There is so much conflicting information in the fitness and health world today that most people who are new to this world would have no clue which information is accurate or true and which information is a myth. It is unbelievable how quickly inaccurate information can spread like wildfire and so many people believe it to be true. I could probably write for days on the number of myths that are invading our world but in the hopes of keeping this as short and sweet as possible, I’m here to share with you 6 myths that have really taken the world by storm and continue to do so.
- You shouldn’t eat late at night. This is by far one of my favourite myths because it couldn’t be farther from the truth. It is also probably the most common myth out there, thinking that food will be stored as fat the minute you go to sleep. NOT TRUE! There are no fairies that invade your metabolism at night and magically turn anything you’ve eaten after 8:00 into fat. If you are watching TV at night and snacking or eating out of boredom or for comfort, that’s certainly not something that is helping us move closer to our goals. Eat to fuel your body, eat with purpose. It’s ultimately the number of calories consumed in a day (no matter what time of the day) that will dictate whether or not you lose or gain.
- Fat is bad for you. Fats are an important part in regulating hormones in your body to ensure proper functioning. When our hormones are out of whack, that’s when our fat lost can be out of whack. I’m sure we’ve all heard of the essential fatty acids omega 3 and 6; these are the types of fats we want to consume. If you are not consuming enough of them through food, consider supplementing with omega oils. the only fat you want to stay away from is trans fat. The rest are fair game.
- Fad diets can help me lose weight. Absolutely 100% they can help most people lose weight. What these fad diets don’t tell us is that the diet is not something that we can maintain for the long term which means we will not be able to keep the weight off. There are so many fad diets out there; the no sugar diet, the no fat diet, and my personal favourite, the no carb diet. The simplest thing to do in order to create lifelong habits that will help to maintain weight loss is to eat sensibly. Ensure we are getting a well balanced diet and exercise a little. We cannot out train a bad diet, so skip the quick fix fad diets and put the work in. After all, we are worth it aren’t we?
- Eating too much protein is harmful to your kidneys. The only people that excess protein can potentially be harmful to are those who already have kidney disease. Otherwise, we should be consuming a protein with every meal. Protein has so many health benefits including the following: protein helps to promote muscle growth, protein helps you feel fuller throughout the day thus reducing incidences of mindlessly snacking throughout the day.
- A calorie is a calorie no matter where it comes from. Now this one is a bit confusing because although it’s calories in vs. calories out that determine the success of fat loss, we have to be mindful of where those calories are coming from. For example, we can’t throw all calories under the same category because we have to account for where those calories are coming from (i.e. protein, carbs, fats). All three of these macros are required in order to be successful in any weight loss venture.
- Look for low-fat foods because they are healthy options. This is my second favourite myth. Food that has natural fat in it should always be chosen over their low-fat counterparts. In low-fat foods, they remove the fat but they replace it with sugar! This is a horrible trade-off. The reason they add sugar is because when fat is removed from food, it essentially tastes like crap, so they add excess sugar to compensate. And as mentioned earlier, our bodies require a certain amount of fats to regulate hormones and help with fat loss. Skip the low-fat version unless needed.
As I said, I could go on and on but I hope that this short list has given you a glimpse of the information that is out there when it comes to health and fitness. When in doubt, do your research and invest in a coach!
Cheers to your health.
Lori