Weight Loss Myths in America: How Free Made us Fat

Everyone talks about it. America's obesity rate is steadily climbing. Well, what are we going to do about it? For those of us who are overweight, there's plenty to choose from in terms of weight loss programs. But that doesn't mean that everything works, no matter how popular it is or how "right" it sounds. If you think about it, out of everyone you know, how many people would you say are on diets right now? I would bet about half and that's on average. But here's the thing: almost everyone is on a diet but the obesity rate is still climbing! If everyone is seemingly making an effort at losing weight, then why is everyone still continuing to gain weight?

It's simple. There is so much information out there about how to lose weight but a lot of what is out there are myths, little white lies told to make you feel better about eating food that is just as bad for you as fried chicken. So what do you do? Here are a few myths to look out for:

Weight Loss Myth No. 1: "Fat Free"
The first thing you must realize is that nothing is fat free. It doesn't matter if the packaging says 2% or 98%, nothing is fat free. The term fat free is a marketing scheme created by the food industry. How so? Think about this: the FDA allows products to be labeled a certain way depending on ratios. For example, if a company wanted to sell something labeled as fat-free, all they need to do is increase the amount of non-fat ingredients so it makes it seem like the fat is tiny in comparison. That may sound great but keep in mind that fat is fat, regardless of ratio. It just will definitely not help you lose weight!

Weight Loss Myth No. 2: "Low Fat"
This is almost as bad as fat free foods. Again, with the ratio of ingredients in a product, a company can claim many things. For example, with cookies, if the ratio was roughly equal between fat and, say, sugar, the company can drastically increase the sugar so that there is something like 4 or 5 times more sugar than fat. And guess what! They can, and do, call it low fat! It's not low fat! And, with that much sugar, that's not a good thing either.

Weight Loss Myth No. 3: Fat free cooking sprays
Cooking sprays are not that great and taste horrible. What's worse, they are full of fat! Yes, they say that there is NO fat and NO calories but read the fine line. How many servings does your can have? A pretty darn high number, right? That's because companies know that you won't use the product in the small servings that they state, like a spritz or less. So the 0 fat or calories found in that small of a serving means nothing if you use more than that!

Weight Loss Myth No. 4: "Calorie Free"
There is a little loophole in the FDA rules that allows companies to label something as calorie free if the serving size has 5 calories or less. That might make sense but keep in mind that the companies are the ones that define the serving size. You will find, if you pay attention, that rarely any product is a single serving. Rarely, if ever. Usually, they will have at least 2 or more servings in the package, jello cups included!

Weight Loss Myth No. 5: "Sugar Free"
This one ties in with the calorie free one because a similar loophole allows companies to label things as sugar free, when they're not. A product can have anywhere from 0.5 grams of sugar or less in the serving and the company can call it sugar free, but clearly it has plenty of sugar in it. And if you think sugar is not as bad as calories or fat, you are totally wrong! Sugar is just as big of a culprit in America's battle with obesity! Just look at the connection between diabetes and obesity!

So all in all, anything labeled "free" or "low" something is neither of the two. If you really want to lose weight, just avoid those all together! In fact, go with fresh produce instead; you'll notice that fat, calorie and sugar levels cannot be altered in fresh, organic produce. Make sure that it does not have the letters "GMO" on it, which means genetically modified organism; these are bad. In any case, if you stick with fresh organic produce, you'll be set!