5 Popular Diet Beliefs Deflated
Have you resolved to not to gain weight during the holiday season? Join the club. Statistics from last year show that the average person gains 7 to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And in surveys, people say they gain, on average, about five pounds during this time of year. There are so many weight loss and diet myths out there, it’s hard to know what is true and what is false.
If your goal is to shed a few pounds before the end of the year, I’d like to help you succeed by setting the record straight on five of the biggest diet myths:
1. Never eat before you go to bed. You have heard this piece of advice for years, but, seriously, to restrain from eating when the clock turns a particular hour is bogus, depending on your personal circumstances. If you missed dinner, or you are still hungry, and it’s after 8 p.m., EAT and choose something nutritious. Healthy options are two boiled eggs, raw vegetables and ¼ cup of hummus, or a low-calorie Whey protein drink.
2. Eating fat will MAKE you FAT. IT depends on what kind of fats you eat. Paired with a healthy diet, the good fats can actually help you lose weight. So, the answer, skip the trans fats and select the mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Examples of the mono-unsaturated fats are avocados and olive oil. For polyunsaturated fats, like omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, try salmon and flaxseeds.
3. Eating carbs can MAKE you FAT. Well, carbs are not the enemy. It is the quality and quantity of carbohydrates that can add extra pounds. Carbohydrates are essential for a normal healthy diet because they provide the fuel for your body and your brain. Look –if you cut out the carbs, and eat mostly fresh fruits and vegetables and some healthy proteins, you’ll likely lose weight, with gluten or without gluten. You can choose to add gluten-free grains to your diet, like whole grains such as amaranth, buckwheat, millet, and rice which are great sources of fiber, protein, B vitamins, and iron. And since these foods are so high in fiber, they will fill you up and keep you full for longer periods of time, which helps prevent overeating. Whether you eat gluten free products, or other carbohydrates like fruits and vegetables, these alternatives are undoubtedly healthier than the processed carbohydrates.
4. You can eat WHATEVER you want as long as you EXERCISE. You train HARD almost everyday, in the gym or running outside, so it shouldn’t matter what you put in your mouth. Right? Wrong, the truth is exercise does eliminate the effects of a consistently poor diet. When it comes to weight loss, decreasing calories and maintaining a healthy diet actually matter more than exercise. You should monitor the amount of calories you consume DO NOT outnumber the calories you expend for the week.
5. All Calories are EQUAL. Sure, realistically, all calories have the same amount of energy. One dietary calorie contains 4,184 Joules of energy. In that respect, a calorie is a calorie. However, quality calories found in nutritionally-dense foods like a chicken breast, fruits and vegetables do not match up with the calories found in a potato chip bag.
