Learn How To Lose Weight Series: Diet Myths & Cooling Cravings :

If you've wanted to learn how to lose weight or shed s extra pounds, you've probably rd and r it by now, and maybe you've even tried half of it, too.

With the inmation out te these days, it can be hard to pick apart what's worth trying, what isn't and separ the solid advice from the bunk. No matter what you r or r, the simple truth about achieving a lthy weight boils down to getg fit and burning more calories t you consume during the day.

Mting it means staying fit and not eag more calories t your burn during the day.

Sure, te little things you can do to boost your success or suffer grer setbacks, so let's look at s popular diet myths and debunk them. We don't want to waste our time tweaking the wrong things, do we?

Myth 1: Br and potatoes make you fat.

Completely false.

Starchy vegetables and (whole gr) br, carbs you need fuel. The problem is not these fs, but how we tend to prep them. It's when you smear your br with butter and fry your potatoes that you increase the calorie intake as much as four times. Dip your br in a little extra virgin olive oil or it pl inst and dress your baked or boiled potatoes minimy to get the benefits from these fs without skyrockeg your caloric intake.

Myth 2: If you drink wr bee a m, you'll be less hungry.

W - sort of.

Wr does curb your appetite if it's incorpord into f like a soup, or a thick vegetable juice like V-8. Appntly, when wr is bound to f, digestion is slower and a fuller stomach means fewer hunger pangs. The thing to look out : It's easy to confuse hunger and thirst, so if you find yourself craving sthing, drink a big glass of wr first and see what happens. It may be that a drink is your body rey wanted.

Myth 3: Shfish is packed with cholesterol.

On the one d, it's true.

Three ounces of shrimp cont more t a third of your daily cholesterol. But te's more: Shrimp is low in saturd fat and has a bit of ga-3 fatty acids. En in moderation, shfish can have lth benefits. According to researcs at the University of Soutn Calinia, eag shfish every week produced a 59% reduction in rt attack risk. I might just start eag s shfish once in awhile after learning that.

Myth 4: It's fine to the occasional burger and fries.

The problem: The word, "occasional."

If that means every Friday night to you, you're probably pushing it. Now, if we're talking every few months and you're fit, your numbers weight, waist size, cholesterol, and bl pressure g, AND the rest of the time you're eag vegetables, whole grs, nuts, and ot nutritious f, w, okay then. You're fine. But few of us that perfect. If you do "occasiony" indulge, take a nice fast paced 90-minute walk afterward to help offset the effects.

Myth 5: Wn can't do anything about ging weight after menopause.

While hormones can be blamed everything from acne to PMS, your fitness level has a much bigger impact on your weight t any hormonal cges that c with age. Most older wn who conue vigorous, regular exercise can and do mt their figures.

Myth 6: Diet soda is worse t the r thing.

Truth is, they're both lousy us.

Both types increase kidney and rt disease risk, plus they cont acids that erode tooth enamel and welc cavities. It's always best to satisfy your thirst with wr, diluted fruit juice, and green tea rat t any type of soda.

W, that's gr to know, you might be thinking - but what do I do when I've just GOT to indulge in a little sthing bee I go NUTS??!! I'll t ya what. If you're going to indulge yourself in sthing sinful and delicious and te's just no stopping you - do it as early in the day as possible. Researcs say that we get the most satisfaction from our f in the morning and our capacity to feel satisfied stily weakens over the course of the day. If you your biggest m at breakfast and conue to sm portions of lthy fs throughout the day, cces that you'll be a lot less likely to have strong cravings unlthy "comt" fs in the evening.