Losing weight can be hard work.
People think they have to count calories, endure hunger pangs and exercise until they sweat like a horse.
It’s no wonder so many give up and put those hard-earned pounds back on.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
The reason we are losing the battle is because we have bought into some widespread weight loss myths. Here are six of those myths, and what to do instead….
Myth 1: The less you eat, the more weight you lose.
Our bodies are programmed by hundreds of genes that protect us from starvation.
For this reason, we end up gaining weight if we start out eating too few calories.
You can starve yourself for only so long before your body kicks in a primitive response that compensates for malnutrition.
According to several studies, the average person who goes on a diet actually gains about five pounds.
What to do: Never go on a diet.
Instead, eat foods that activate your metabolism.
These are the whole foods that come straight from nature, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans and lean animal protein.
If you only eat these foods, you won’t have any problems with your appetite: it will self-regulate and the triggers that lead to overeating will be under control.
Myth 2: It doesn’t matter what type of exercise, as long as you exercise.
It is true that any type of exercise is better than no exercise, but interval training is the most effective for weight loss.
Interval training consists of short bursts of intense activity followed by longer periods of lighter activity.
This type of training tunes up your metabolism so you burn more calories throughout the day and while you sleep, not just while exercising.
What to do: Aim for 20 to 30 minutes of interval training, two or three times a week.
Exercise as vigorously as you can for 30 to 60 seconds, then slow down for three minutes, repeating this pattern for half an hour.
If you are over 30, get a physical exam before you start interval training.
If you’re out of shape, first start gently getting into an exercise routine.
You could start by walking for 30 minutes five times a week.
Myth 3: You can control your weight by counting calories.
Many people believe that all calories are equal when it comes to weight control, that if you substitute 100 calories worth of, say, crackers, for 100 calories worth of carrots, you’ll be on par.
But food is not just calories.
Everything you eat contains “instructions” for your DNA, your hormones and your metabolism.
Different foods contain different information.
For example, sugar from sodas enters the blood quickly, increasing insulin levels.
Insulin is a hormone that promotes the accumulation of more fat around the midsection and raises inflammation levels in the body, which in turn causes more weight gain.
On the other hand, the same amount of sugar from beans enters the blood slowly.
Because the sugar is absorbed over a longer period of time, insulin levels remain stable, more calories are burned and fewer are stored.
What to do: Don’t focus on the number of calories you consume.
Losing weight is not about counting calories, it’s about eating the right calories.
Myth 4: Eating fat makes you fat.
Dietary fat does not correlate with excess body fat.
Any weight loss from a low-fat diet is usually modest and temporary.
The amount of fat consumed by Americans has dropped from 42% to 34% of total calorie intake on average, but we continue to get fatter.
This is because all fats are not created equal.
There are good fats, bad fats and worse fats.
Good fats actually help you lose weight, but many of us have almost totally eliminated them from our diet.
Two examples of good fats are omega-3 and monounsaturated fats.
Omega-3s are found in fish, flaxseeds and flax oil, and also in nuts and seeds, such as walnuts and pumpkin seeds.
Monounsaturated fats are found in olive oil, avocados and nuts.
Bad fats include polyunsaturated vegetable oil, such as corn and safflower oil, and most saturated fats found in meat and animal products, such as butter.
The worst fats are trans fats, often found in snack foods and industrial baked goods.
Trans fats are the result of adding hydrogen to vegetable oil through a process called hydrogenation.
What to do: Eat good fats.
These improve your metabolism by turning on genes that help you burn fat.
Saturated fats and trans fats turn off fat-burning genes.
The Greenlandic Inuit used to have a diet very high in fats (mainly omega-3 and monounsaturated fats) and were lean and healthy.
Now they have changed their diet to one lower in fat and higher in carbohydrates from junk food, and many are obese, with higher rates of heart disease and other pathologies.
The same is true in the United States.
Myth 5: Taking a low-carb diet will make you thin.
Carbohydrates are the most important food you can eat to lose weight and be healthy in the long run.
They are the source of most of the vitamins, minerals and fiber in our diet, and of all the polynutrients, plant compounds that are crucial regulators of our health.
Polynutrients turn on the genes that help us burn fat and age slowly.
They contain nutrients that fight disease.
Examples include isoflavones in soy foods, polyphenols in cocoa and glucosinolates in broccoli.
However, just as there are different fats, there are also different types of carbohydrates.
What to do: Fill your diet with complex carbohydrates: eat vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans and whole grains.
These foods tend to have a low glycemic load, which means they are absorbed slowly and don’t spike blood sugar quickly, so you’ll feel fuller longer.
Refined carbohydrates, such as white flour, rice and pasta, along with sugary foods, cause your blood sugar to spike and you feel hungry sooner.
Myth 6: It doesn’t matter what time you decide to eat.
Sumo wrestlers look like that because they fast during the day and then binge at night and go to bed.
Like sumo wrestlers, we take in most of our calories at the end of the day.
When you eat late, calories are stored instead of burned.
What to do: Don’t eat during the two to three hours before going to bed, because you need to give your body time to digest and burn the food.
Also, eat throughout the day to keep blood sugar levels stable.
Breakfast is important.
Many people lose weight simply by eating a healthy breakfast.
The National Weight Control Registry, which tracks long-term maintenance of weight loss in more than 5,000 people, has found that 96% of those who have maintained weight loss for six years eat breakfast regularly.
References:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/6-worst-myths-youve-ever-heard-about-weight-loss/
https://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/features/5-weight-loss-myths#1
https://time.com/4937456/weight-loss-myths/
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