Diet Guru Dr Michael Mosley has weighed in on some of the biggest myths surrounding weight loss and dieting. The expert, who founded the 5:2 diet and Very Fast 800, has given his opinion on some of the most common advice given to those trying to lose weight - and some of it might shock you.
Dr Mosley highlighted the myths of dieting in a guide and took to the internet to showcase them in an online post, reports Coventry Live. The doctor, who is a regular on ITV’s This Morning and Good Morning Britain, particularly focused on blood sugar levels.
He wrote: “Have you ever heard or been told that you must eat regularly to keep your blood sugars steady? Well, it’s actually a myth! In an experiment where healthy volunteers only had water for three days, their blood sugar levels stayed well within the normal range.
"Obviously this experiment was extreme to extrapolate scientific evidence, so we don’t recommend long water fasts.” Dr Mosley has looked at a number of areas where people trying to lose weight are wasting their efforts - or at least being far too optimistic about the potential impacts.
Exercise to lose weight
There are, of course, great benefits to taking exercise - it makes you healthier and fitter. However Dr Mosley said: “It seems incredibly obvious. Do some exercise, burn some calories, lose weight.
"But that isn’t what actually happens. Part of the problem is that fat is very energy dense. You would need to run for about 36 miles to burn off a single lb of fat. The other problem is that people often reward themselves for doing exercise by having a treat.”
Eat Breakfast
It’s often repeated that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and gets the metabolism going in the morning, burning fat. However Dr Mosley said while this sounds like it should be the case, he doesn’t think so.
He said a test had been carried out with 300 volunteers, half of which normally skipped breakfast and the other half normally have it. Dr Mosley said: “So what actually happened? Well, the breakfast skippers who had made themselves eat breakfast lost an average of 0.76kgs.
"While the breakfast eaters, who had spent 16 weeks skipping breakfast, lost an almost identical amount, an average of 0.71kgs. The researchers concluded that, contrary to what is widely believed, a recommendation to eat breakfast ‘had no discernible effect on weight loss in free-living adults who were attempting to lose weight’.”
If you don’t eat anything your body goes into ‘starvation mode’
This is a very widely believed that if you dramatically cut what you eat, your body goes into ‘starvation mode’ meaning that it stops burning calories to maintain the fat stores. Dr Mosley doesn’t agree. He said: “There is no evidence that starvation mode is anything other than a myth.
”Some people try to cut all fat out of their diets in a bid to lose weight. However, Dr Mosley said there is: “remarkably little evidence that such regimes are effective.” He explained: “Choose a Mediterranean diet, rich in fruit and vegetables, but also olive oil, nuts and the occasional glass of red wine. It’s a far better way to lose weight and reduce your risk of heart disease than a low-fat diet.”
For more information on Dr Mosley's opinion of 10 diet 'myths' click here
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