The SparkDiet resource center has consulted fitness experts to find the 4 most prevalent myths concerning metabolism and metabolism-boosting. Considering how common these myths are, it can indeed be useful for you to know them; and to know that they're myths.That way, if you come across them in a magazine, at a fitness club, or just from the well-intentioned but misguided advice of a friend, you can confidently say (or at least just think): sorry, but that's a myth; I'm not going to fall for that one!

Myth #1: Diet Pills The general consensus on diet pills are contained in two powerful words: BUYER BEWARE.The problem here is that many makers of diet pills offer claims that simply aren't realistic; and if you read the fine-print of most of these advertisements, you'll see that they're really too good to be true. Little notes like the claims made in this advertisement are not typical should be enough of a wake-up call to realize that there's more to the story.

In some cases, diet pills can help boost metabolism temporarily. This, however, can be risky and generally shouldn't be done without a doctor's say-so. Unfortunately, people can become somewhat addicted to diet pills, and this can lead to disaster. And before we go onto myth #2, remember that some diet pills are water loss pills. That is, they are diuretics that promote water loss, usually through excess urination. The jury on water-loss diet pills is somewhat less open-minded than diet pills in general: THEY DON'T WORK!

Seriously: water loss diet pills are built on the premise that you'll lose weight through water. And, yes, that's true: if you urinate 15 times a day, you're physically going to weigh less. But this is not actual weight loss! This is merely unhealthy temporary weight loss, and it will come roaring back the minute that water stores are replenished through diet. Or, even harder to comprehend, if a person taking these water pills fails to restore their body's fluid needs, they can actually suffer dehydration; which can, and has, led to coma and death.

Myth #2: Drop Caloric Intake Trying to lose weight by drastically cutting down calories doesn't work; in fact, it's unhealthy. The thing to remember is that the body's ability to lose weight is not controlled by calories. Calories are the input. The real control mechanism is that famous concept that you've become very familiar with: metabolism. Calories are merely units of energy. It's how your body deals with that energy that determines whether weight is gained or lost. So with that being said, cutting down your caloric intake to, say, 1000 calories a day isn't necessarily going to help you lose weight; because it doesn't necessarily change your metabolism.

Indeed, as you know, if you slow down your caloric intake, your body - which is always trying to help you in the best way that it knows how - will slow down its metabolism. Really, it makes sense: the body says that something has gone wrong; instead of the 2000 calories that it needs, it's only getting 1000. The body doesn't know why this is happening; it doesn't know that you want to lose weight. Indeed, as you know, if you slow down your caloric intake, your body - which is always trying to help you in the best way that it knows how - will slow down its metabolism. Really, it makes sense: the body says that something has gone wrong; instead of the 2000 calories that it needs, it's only getting 1000. The body doesn't know why this is happening; it doesn't know that you want to lose weight.

It just senses that something is wrong; perhaps you're trapped in a cave or something, or stuck in a snowstorm. So the body, trying to help you, will slow down its metabolism; it will do its best to slow down the conversion rate, so that you have as much energy on hand as possible. Now, if your body was able to read this article and you could say: look, please just do what you normally do, but do it with 1000 fewer calories a day for a while, then we might actually get somewhere.

But the body doesn't work that way. It won't help you lose weight if you dramatically cut down on calories. It will slow down metabolism, and (here's the worst part), if and when you ever increase calories again, your body will have to deal with that via a slower metabolic engine. So you can actually gain weight if, after cutting down your calories for a period of time, you find that you consume extra calories (say while on vacation or something).

Myth 3 and 4 will be in the second part of this article, More myths that keep you from losing that excess weight that keeps creeping on your waist line.