6 Crazy Diet Rules To Ditch

When it comes to eating healthy or losing weight, it seems that people are likely to opt for the “quick-fix,” rather than overhaul their entire diet. Whether it’s cutting out gluten or embarking on a weeklong juice cleanse, there always seems to be a new fad diet, but unfortunately, these seemingly miraculous cures won’t help you lose weight or stay in shape in the long run.

Research has found that dieting is less impactful for losing weight and getting healthy than traditional methods such as regular exercise and healthy eating, and that weight loss is only successful for short-term.Although these diet rules and weight loss tips might seem like they can help you attain the body you desire, some of these suggestions can actually make you more unhealthy. Next time you’re trying to adapt the right eating habits, ditch these six crazy diet rules that are totally unnecessary.

1. Cutting Out Fat

“My number one diet rule to ditch is cutting out fat,” says Adina Fradkin, MS, RD, LDN. “Eating fat does not make you fat. Fats are incredibly healthy and can be very therapeutic in the diet. For example, including fat in your meal can help you feel fuller for longer so you’re not hungry an hour after you’ve eaten.”

Photo by katerha

2. Counting Calories

“In this day and age, a calorie isn’t necessarily a calorie,” says Darin Hulslander, CEO and owner of DNS Performance and Nutrition. “For example, it takes more energy to digest peanut butter than peanuts, even though both have similar calories. Focus on quality portions of protein, veggies, and good fats each meal, and calorie counting won’t become a tedious and potentially adverse task.”

3. Eating Only Egg Whites

“Unless you are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol or cardiovascular disease, eating the eggs AND yolks can actually help you,” says Hulslander. “For one, yolks are high in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Egg yolks also elevate high-density lipoproteins, which are the ‘good’ proteins that can help remove plaque from the arteries.”

4. Eating Diet Foods

“Stop eating any food with the word ‘diet’ on it,” says Dr. Ryan Curda. “‘Low fat,’ ‘fat-free,’ ‘lean,’ and ‘lite’ all fall into the same category. ‘Diet,’ or any of the other marketing buzz words of commercial food products generally refers to a processed food that has either a low-calorie or a low-fat count per serving as compared to another version.” The problem is that when manufacturers remove one thing, they have to replace it with another that can end up being more unhealthy, such as adding sugar or salt.

5. Cleansing And Detoxing

“Ditch the cleanse and the detox,” says Shannon A. Garcia, MDS, RD, LD, CLC. “Save some cash by not buying the latest detox pill or cleanse program. As amazing human beings, we have the best detox there is — it’s called a liver. We all have one. And because many supplements, pills and cleanses may contain ingredients that can actually harm our liver, our best bet to ‘detox’ is to stay hydrated with water and maintain a balanced diet.”

6. Skipping Breakfast

“Many falsely believe that this will save calories and/or boost their metabolism, but it just isn’t true,” says Dr. Ryan Rogers. “Multiple studies have shown that skipping breakfast slows down concentration and memory. It can result in less healthy choices come lunchtime. During sleep, the brains main source of energy decreases and a healthy breakfast helps replenish it. Without it, the brain continues to struggle to stay focused.”

Photo by TipsTimesAdmin