It’s heartbreaking to hear overweight people say their false beliefs about diet and fat loss, because until these myths are dispelled, they will continue to make the same mistakes and sabotage their fat loss efforts.
Myth 1: “Junk food is okay as part of a balanced diet”
This myth is carefully fed by the junk food industry for obvious reasons. It leads people to think that a balanced diet means a balance between unhealthy food and healthy food. Could not be farther from the truth. A balanced diet means a balance between the major food groups: lean protein, complex carbohydrates, good fats (as opposed to saturated or hydrogenated fats), fruits, and vegetables. It doesn’t mean a balance between fried chicken, ice cream, vegetables, pizza and fizzy drinks.
Junk food is refined, processed, loaded with sugar, salt, and chemicals, and does little or nothing to contribute to your nutritional needs. Don’t be fooled by the myth that junk food has some role to play in a balanced diet.
Myth 2: “Diet” or “Half-Fat” Versions of Junk Food Are Harmless Alternatives
The junk food industry has taken notice of the growing trend toward healthier eating as consumers become more informed about the effect of food on their bodies and minds. Hence the growth of the ‘diet’ or ‘medium fat’ version of junk food. This is a cunning and cynical plot on the part of the industry, but it can be seen through careful examination.
If a junk food item is loaded with saturated fat, salt, and sugar, a ‘half fat/salt/sugar’ version is still high in fat, salt, and sugar. It’s better not to eat it than to settle for a slightly less bad version of the original.
The same goes for ‘diet’ versions of fizzy drinks. Although there may be zero sugar, manufacturers add an artificial sweetener called aspartame, which is toxic to the body and interferes with metabolism, hormone levels, and amino acid ratios.
Myth 3: You can eat whatever you want as long as you get enough exercise
The truth is that you cannot train more than a bad diet. Your only realistic chance of being fit and healthy is by eating healthy and getting plenty of exercise.
If you’re eating a junk food diet, you won’t have the energy to exercise properly. And when it comes to repairing the body and growing muscle, if you are deficient in good quality protein, there is no way for you to recover and grow after your workouts.
A good diet and regular exercise go hand in hand, they reinforce each other. Effective exercise is highly dependent on an optimally nutritious diet. One cannot supply the lack of the other. People complain that they don’t have the energy to exercise properly and the reason is mainly diet. How can you expect your car to drive any distance without fuel or with sewage in the gas tank? The same goes for your body.
Myth 4: All fat is bad for you
This is a common belief among weight loss fanatics. It’s a case of hearing that saturated fats and trans fats are bad for you and wrongly assuming that all fats are bad for you.
Saturated fat is found naturally in red meat, chicken skin, and to a lesser extent in other natural foods like cashews. Processed foods like cheese and cream are also high in saturated fat. Although it is difficult to eliminate all saturated fat from your diet (and I do not recommend eliminating all saturated fat, because there is nutritional value in lean cuts of red meat, for example, which is rich in protein, zinc and iron) it is worth the It is worth cutting down on foods high in saturated fat.
Hydrogenated fat (also known as trans fat) is an artificial fat created by the food industry and designed to increase the shelf life of processed foods and give solidity and volume to foods that contain them, since hydrogenated fat is solid at room temperature. . There is absolutely no nutritional need to eat anything that contains the slightest amount of trans fat, and every reason to avoid it. The effect on the body is even worse than saturated fat, because it lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels and raises ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol.
Rather, there are fats that your body needs for good health. These are the ‘essential fats’. You’ve probably heard of omega 3 fatty acids, found in fish, and these have multiple benefits for your cholesterol levels and the health of your skin and hair. Essential fatty acids are also needed to store the fat-soluble vitamins E, D, and K. The other essential fats are omega 6, found in nuts and seeds. Other good sources of essential fats are avocados and olive oil.
Myth 5: All carbs are bad for you
The truth is that there are ‘good carbs’ and ‘bad carbs’. Carbohydrates to avoid are refined and processed carbohydrates produced by the food industry, and include bread, white rice, refined pasta, cakes, cookies, and cakes. Why are they bad for you? Because they are deficient in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and they create an “insulin spike” due to the high blood sugar levels that result from eating them. And excess refined carbs are more easily converted to body fat than ‘good carbs’.
What are ‘good carbs’? In general, any carbohydrate that is not refined and processed, or at least those that are less refined. So foods like brown rice, sweet potato, quinoa, whole wheat pasta, porridge, and whole wheat bread are much better than refined carbs. They are higher in fiber and higher in vitamins and minerals.
So don’t believe crazy diets that demonize all carbs!