserable and hangry 24/7. Being hungry all the time is a signal your body is not burning fat. It’s not sexy or exciting, but facts are facts; you have to choose high-quality foods from a wide variety of sources to lose weight. There. We said what we said.
Do a Detox
The big question, when you decide to do a detox (usually all liquid), is… what then? That internal cleanse is ancient history as soon as you take your first bite of solid food. What nutritionists say you need to know is that your body is already a detox machine. Your liver filters out toxins. Magic, right?!
Drink Your Calories
Drinking a weight loss shake and skipping a meal is okay once in a while if you’re in a big hurry. But it will not make you lose weight and keep it off. Living on meal replacement shakes makes you skip essential nutrients your body needs. Taking supplements is not a good replacement for the nutrients in high-quality foods.
Stop Eating Gluten
Somehow, along the way, gluten was framed for causing weight gain and lumped in with other bad guys like carbs and fat. Gluten is actually a protein, and it is not known to cause weight gain in a normal diet. Some people can’t eat gluten without having a nasty tummy ache afterward, but that’s the only reason to pass on this one, mostly innocent, ingredient.
Do a Juice Cleanse
Trade in all solid food and drink-only juice for a fresh, new you. Juice cleanses do not work, especially if you try to survive on store-bought orange, apple, and cranberry juices, which are generally loaded down with sugar and will weigh you down in the end.
“Miracle” Foods
Of course, it’s tempting to think adding ONE food or ONE supplement to your diet will make the pounds melt away effortlessly. Real talk here… if there were one food or one pill that made people lose weight, then 42% of Americans would not be obese. Pass on the promised quick fixes that fill your social media feeds.
Stop Eating Carbs
In recent years, carbs have become the big evil villain on the dieting scene. Nutritionists say just doing away with all carbs leads to unhealthy weight loss and the weight piles back on with that first slice of white bread. It’s true that processed carbs (anything that is white; potatoes, rice, bread, sugar) cause an insulin spike, which can make you lose weight.
The plan breaks down when you figure in all the fiber, vitamins, and minerals you’re missing by skipping all high-quality carbs as well.
Staple Your Ear
Fake news. Putting a staple in your ear to lose weight is supposedly putting the power of acupuncture to work. The reality is it won’t decrease your appetite or make you gain weight. It can also cause a nasty infection and make your ear deformed.
Severe Calorie Restriction
There are huge health risks to taking in 800 calories per day. Super-fast weight loss can cause you to get gallstones, lower your metabolism, and saps your muscles. Of course, a strong metabolism and muscles effortlessly burn fat, so you don’t want to lose those! You’re burning calories while reading this article, so don’t short-change your body; there will be an awful breakdown in the end.
Don’t Eat Fat
Before no-carb diets, we had no-fat diets. Neither works, but both stubbornly hang around on the diet scene. If you want to get rid of ONE thing to lose weight, make it trans fats. Keep healthy fats in your diet to fuel your body to help you fight off the pounds. Your body wants to do right by you!
Switch to Sugar-Free Sweeteners
There are two flaws with this weight loss tip. For one, eating artificial sweeteners puts your body in the mood for sugar, and you’re likely to end up binging and gaining more weight. Also, scientists say manufactured artificial sweeteners are to blame for strokes, heart disease, and death.
Swallow a Tapeworm
Trigger warning - this is the grossest item on this list!
People seriously swallow these creepy-crawly parasites to lose weight. Tapeworms only suck up important nutrients your body needs. Also, they can live in your body for 30 years. It’s also gonna lay eggs in your gut—hard pass.
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