Going on a detox, cutting out carbs, and exercising profusely. These habits seem “healthy” but aren’t actually good for you. Unless you are a healthcare professional or fitness expert, it can be hard to determine what is healthy for you and what is not. Thus, in this article, we’ve compiled some of the most common “healthy” habits that you are better going without:
1. Overdoing the exercise
Exercise is good for you, but just like any other good thing in life, too much of it can eventually turn into a bad thing. If you want to lose weight, find a good exercise plan that works for you, or sign up for companies like Belly Fat Formula. What you shouldn’t do is try to overdo the exercise in an attempt to burn more calories or make up for missed days at the gym. Otherwise, you could end up overworking your muscles, injuring yourself, or worse–causing damage to your internal organs.
2. Detoxing or cleansing
The concept of “detoxing,” otherwise known as “cleansing,” claims to remove toxins from the body, promote health, and facilitate weight loss. However, not only is there little research about the efficacy of detoxing, it is wholly unnecessary because you already have an organ that detoxes your body for you: the liver. Moreover, detoxing can cause adverse effects, such as headaches, dehydration, and fatigue. When done for an extended period, it can also increase the risk of developing kidney disease and liver injury.
3. Dieting
Dieting should not even be a term since it’s not supposed to be a verb. Diet is defined as the usual intake of food, but over the years, it has become a collective term for modifying your food intake to lose weight.
If you habitually go on a “diet” wherein you restrict yourself or follow a particular fad diet, you are putting your body through unnecessary stress. Moreover, the weight you lose might not be fat at all. It can be your water weight or muscle mass, and it can eventually come back once you resume your former eating habits.
Instead of “dieting,” nutritionists and other health experts recommend a gradual adoption of healthier eating habits, better food choices, and an improved relationship with food to create a better long-term diet.
4. Weighing yourself constantly
Don’t use your weighing scale as the primary basis of your health or fitness levels. The number on your scale is a measure of both your fat and muscle, which means that it’s not a very accurate tool to track your progress. When the scale doesn’t budge, you could be gaining muscle and losing fat. But if you look into it too deeply, it can cause adverse emotional effects and even derail your progress.
Instead of continually stepping on the scale, pay attention to how you look, how you feel, and how you are improving in terms of diet and exercise.
Just because the Internet says it’s healthy doesn’t mean it truly is. Just like the “healthy” examples mentioned, there are many health claims that are not healthy at all.
If you want to avoid doing more harm than good to your health, pay attention to the advice of actual health and fitness professionals instead of unreliable blogs, vloggers with no certifications, or random information from your fellow gym-goer.
