However, the truth is that there are numerous weightloss and diet myths flying around. Here are some of the main ones, exposed as incorrect:

1. You Do Not Need To Count Calories.

Without knowing your calorie intake and output, you can't know if your output is exceeding your intake, which is necessary for weight loss to occur. Calorie counting may seem tedious at the time, but it is one of the most exact ways to ensure you slim down to the size you want.

If you go over your calorie intake one day, though, don't panic. Provided over the course of the week, your calorie intake averages out to what it should be, it won't matter if you're over or under your daily allowance. Interestingly enough, if you cut down on just 100 calories a day, in a year, your weightloss will be nearly 5kgs in a year.

2. You Should Eat A Huge Breakfast.

Whilst it is true, to ensure weightloss when on a diet, you should eat something in the morning time, it does not necessarily have to be a three-course meal! You need to eat something that will tide you over approximately three hours, such as oats, until your mid-morning snack (or lunch, depending on what time you wake up). Simply put, breakfast need only be a bowl of cereal and a piece of toast.

3. You Should Not Snack Between Meals Whilst On A Diet.

Although some people do well on a strict three-meals-a-day routine, others who are more active and have a faster metabolism will benefit from having five or six meals a day, providing the portion size is small. In fact, eating more frequently does increase the metabolism, however great care needs to be taken with the size of the portions to make sure that you're not eating too much at each time, otherwise you will defeat the purpose of your diet in the first place.

4. Never Eat After Eight In The Evening.

This is one of the most well-circulated myths. According to experts, there is nothing wrong with having a couple of hundred calories in the evening time, provided you are careful to account for them on your weekly calorie tally. The problem lies when you start eating in the evening, whilst you are doing something else, and lose track of how much you are consuming. That's when your diet goes out the window!

5. You Should Not Eat Treats Whilst On A Diet.

Going cold turkey is difficult for anyone, so don't do it. Allow yourself a treat once in a while, so that you don't feel completely deprived. You are much more likely to stick to your diet and attain the weightloss goal you set for yourself if you allow a little bit of leeway, and treat yourself once in a while.

Most people who are dieting for weight loss reasons firmly believe that their lives have to be completely interrupted whilst they "lose the weight". In actual fact, the opposite is true. By being a little careful with your portion size of the meals you eat at any time of the day, you will able to succeed at losing - and keeping - your extra weight off, and looking fit and fabulous once you've done so!

Copyright (c) 2008 Steven Magill