Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Myth: Skipping a meal is a good way to diet and lose weight.
Truth: The research shows that if you skip meals you are more likely to
be overweight.This appears to be especially true for those who skip
breakfast.
With skipped meals there is a slowing of your body’s metabolism. The
theory is that this is to preserve the stored calories through slowing the
need for them. There is also good evidence that if you skip a meal you
are likely to eat more at the next one,or worse,to snack (usually on
whatever is handy).
Eat three regular meals a day, and if you are working at losing weight,
eat smaller portions.
Myth: Carbohydrates are bad for you.
Truth: This is just plain silly. Your body uses carbs as its primary fuel
source.Carbohydrates have about half the amount of calories per gram
as fats do.The problem with people’s diets today is that the contain a lot
of simple carbohydrates like sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Simple
sugars like these pack in the calories. When people eat low-carb diets,
they eliminate these very high calorie carbohydrates and they lose
weight. This type of weight loss doesn’t last for most people, however.
Research has shown that eating a diet low in fat and high in complex
carbohydrates like whole grain and starches is good for you and is the
best way to lose weight.
Myth: Low-fat and fat-free (non-fat) foods are low in calories.
Truth: Eating a low fat diet is good for you. That said, you must have fat
in your diet. Beyond the fact that your body needs fats, they taste good.
It is important to remember that low-fat doesn’t always mean
low-calorie and non-fat does not mean no calories. Apples don’t have
any fat and are good for you,but they still have calories.
The issue is that a lot of low-fat or non-fat foods on the market are
actually very high in calories. Many times they are also much higher in
sodium than the “regular” version. Food manufacturers will add sugars
and other carbohydrates as well as salt to compensate for the fat that is
left out.
Always check the calories of foods that you are eating. Many times the
low-fat version will have almost the same amount of calories (or more)
that the full-fat version.
There are some places where low-fat is generally better. Dairy products
are one. On the other hand, any snack food that is labeled low-fat
(or low-anything) should be suspect. Check the Nutrition Facts on the label.
