I was recently reviewing a diet program (I won’t mention the program name), when it struck me just how much misinformation gets circulated. The diet program itself was fine. I think that it could help some people to lose weight. But as I read the e-book explaining the diet, I was honestly shocked at some of the statements made.
Marketing is a necessary part of any successful diet program in order to make it sell-able. However, there is a difference between making a program stand out from the crowd, and limiting a program to some narrow view of what works and what doesn’t. The diet expert has a responsibility to devise their diet program in a way that avoids misinformation and over-simplification of the facts. It’s the past actions of many ‘diet experts’ that created the current bad reputation for the industry. When you have a good diet that can make a difference, you should really double check all your marketing materials to ensure that you are not contributing to the mountain of lies and half-truths.
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” – so said Albert Einstein, and he was right. Attempts to over simplify weight loss and dieting can put you at risk of creating half-truths or misleading statements. Rarely in this field is anything black and white. When writing an e-book you should take the time to ‘qualify’ your statements and reasoning.
Maybe what was written was alright in-context, but it is basically false and misleading. Such over-simplifications stick in the reader’s mind and become the main points that the reader takes in.
So, I’ll go over a few of those misleading points here, and I’ll do my best to not give away the program’s identity.
1. High intensity exercise doesn’t work for fat loss. That is simply just wrong! Not only does it work, but it is the most effective exercise for losing fat. It is not the only type of exercise that works, but it definitely gives the biggest reward. Some people fail to get into the high-intensity zone, and so they miss the full benefit of the exercise. I would stress that the workout must be high intensity to maximize the effects. Medium intensity exercise is probably the worst exercise you could do. It will burn fat too, but it is not ideal for keeping the fat off. Always seek medical advice before beginning high intensity workouts, and wear a heart monitor too so you can keep in the correct training zone.
2. Walking is the best form of exercise to lose fat. Walking is good exercise, but I don’t think it qualifies as the best exercise. For some people walking is there only exercise option. I suggest that those people walk often to maximize the benefits. For more physically in-shape people, then I believe that high intensity workouts will achieve more fat loss and increased fitness. Walking is outside of the fat-burning-zone, so it is a good form of exercise, but I couldn’t say that is the best form.
3. Honey is not healthier than sugar. Maybe honey and sugar are the same when talking about weight loss. I haven’t gone into detail about the calorific values of either one. But when it comes to health, I can’t see how someone can conclude that heavily processed white sugar is the same as natural honey. Honey has so many vitamins whereas sugar is really just empty calories. Also processed foods are always a risk due to the unknown chemicals that they may have been exposed to.
I could continue and list many more inaccuracies, but I think the main point here is that even good diets programs can be filled with misinformation. As I already said, the actual diet was sound; it was only the explanation and background information that was suspect.
Because such incorrect content is so prevalent, it makes sense to immunize yourself against the misinformation. The only sure way to do this is by learning the core principles of weight loss and nutrition. Once you are clear on the principles it becomes easy to spot the errors, and keep your own dieting efforts on the right track.
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