We are inundated every day with diet advice, demands and restrictions and stereotypes. Eat carbs; don’t eat carbs. Protein is good; protein is not good. Drink your meals. Healthy food is boring.

Whatever you’se heard, they key to a successful diet is in creating a balanced diet that tastes good to you. The following are some diet myths that tend to circulate but need to be debunked.

Fat and Oils are Bad for You

Not all fat and oil is bad. There are different kinds of fats: saturated, unsaturated, trans fat, essential fatty acids, hydrogenated… The list keeps going. They key is in choosing fats that are good for you. Fats found in foods like avocado, salmon. nuts and seeds and oils like olive oil are good for you in small amounts. Fats in most meats contain cholesterol and are bad for your body. Avoid hydrogenated oils found in shortening and margarine, as well as many processed foods.

Carbs are Bad

Processed foods are bad. Carbohydrates found in whole foods – vegetables, fruits and grains – are good for you. Carbs from processed foods, white bread, chips and etc aren’t so good. Be smart about the carbohydrate choices you make.

Dieting Along Will Help Me Lose Weight

Unless you like a very active lifestyle, dieting along probably won’t be enough to help you lose weight. Losing weight involves using more calories than you consume, so even if you exercise regularly, if you sit at a desk for eight hours a day munching on chips, doughnuts and sweets you may not lose much weight.

Skipping Meals is a Great Way to Cut Calories

Skipping meals omits the calories that would have been consumed, it’s true. Skipping meals also increases out likelihood of over-eating a few hours later. Keeping your hunger at bay with a few small meals is a smarter solution, that way you control your hunger, it doesn’t control you. A diet shake can be a smart way to replace one meal.

Healthy Food Is Expensive

Healthier food doesn’t have to be expensive. Compare the cost of a pound of meat, which would serve three to four people versus a pound of lentils which when cooked would serve at least eight. Dried beans are great for your body, providing protein with no fat, and cost just pennies compared to meats. Vegetables and fruits are very cheap in the produce section and at local markets during the summer.

Healthy Food is Boring

This is a common myth. Eating well doesn’t mean grazing on raw spinach and carrots every day. Eating well is a challenge to explore the wide variety of food that is available to you. Eating well also pushes you to explore new types of food you may have not tried before and experimenting with new recipes.

Get a jump start on your personal weight loss program today.