Every morning I go through the exact same routine.
I get up. I make some oatmeal. Clean the kitchen. Go up stairs. Brush my teeth. Turn on my computer. Check my email. Then I laugh (or sometimes cry) while reading all of the new stories about the latest and greatest “fat loss” ingredients.
It is an absolute mystery to me why, after over 20 years of failed promises, we still turn to magic ingredients and magic foods for fat loss.
What shocks me even more is that we are still hoping to find something we can eat that will cause us to lose fat. It is almost becoming an oxymoron.
We are looking for something to consume that will make us consume less!
Here are just some examples of magic foods and ingredients in the new today:
Recent research (performed in a test tube) suggests that extract from Chilli peppers may stop fat growth. According to this research Chilli extract may hold the key to preventing immature fat cells from developing into mature fat cells.
In a different study, it was suggested that spearmint tea can not only lower a man’s sex drive but can also decrease the amount of hair on a women’s body. (Admittedly, this isn’t fat loss research but if you think the body builders in your gym smell bad now, wait till they read this research and stop brushing their teeth for fear that they may be lowering their T levels!)
Finally, more research shows that dairy calcium (but not calcium supplements) can cause a decrease in the amount of fat in your blood after a meal.
I can’t really tell you too much about this study because I stopped reading after the first page that mentioned that the study was funded by the Danish Dairy Research Foundation and the Dutch Dairy Association!
A Dairy Foundation and a Dairy Association funded the study, and the study found that dairy calcium, but not calcium supplements had weight loss benefits? Please.
Now honestly, there is some merit to this research. Eating more spices on your food is definitely a good idea. Eating foods that contain calcium is also a good idea.
However, thinking that taking chilli extract pills or consuming 3 bowls of ice-cream per day will make you lose weight IS NOT what you should be taking away from this research. (Nor is skipping your morning tooth brushing!)
If you want to lose weight there are only three things you need to do, and you don’t need to read any research to do them.
Firstly, find a nutrition plan that works for you.
Secondly, get active. And I don’t mean walk on the elliptical for half an hour every other day, I mean get a real work-out program and challenge yourself.
The third and last thing you need to do is to stop (or don’t start) falling for the media’s version of the latest and greatest fat loss research. It will only lead to disappointment and is usually a very poor and hyped up version of what the research was really telling us.
These are the real 3 “magic” fat loss ingredients!
BP
