How do we know what we know? Often, our knowledge comes from through repetition and stories. In childhood, we call them fairy tales or bedtime stories. They amuse or entertain and have with the occasional moral lesson. However, as adults these stories or myths can be harmful when we start making decisions based on their often inaccurate information.
This often happens in food choices, especially when it comes to losing weight. Through repetition, even incorrect information can permeate our thoughts and get in the way of weight loss goals. The problem is, many ideas or stories surround weight loss get repeated so often, they become believable.
Let's examine the science behind some of this folklore:
Myth #1: Initial weight loss on diet plans comes from a loss of water weight.
There is no water storage gland in the human body that empties upon dieting. The proponents of this fallacy usually argue that the breakdown of glycogen in the liver, a common occurrence in the body of a dieter, causes a release of water. The human liver weighs about 3 pounds and glycogen accounts for only about 10% of this. So, water from the liver could only contribute to less than half a pound loss, and that's if all of its weight were water.
The fallacy mongers further suggest that the breakdown products of fat metabolism release water. However, for the technically minded, most of these chemical reactions actually use water initially, rather than release it.
Myth #2: Skipping meals is a practical way to lose weight.
When you skip a meal, your body uses stored sugar molecules which have been converted to glycogen. These stores are in the liver and muscle tissue. Once these are gone, your body turns to other nutrient sources for its constant energy needs. After skipping a meal under this circumstance, your body shifts into a "fasting" metabolism which leads to protein breakdown.
If you are eating according to evolutionary guidelines, that is, the right combination of foods for your body's design, you would actually break down fat, rather than protein, by NOT skipping lunch.
Myth #3: The Food Pyramid is a good way to eat to maintain a healthy weight.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released the Food Pyramid in 1980 and released an updated version in early 2005. The Pyramid advocates a diet with plenty of breads, cereals, rice, pasta, vegetables, and fruits. However, decisions about food choices are much more complex than following a list of recommended foods. Our food choices are the result of a combination of body signals, cultural influences, habits, events, people, emotions, and beliefs. Since the introduction of The Food Pyramid, obesity has become of pandemic proportion. It seems economically driven agricultural promotion is not serving public health.
Myth #4: Eating a low fat diet is the best way to lose weight.
Low fat diets have been advocated for the last 20 years and the fat content of the American diet has actually decreased slightly during this time, but the obesity rate has more than doubled. Why? Part of the reason is that a low fat diet is not the correct fuel mix for the way the human body was designed. Over millions of years of evolution, our metabolic pathways developed. The original diet consisted mostly of available vegetation, seasonally limited fruits and nuts, and foods rich in protein and fat.
Myth #5: Counting calories is essential to healthy eating and weight loss.
The human body needs about 11-12 calories per pound of weight a day to maintain its current weight. For a 200 pound person, this would be approximately 2400 calories. Approximately 3500 calories are eaten for every pound of body weight. So, to lose 10 pounds, a dieter would have to eat 35,000 less calories. It would follow, that by eating 500 less calories a day, it would take over two months to lose those 10 pounds. However for most people, this significant calorie restriction is uncomfortable, and unsustainable. For anyone who has tried a reduced calorie diet, they are familiar with how difficult this way of life can be. What do you do when, at 5 PM all the day's calories are gone and you are still hungry?
The body processes various nutrients differently. It is not necessarily the total amount of food eaten that leads to weight loss or gain. It is the proportion of various nutrients and the shift to fat burning metabolism that is important.
Unfortunately, competing interests rely on these "facts" and help perpetuate their existence. To lose weight, you must inform yourself of how your body evolved and your body's process of metabolism if you want to know how you should eat and how to lose weight. Believing diet myths will only keep you in the cycle of the serial dieter.
Board Certified Psychiatrist, Dr. Anthony J. Burlay is the author of "The Foundation Diet: Your Body Was Designed to Eat," a diet he developed after losing and keeping off over 50 pounds. Find out more at http://www.foundationdiet.com
Wood Dale Chicago prom limo .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareYou may have read the old stories about how much... Read More
Diners have become more health-conscious the last few years, and... Read More
Finding the clinic that performs liposuctions in Newport Beach is... Read More
The perfect diet should be combined with a healthy weight... Read More
My name is Greg Ryan and I am a high... Read More
Have you heard about coconut oil diets yet? People are... Read More
There has been a recent surge in the experts weighing... Read More
In twenty years of consistant exercising, maintaining a low percentage... Read More
Fat Loss in GeneralThis morning I conducted a search engine... Read More
As I become acquainted with many of our LivingAfterWLS.com community... Read More
Diet is a dreadful word for most of us because... Read More
If all we have to do is exercise to live... Read More
There's a two hundred year history of people prescribing both... Read More
Are you wondering why you're not losing weight? If you're... Read More
Losing weight is a lifelong commitment. It takes patience and... Read More
Drink plenty of water. Our body needs a lot of... Read More
Diners have become more health-conscious the last few years, and... Read More
Patrick Henry once said, "I have but one lamp by... Read More
MYTH: Fad diets work for permanent weight loss.FACT: Fad diets... Read More
Well, to begin with, there isn't really any one Mediterranean... Read More
You may not like what I'm about to say, but... Read More
Recently, I was reading about a diet plan where you... Read More
Everybody you know is on the latest weight loss bandwagon:... Read More
Do you know this year Florida will go through a... Read More
How many meals do you eat in one day?Close study... Read More
Antigo wedding limo ..In order to identify hunger, you must first understand what... Read More
The underlying principles of low carb diets are based on... Read More
Eating the right foods and exercising regularly have been the... Read More
Do you tend to find your weight increases when you... Read More
How many of your New Year's resolution start out with... Read More
I'm sick of all the fad diets I see people... Read More
Congratulations on waking up each morning and greeting the day... Read More
One-size-fits-all diets don't work....but then you probably know that already.... Read More
WHAT DOES BEING FIT REALLY MEAN?The "INSIDE-OUT" approach to fitness... Read More
Now this is the real American Dream! I'm here to... Read More
Telling yourself you have to "struggle with this weight issue... Read More
Weight loss specialists will tell you that attitude has a... Read More
I have been seriously working on losing weight for about... Read More
The Atkins Diet Seems To Never Go AwayFad diets come... Read More
Our bodies only require a small amount of salt for... Read More
Every weight loss surgery patient I've met said they at... Read More
Yes it's true- and so unfair. As we get older... Read More
Is this even possible?Well hold on to your seat because... Read More
The words I read made me furious. There it was,... Read More
The story broke in the international press on October 4th,... Read More
Your blood cholesterol level is affected not only by what... Read More
Glycemic index ranks different carbohydrate foods depending on their potential... Read More
How would you like Julia Roberts to coach you on... Read More
With summer completed and school back in session, it'll be... Read More
Okay, so you've read some of these articles, done your... Read More
Weight Loss |