If you’ve been thinking about losing weight over the pandemic, chances are you’ve been doing a lot of research on nutrition and exercise. How many advertisements of fad diets have popped up on your feed? And have you fallen for any of them? Don’t be ashamed to say that you have. We’ve all been there. The sad thing is 69% of fad diets don’t work, and over 65% of people who do complete fad diets end up regaining the weight they lost.

If you’ve fallen for a fad diet, the probability of you falling for other myths about nutrition and dieting are high. This is why we’re going to discuss the seven most common nutrition myths people fall for.

Dieting Means Giving up the Food you Love

When people think of dieting, they immediately think that they have to give up the food that they love to eat. And many Americans love to eat junk food or highly processed food. People should reduce their intake of highly processed food since eating too much of it can lead to health complications. However, dieting shouldn’t be so restrictive as to stop you from eating the food you love.

It should be a balance. That’s why there is such a thing as a balanced diet. That is also why cheat days exist. Yes, diets should be restrictive to a certain extent. But if you don’t allow yourself a treat once in a while, it can lead you to more cravings, and you’ll end up eating more highly processed food than you should. Dieting is all about moderation, not excessive restriction.

Dieting Means Starving

What does that mean? When people are on a diet, the biggest challenge is always feeling hungry. You eat fewer calories, and you don’t feel full. This part of the diet makes everyday life feel miserable. You feel less energetic and have little motivation to do anything, especially work out.

But there’s a way to eat fewer calories without feeling empty. You can eat less and feel full. How? Energy density. For example, a cup of raisins has 434 calories, while a cup of grapes has 82 calories. If you were to eat two cups of grapes, you would consume fewer calories and feel fuller. If you were to eat a cup of raisins, you would end up consuming more calories and still feel hungry.

You can eat Anything you want as long as you Exercise a lot

If you think you’re going to get away with eating junk food by exercising a lot, think again. You won’t even have the energy to exercise if all you eat is junk. Eating junk food makes us sluggish and will prevent us from wanting to exercise. Yes, diets aren’t supposed to be restrictive, and you can treat yourself to a cheat meal once in a while. But you shouldn’t be eating whatever you want without moderation either. Always strive for a well-balanced diet.

Dieting is Only Done to Lose Weight

Dieting is done for several reasons and not just to lose weight. It can be used to gain weight or help people with certain conditions deal with their health better. Take people with diabetes, for example. They aren’t allowed to eat certain dishes. The same goes for people with Crohn’s disease who have to undergo IBD treatment. Part of their treatment includes following a certain diet to avoid aggravating their disease. People who have PCOS also have a certain diet to follow.

Certain Food Groups are Evil

A common diet most people do is the low-carb or low-fat diet. They believe that the main reason people gain weight is because of these two food groups. And by eating less of it (or none of it), they will lose weight. Although it is true, it doesn’t necessarily mean that carbs and fats are evil and should avoid them completely.

As a matter of fact, carbohydrates and fats are both essential for our health. Carbohydrates are in charge of giving us energy. Without carbohydrates, we wouldn’t even have the energy to exercise. Fats also help us function better by helping us to think and act more quickly. Of course, there are some bad fats such as saturated and trans fats that we should avoid. But unsaturated fats that can be found in olive oil or nuts are perfect for our health.

Dieting is not all bad. It shouldn’t be making us feel miserable in the first place. The only thing truly making us miserable is the unrealistic body standards that society forces on us. So the next time you think about dieting, make sure you remember these myths and don’t fall for them.