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1.) As long as I exercise, I can eat anything I want. Exercise doesn’t constitute a free pass to excessively binge on unhealthy foods. You’ll be undoing all of the hard work that you put into your workout. Just in case you haven’t gotten the message yet; abs are also made in the kitchen. Think of your body as a car. You need to put fuel into your body just as you’d put fuel into a car. You wouldn’t put mud, garbage, and other yucky things into your car’s gas tank, would you? No, it wouldn’t run. So, don’t fill your body’s tank with poor food choices. Treat your body with the respect it deserves.

2.) Salads are always the safest choice. Just because it has lettuce and vegetables doesn’t make it healthy! As long as you make the right choices, then yes, salads can be very nutritional. But, if you’re loading your salads with fried chicken, high fat cheeses and dressings, and mountains of croutons, then you might as well go for the burger and fries instead. In fact, some salads pack more calories than a burger and fries. Read about “The Worst Salads in America.” I rest my case.

3.) Eating several mini meals is always better than eating a few larger meals. For some people, this is true, but everyone is different. The more meals you have, the more opportunities you have to lose self-control. Choose a plan that fits your needs and lifestyle. If you choose to have 3 meals per day, choose a small, healthy snack in between each meal to sufficiently hold you over. Try fruit and Greek yogurt, a small bowl of whole grain cereal, or carrots with a serving of hummus and whole grain crackers.

4.) As long as it’s healthy, I can eat as much of it as I want. Calories still count no matter what you eat. Regardless, your caloric consumption should come from healthy foods, but this doesn’t constitute the excuse to eat larger quantities of these foods. A serving size is a serving size for a reason. For some people, they may need more, but we should all still be aware of what we’re putting into our bodies. For instance, all-natural nut butters are healthy, but it’s also a food that is high in fat (good fats) and calories. Therefore, you shouldn’t grab a spoon and eat the entire jar within one sitting or day.

5.) Eating late at night will cause weight gain. A calorie is a calorie. It really doesn’t matter what time you consume them. What matters is how many calories you take in for the entire day. Just be careful because people tend to have snack attacks while watching prime time TV shows or a late night movie. Avoid mindless eating and portion your snack before you sit down.

6.) Skipping meals is beneficial. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a reason. It jump starts your metabolism and provides your body with sustained energy. So if you skip meals, you’re going to slow down your metabolism, feel sluggish, and more than likely, you may binge on more food later on in the day. And, if you begin the day with a healthy choices, you’ll probably want to continuously make healthy choices for each subsequent meal.

7.) Carbohydrates are fattening. They will be if your carbohydrates primarily come from donuts, cake, white bread, mountains of pasta, and so forth. Carbs give us energy, but it’s all about choosing the best carbs available and consuming the appropriate amount. Carbs should come from whole grains, beans, fruit, and veggies. With good carbs comes fiber and fiber has been known to aid in weight loss. Benefits of carbs.

8.) Fast food and dining out should be avoided. Yes, this is true if you have the willpower of an ant, but all you really have to do is make the right choices. If you want success badly enough, you’ll make better choices. Plain and simple. Just plan ahead. Many restaurants post nutritional information and display healthier options on their websites. Don’t arrive overly hungry, nor skip every meal that day until you head out. That’s a recipe for disaster. Skip the fries and opt for fruit or veggies instead. Portions are typically huge, so split a meal or take half home to have for lunch the next day.

9.) The sooner the success, the better. Of course it sounds great, but it’s not healthy. Answer this. Have you have gained all of your excess weight in 1 night? Chances are, your answer is no. Rome wasn’t built in a day. If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Besides, most quick fixes are nearly impossible to stick with for your entire life. You’ll gain back the 10 lbs faster than you can say “10 lbs” once you begin eating normal again. Make sensible changes that you’ll be able to stick with from now until forever. Take it from me. I’ve tried taking the easy-way-out, but it completely backfired. It’s not worth the cost or miserableness of cutting out too much at once.