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As a nation we are obsessed with weight loss and dieting, and everyone has ideas about the RIGHT way to go about it. The trick is, filtering out the good advice from the not-so-good advice. And, like anything else, there are a lot of both floating around out there. This Diet Myth Busters is dedicated to dispelling some misconceptions in weight loss and helping you get one step closer to your goal.
Myth #1: Don't eat between meals if you want to lose weight.
BUSTED: Eating healthy snacks between meals keeps your blood sugar levels even and your metabolism going strong. The most important thing to pay attention to is your daily calorie intake. Whether you break that down into eating three times a day or six is less important. While mindless grazing can be dangerous to any diet, well-planned eating every several hours can lessen hunger pangs and make you less likely to overeat at the next meal.
Myth #2: Diet foods help you lose weight.
BUSTED: Whether you're going low-fat or low-carb, there are a myriad of food products on the market today promising to “help” you lose weight. But those reduced-fat, sugar-free, or low-carb snacks aren't always lower in calories. Here's just one example as to why. Manufacturers often increase the amount of corn syrup to make up for the loss of flavor or texture that results when fat is removed. While the fat may be less, the calories, which turn to fat if they're not used up, may not be.
Myth #3: Eating late at night causes you to gain weight.
BUSTED: Food, unlike Cinderella, does not turn to fat at the stroke of midnight. There is no magic time after which the body starts storing more fat. However, eating a lot right before bed can increase the risk of gastric reflux disease (heartburn) and it can make sleeping uncomfortable. Another concern is when snacking becomes mindless noshing which can be difficult to stop. Night time choices often include higher calorie foods with lower nutritional value. Whether you're eating in the morning or at midnight is not the issue. Our body can turn excess calories into fat at any time of day.
Myth #4: If I stop exercising my muscle will turn into fat.
BUSTED: Fat will never turn into muscle and vice versa. They are made up of completely different cell structure and they are so different that they cannot convert to each other. Your muscle is alive and working hard (some people's work harder than others) whereas fat just sits there doing nothing and looking ugly. Actually, over time inactive muscles will atrophy little by little. Also, increased muscle in the body increases the body's resting metabolism which helps burn fat. But they can never turn into each other.
Myth #5: I can't gain weight on “Free Foods.”
BUSTED: “Free Foods.” No, I'm not talking cost. This is a term used by many diet programs to identify foods that are allowed on a relatively unlimited basis. Depending on what program you follow it could mean an array of nonstarchy vegetables or a food item that has little or no net carbs. One thing for certain, cake is NOT on the list! While these can be wonderful fillers for hungry dieters, the truth is ALL foods have calories, and “Free Foods” are no exception. USE them, just don't abUSE them.
Five myths … BUSTED! If you have any questions about your diet or how dieting works in general, feel free to e-mail contactus@kimbensen.com.
Author of newly released “Finally Thin” (Random House 2009), Kim Bensen was a lifetime yo-yo dieter who joined Weight Watchers in 2001 and lost 212 pounds. She lives with her husband and four children in southern Connecticut. Bensen partners with LiveWell to encourage Mesa County residents to live well and eat well. Send correspondence to skinny@kimbensen.com. Sign up for Kim's e-News at www.kimbensen.com.
Myth #1: Don't eat between meals if you want to lose weight.
BUSTED: Eating healthy snacks between meals keeps your blood sugar levels even and your metabolism going strong. The most important thing to pay attention to is your daily calorie intake. Whether you break that down into eating three times a day or six is less important. While mindless grazing can be dangerous to any diet, well-planned eating every several hours can lessen hunger pangs and make you less likely to overeat at the next meal.
Myth #2: Diet foods help you lose weight.
BUSTED: Whether you're going low-fat or low-carb, there are a myriad of food products on the market today promising to “help” you lose weight. But those reduced-fat, sugar-free, or low-carb snacks aren't always lower in calories. Here's just one example as to why. Manufacturers often increase the amount of corn syrup to make up for the loss of flavor or texture that results when fat is removed. While the fat may be less, the calories, which turn to fat if they're not used up, may not be.
Myth #3: Eating late at night causes you to gain weight.
BUSTED: Food, unlike Cinderella, does not turn to fat at the stroke of midnight. There is no magic time after which the body starts storing more fat. However, eating a lot right before bed can increase the risk of gastric reflux disease (heartburn) and it can make sleeping uncomfortable. Another concern is when snacking becomes mindless noshing which can be difficult to stop. Night time choices often include higher calorie foods with lower nutritional value. Whether you're eating in the morning or at midnight is not the issue. Our body can turn excess calories into fat at any time of day.
Myth #4: If I stop exercising my muscle will turn into fat.
BUSTED: Fat will never turn into muscle and vice versa. They are made up of completely different cell structure and they are so different that they cannot convert to each other. Your muscle is alive and working hard (some people's work harder than others) whereas fat just sits there doing nothing and looking ugly. Actually, over time inactive muscles will atrophy little by little. Also, increased muscle in the body increases the body's resting metabolism which helps burn fat. But they can never turn into each other.
Myth #5: I can't gain weight on “Free Foods.”
BUSTED: “Free Foods.” No, I'm not talking cost. This is a term used by many diet programs to identify foods that are allowed on a relatively unlimited basis. Depending on what program you follow it could mean an array of nonstarchy vegetables or a food item that has little or no net carbs. One thing for certain, cake is NOT on the list! While these can be wonderful fillers for hungry dieters, the truth is ALL foods have calories, and “Free Foods” are no exception. USE them, just don't abUSE them.
Five myths … BUSTED! If you have any questions about your diet or how dieting works in general, feel free to e-mail contactus@kimbensen.com.
Author of newly released “Finally Thin” (Random House 2009), Kim Bensen was a lifetime yo-yo dieter who joined Weight Watchers in 2001 and lost 212 pounds. She lives with her husband and four children in southern Connecticut. Bensen partners with LiveWell to encourage Mesa County residents to live well and eat well. Send correspondence to skinny@kimbensen.com. Sign up for Kim's e-News at www.kimbensen.com.
