In the attempt to lose weight and effectively keep the extra pounds off, many people turn to calorie counting. By having accurate knowledge of how many calories are consumed each day, the goal is to eat only the best foods to maintain your weight and help you slim down. However, there are a lot of myths related to calorie counting that you’ll want to be aware of.

In a nutshell, calorie counting involves calculating your caloric intake each day. Each food item we eat has a certain number of calories in it. This information is found on the label of just about any product you want to purchase at the grocery store. Each gram of fat, carbohydrates and protein contains a certain number of calories. For example, one gram of fat equals nine calories, one gram of carbohydrates equals four calories and one gram of protein equals four calories. The method of calorie counting is used by those hoping to gain weight, lose weight or maintain their current weight.

But there are myths circulating out there about the calorie counting method that can point you in the wrong direction. It is important to separate what is true and what is false in order for you to properly reach your goals concerning your weight. One practice many follow is to cut out fattening food items such as potatoes and bread. The reality is that these two do not contain high levels of calories by themselves. What will make them high in caloric content is adding your favorite toppings. This includes sour cream and butter. So instead of skipping out on the potatoes and bread altogether, be more disciplined about what you put on top. Speaking of bread, another myth involves the belief that toasted bread is lower in calories than regular bread. Wrong! When bread is turned into toast, it doesn’t change the number of calories it contains. Some believe there are certain foods that have the ability to naturally burn fat. Again, not true. According to studies, there are currently no specific foods that effectively melt fat. Just as there are no foods to burn fat away, there are also no food items that are negative in calories. Surprisingly, there are some out there that think certain foods will lead to more weight loss because the body expends the calories during digestion. However, this is not true. There are foods that are low in calories but there are none that will give you a negative calorie count.

One trap many fall into is the belief that only eating foods that are low in fat means they are consuming fewer calories. While it is true that low or reduced fat foods are lower in fat, the downside is that many of these items are then loaded with extra sugar to replace the presence of fat. It is also done to make the product taste better. Because of the excess sugar, the caloric content can be even higher than the regular version.

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