When it comes to nutrition and weight loss, its easy to confuse facts and just go align with what everyone else is saying and doing.
Here are some of the most common misconceptions we come across:
Eating Carbs at night will make you fat – Who told you that?!
A commonly held belief in the weight loss arena is you should not eat any carbohydrates after 6 pm because they suddenly turn to fat after this time, or because you’re not as active in the evening and are going to bed soon after your body doesn’t require carbs. Your body is always working even while you are asleep – therefore you are still burning calories and carbs are actually stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver. Carbs ONLY get converted into fat when you have eaten too many total calories. Therefore, there is no magic hour in which your body decides that incoming carbs must be stored as fat. Carbohydrates at night don’t make you fat – it is consuming too many total calories that do!
Eat every every 2 to 3 hours to boost your metabolism – Consistently hungry or consistently overeating?!
When looking to loose weight or eat healthier one might be quick to jump on the ‘multiple meals per day’ mindset. People tend to think that it’ll give them a metabolic boost and speed up fat loss. The thing to note here is that the metabolic spike you get after eating is going to be directly proportional to the amount of calories you consumeregardless of if you are eating all your daily calories at once or spread out. What is important is that you are sticking to your total calories for the day – the number of meals it takes you to reach that number matters far less. All it boils down to is personal preference and convenience. The key is to choose a meal frequency that fits your lifestyle, so don’t stress missing a meal.
You need to go on a Detox – Extremes are Irresponsible & Unsustainable!
Think twice before jumping on the latest detox bandwagon. You only lose weight because they’re notoriously low in calories and protein, so while you may think you’re losing weight and ridding your body of built up chemicals and toxins, you are actually encouraging your metabolism to crash – meaning you set yourself up for fat gains down the road by rebounding and putting on more weight than when you started! Your body does a fine job of detoxing and cleansing itself every single day. The key is to make your change a Lifestyle so it is sustainable, not short term and the fat won’t creep back!
Fat makes you Fat – Not true – NO FAT keeps you fat!
Eating fat won’t make you fat, consuming too many calories does! The key is moderation, so don’t make the mistake of dropping your fat intake too low. Extremely low-fat diets are a HUGE mistake. Not only do fats provide your body with energy and control your hunger levels, they also help transport vitamins through your bloodstream and absorb them into your body. Essential fatty acids such as those found in seeds, nuts, and some fish, such as salmon and sardines, play a part in brain development and a boosted immune system. Balance your fat intake by eating a balanced intake of unsaturated fats, such as avocado, olive oil, nuts and seeds, and a limited amount of saturated fats, such as butter and coconut oil – which do have their benefits too! If you want to lose fat, you need to eat fewer calories and/or burn more calories. Simple!
Too much protein is bad for you – LIES!
Some say that a high protein intake can “leach” calcium from bones and cause osteoporosis, or that protein can destroy your kidneys, however, there really isn’t any evidence to support these claims. Protein in fact is probably themost important macronutrient of all. It is a component of every cell in your body. You need it to make enzymes, hormones and it is also the building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. Our body uses it to build and repair tissue as well. It also has the highest thermic effect of all macros – meaning 20-35% of protein calories consumed are actuality burnt up through processing it alone. Protein also increases satiety at meals, which means it helps you feel full and therefore you eat less throughout the day. High-protein diets can also have positive results on the body’s blood lipids, glucose levels, and muscle-to-fat ratios. So don’t be afraid of a little extra protein – in fact you are probably eating way too little as we speak!
