As a Board Certified Health Coach, when I give or class or talk with a client, I like to emphasize that better nutrition is actually simple. On the whole, people tend not to believe this until they have tried it and get into their own routine.
There is so much information “out there” that frankly, it can be very confusing. In a way, we are on “Google overload” as things are so readily available on the Internet and most people when they research, can find several different theories or ideas. Yes, it can be very confusing. Some of the things we read about are just common myths which have become so pervasive that they seem to be everywhere. The bad thing about that is they often derail many people’s attempts to lose weight.
So, here are the top seven weight loss myths that I have seen:
1. You need to eat less to lose weight.
Are you familiar with the dreaded “weight loss plateau?” (I wrote about that quite a while ago. Just click on the above link to read it.) This questionable phenomenon is talking about our metabolic response to cutting calories for an extended period of time. Simply put, our bodies adjust to using less energy and so our weight loss becomes stagnant. When you plateau, it may cause you to have a tendency to restrict your caloric intake even more, or increase your cardio exercise. This vicious cycle continues as the body again adapts to new energy levels.
However, this is now a hopeless situation. We combat this plateau. How?
- Keep eating! A drastic change in caloric intake sends the body further into preservation mode (meaning that your body’s resting metabolism will continue to slow down and require less energy to carry out daily tasks).
- Incorporate weight-bearing exercises into your routine (body weight exercises, like push-ups, squats, dips, pull-ups, etc.).
- The greater your lean muscle mass, then the higher your resting metabolic rate will be, leading to your body being more efficient with burning calories.
2. Breakfast is the most important meal.
Countless times, the “diet” and health experts have told us that breakfast is the most important meal and you should never skip it. Many of my clients, family and friends have heard me say that very thing.
Sometimes, we just are not hungry when we get up, and actually, forcing ourselves to eat when we aren’t truly hungry can have a negative effect on weight loss.
Recent research has questioned the proposed effects of breakfast on obesity and it turns out that the answer is not so clear cut. However, if you are a breakfast-eater and it works for you, that’s great — keep eating breakfast. If the thought of eating anything before 10 a.m. nauseates you, then you probably are not going to find any sudden benefits from eating very first thing in the morning. With that said, remember that what and how much you eat for breakfast matters, but in the long-run, overall, skipping or delaying breakfast will not sabotage weight loss goals.
3. If you cut 3,500 calories, you will lose one pound.
Have you heard this “rule of thumb? For every 3,500 calories cut from your diet, you can expect to lose one pound. This rule fits well with a weight loss protocol with a 500 calorie deficit per day — adding up to a total 3,500 calorie total per week. However, researchers are finding that this rule oversimplifies the science behind weight loss and grossly overestimates predicted weight loss.
The 3,500 calorie rule doesn’t take into consideration, the period of time over which the calorie deficit occurs, varying metabolic rates, or the slowed rate at which weight loss occurs due to weight loss plateau. That does not mean that aiming for a 3,500 calorie deficit won’t help you lose weight, but still you should not expect to see a perfect connection between each 3,500 calorie deficit and your weight on the scale.
4. Egg whites are a great food when you are on a diet.
When you think of “diet food,” your mind might conjure up egg white omelettes or boxed, pasteurized egg whites. Egg whites are a great source of complete protein but, unfortunately, they also go along with the outdated notion that the absence of fat will help with weight. However, if you’ve eaten egg whites, you have probably noticed that they are also flavorless as well as lacking in the most powerful nutrients that whole eggs can provide.
Yes, it’s a fact that egg yolks contain cholesterol and fat, but some research shows that we should not be afraid of dietary cholesterol and naturally occurring fatty acids like it was once believed. The egg yolk also contains key nutrients like choline, carotenoids, and Omega-3 fatty acids, which unfortunately, is something most Americans are deficient in. The good news is that the additional calories and fat from egg yolks are ultimately beneficial. They keep us feeling fuller longer and provide a sense of fullness that we don’t get from just eating egg whites.
5. Superfoods can help with weight loss.
I love “superfoods.” Superfoods are a category of foods touted for their nutritional density and potential health benefits. As a health coach, I was recently asked what kind of health benefits someone would experience after eating chia seeds. Well, chia seeds are a great source of fiber, Omega-3 fatty acids and protein, but they are not going to be life-changing by merely incorporating them into your breakfast oatmeal or smoothie. However, what you can expect change from is by altering your diet, not just with one food alone, by with both the quality and amount of food you consume. No one food will magically help you lose weight, speed up your metabolism, or cleanse your body. It’s changing your lifestyle and way of eating that will bring about change.
6. High protein diets are best for weight loss.
There are quite a few popular weight loss diets and protocols that incorporate protein shakes as meal replacements and talk up the benefits of high protein diets, and some make recommendations for an intake of as much as 50% of energy intake. However, when protein is eaten in excess, it is stored as fat just like the other macronutrients (carbohydrates and dietary fat). Research has shown that reducing total energy intake and consuming 15% to 25% of calories from protein is helpful for weight loss, with the higher end of that range helping to preserve lean body mass.
7. Five to six small meals per day are best for weight loss.
Small frequent meals have been recommended as a means to reduce hunger throughout the day in addition to speeding up metabolism, and contributing to weight loss. However, following the five or six meals per day guideline isn’t necessarily going to help you reach your weight loss goals. Interestingly enough, current research hasn’t shown any difference in “metabolic rates or weight lost between groups consuming calorical-equal diets spread between two versus five meals per day.” Actually, research has further shown that “eating five meals per day has even led to an increased level of systemic inflammation and circulating endotoxins.” It would actually seem the overall goal for weight loss should be reducing energy consumption, with less emphasis on spreading the calories throughout the day.
So, I am sure some of these things are a surprise to you. In researching for this article, some of them were certainly surprising to me. Research is always coming up with something new. However, in the long-run, we should remember that each of is an individual, and as such, the way we react to food and the amounts of food we eat are specific to our bodies. That is what I love about health coaching. My emphasis is on bio-individuality, meaning that “one size does not fit all.” Based on this, I give a plan and outline based on your individual needs to help you reach your own specific goals.
As always, feel free to jump on a free call with me so that we can discuss your specific and individual goals and health concerns.