We hope that you have enjoyed our series of breaking down common diet myths. Thanks to Real Simple Magazine for this wealth of information of what is fact and what is fiction!

Myth No. 9: Diet Foods Help You Diet

The Theory: Low-fat, low-carb, and artificially sweetened packaged foods make losing weight painless.

The Reality: Low-fat and low-carb don't always mean low-cal, and if you're trying to lose weight, stocking up on these treats could undermine your efforts. In a series of recent studies, for instance, participants ate up to 50 percent more of foods that the researchers falsely labeled "low-fat" than they did of the same exact foods with real labels. "Consumers expect that low-fat M&M's contain 20 percent fewer calories than their regular counterparts," concluded the authors of the studies, Brian Wansink, Ph.D., and Pierre Chandon, Ph.D., in the Journal of Marketing Research, in November 2006. "Importantly, as a result, they expect that comparable increases in serving sizes are justified." Some experts also believe that consuming artificial sweeteners might backfire. Two long-term studies looking at the drinking habits of thousands of people have found a correlation between drinking diet soda and being overweight.

Continuing on our myth-busting endeavor, here are Myths #7 and #8. See how our friends at Real Simple explain them away....

Myth No. 7: Eating Protein and Carbs at Different Meals Will Help You Lose Weight

The Theory: Protein and carbohydrates require different enzymes for digestion; if you eat the two separately, you improve digestion and further weight loss.

The Reality: Your digestive tract can handle a variety of food groups at the same time. There is no proof that eating protein and carbohydrates separately aids digestion or weight loss, says nutritionist Christopher Gardner. Indeed, it's healthier to combine protein and fiber-filled carbs than to separate them. "The pairing of protein and fiber is what fills you up the most and gives you the most energy," says Elisa Zied, a New York City-based registered dietitian and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.

Here are another two dieting myth breakdowns from Real Simple Magazine.

Myth No. 5: Milk Can Help You Lose Weight

The Theory: Calcium helps the body break down fat more efficiently, stimulating weight loss.

The Reality: Dairy doesn't appear to have magic properties. A few studies from the mid-2000s concluded that dieters who consumed dairy lost more weight than dieters who did not. But other studies showed no effect, and still others showed a link between high milk consumption and eating more calories.

The Best Advice: Go ahead and eat dairy products, but stick with low-fat versions, which are lower in both calories and unhealthy saturated fats. Milk products are loaded with calcium, of course, but how much calcium you need is a matter of debate.

We wanted to share this interesting tidbit of information that we found in Real Simple - one of our favorite magazines!

What aging can bring to your muscles: Decreases in strength and muscle mass, loss of flexibility, loss of balance.

What the research shows: “Maximal muscle strength is achieved in the 20s and 30s,” says Roseann M. Lyle, Ph.D., professor of public health at Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Indiana. “If you’re sedentary, you will start losing strength after age 50 at a rate of 2 to 5 percent per decade.” But if you keep using your muscles, through activities like weight training, you can maintain strength and flexibility even into your 90s. It’s also important to work on balance, which falters with age, and to keep muscles agile so you can react quickly.

What you can do: Add resistance moves to your workout, and mix in some fast, dynamic exercise as well―dance classes, tennis, volleyball, anything that gets you “moving fast in different directions,” says Lyle. Good balance builders are one-legged squats, yoga poses such as “tree,” and even something as simple as standing on one foot and then the other while you brush your teeth or do the dishes.