First Edition: “Losing Weight”
Oh boy, do I love a good myth debunking! In this series of blogs, I thought I’d share some useful information about nutrition and overall wellness that may surprise you. Don’t worry; If you’ve believed any of the following myths to be true, you’re most certainly not alone! The important thing is being sure we’re always taking the opportunity to learn, and to use the facts to guide us. Without further ado, here are some common misconceptions about weight loss that I’d like to officially clear out of your way:
1. Eating fewer calories will help me lose weight.
This one can be true some of the time, but certainly not ALL of the time, and that’s the difference. If all you focus on is calories, you may not be properly nourishing your body by eating enough of the right kinds of foods. Think of it as quality over quantity, except in this case, we focus on the nutrient quality of our foods instead of their caloric quantities. Starving your body of quality nutrients because you’re too stringent about calorie-counting can stress the body’s systems. When the body is stressed, it often adds weight to protect itself. I’d like to find whoever came up with this “1,200 calories-per-day” B.S. and personally tell them they’re bonkers. Most bodies need more than this just to stay alive and breathe, much less solve daily problems, workout, or even walk the dog. The quality of your calories matters just as much, if not more, than the balance of calories in versus out.
2. Eating fat will make me fat.
Untrue. However, eating anything in excess has the potential to make you put on weight, or stress your body. Just because we use the same word for fat as it pertains to the macronutrient, and fat as it pertains to being overweight doesn’t mean all fat is bad. As with calories, it’s the type of fat that matters most. Most of us are eating too many saturated fats, and too few mono and poly-unsaturated fats. The latter two which can be found in things like avocados, olive oil and nuts actually help reduce inflammation and fight off disease, so we very much need and want to incorporate them into our healthy diets. Saturated fats like butter, bacon, and fried food, on the other hand, can lead to heart issues, and internal inflammation. Instead of focusing on fat making you fat, let’s focus on eating the right kinds of fat to best support your health.
3. Carbohydrates will make me gain weight.
Definitely not. Carbohydrates are full of really important vitamins, minerals and fiber that we need to support a healthy body. Not to mention, whole and unprocessed carbs are our body and brain’s preferred source of fuel, and they’re necessary for creating energy for most cellular processes. That being said, just like fat, most of us are NOT eating the right kinds of carbohydrates. These days, there are so many processed foods on the market, and the more processed they are, the cheaper they seem to be at the grocery store, which of course doesn’t help. Processed breads, crackers, cereals, cookies, cakes, and juices are often responsible for a huge portion of our caloric intake, and yet most of these foods have ADDED sugar to them. Why, you ask? Sugar, my friends, is a cheap way to hide poor flavors, make things seem filling, and make you crave them all the time, which means more money in revenue for these sugar-peddling brands.
Carbohydrates are not the problem in this case, the added sugar is.
4. More water will keep me hydrated and help me lose weight
Wrongo. I’m so glad to see people wanting to drink more water though! The truth is that too much water is not, in fact, better. Oftentimes, drinking too much water can flush out essential nutrients we need, and even over-tax our kidneys which can’t always get rid of the excess fast enough. In addition, many people who are drinking too much aren’t ALSO replacing the electrolytes they may be depleting. Without electrolytes, we aren’t actually absorbing any of that beautiful hydration, and that’s the opposite of what we set out to do, isn’t it? Instead, we’re just peeing out a whole lot of water, and flushing nutrients down with it! Don’t get me wrong, I want all of us to drink enough water for our bodies to perform all its various functions with ease and gusto; we just need to make sure we don’t overdo it, or that we pair our additional intake with a good dose of electrolytes. Finally, try not to drink water while you’re eating; this practice can help strengthen your body’s natural hunger and satiety cues, since drinking water when you’re hungry can actually dampen your ability to understand your own hunger cues.
5. All calories are created equal.
No way, and nope! Technically speaking, in order to lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than what you are using. However, there is a large body of evidence to support the quality of those calories are even more important (notice a trend here?). This is because the mechanisms for digesting, absorbing and using different types of calories are different. A potato chip, for example, is going to affect your body much differently, and turn on different pathways in it, than a baked potato would. The sugar in fruit is going to activate different pathways than the sugar in candy will, and protein from a fatty steak will create a different bodily response than the fat in a piece of salmon or a bowl of nuts and seeds. Your health thrives on quality, variety and consistency, not someone’s dietary spreadsheet of rules and numbers. Just as you are unique and nuanced, so too should your approach to food and weight loss should be.
6. Eating small, frequent meals will speed up my metabolism.
Only in very specific scenarios is this true. If you are pregnant, for example, or have hypotension and need to diligently control your blood sugar, smaller and more frequent meals can be a very beneficial way to go. For most others of us, however, eating three nutritious, well-rounded, and ample meals a day is ideal. When we eat too often, it can not only mess with our sensitivity to insulin, but it can also prevent the brain from recognizing when it’s actually full, and that can lead to eating more food than we need. The digestive system needs time to rest and reset, so if we’re feeding it too frequently, it can lead to digestive upset over time, and you know how the old saying goes: “Happy digestion, happy life!” We’ve all heard that one, right? 😉
As with all myths, sometimes the untruth can spread like wildfire, and leave the evidence-based facts in the dust. I always encourage you to do your research beforehand whenever you might be thinking of making big changes to your diet, especially if it’s in the name of shedding extra pounds. Be sure to check out the next editions of The Great Myth Debunking too, and we’ll get to the bottom of even more fun facts about nutrition and wellness!