There is so much information out there on what the ‘perfect diet’ is. Thousands of blogs, books and videos have been created on the topic. To make things more confusing, many of the various dieting styles contradict one another and nutritional advice seems like it’s always changing. There are quite a few dieting myths floating around out there because nutritional science is a relatively new science.
Regardless of all of the confusion, do you think you’re pretty educated on all of the diets and the latest nutritional information available? If so, read these 3 statements and tell me if you think they are a dieting myth or fact…
1. Don’t eat unless you’re hungry.
DIETING MYTH!
When we’re hungry, we make very different food choices. Hunger often leads us to crave carbs and fats because we want energy quickly and these food groups provide us with the most immediate energy. This stems from way back in our history during the caveman days. When hunger hit millions of years ago, we ate or we died.
Hunger also impacts our emotions with food. We’re more likely to make healthy choices when we aren’t hungry, and to be proud of those choices. When the dreaded hunger sets in, we don’t enjoy healthy food as much. We start feeling negatively about this “stupid diet” and start eating off course.
The Solution:
Avoid this dieting myth by not letting yourself get to the hungry, or in my case, the ‘hangry’ stage. Eat a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner. Be sure to include protein in all of your meals to keep hunger at bay. If you’re going to have a hard workout, grab a snack afterwards to fuel you to your next meal.
If you’re going to have high calorie evening out, don’t skimp all day to ‘save calories’ for the occasion. This will lead you to overeat far more calories than you’ve “saved” in your calorie bank. Instead, be thoughtful about what you consume the whole day, eating more whole foods than usual. Don’t show up at the event, restaurant or party starving.
2. Healthy eating means that you shouldn’t enjoy your food. Your eating pleasure shouldn’t be a factor.
DIETING MYTH!
Eating brings us pleasure, so pleasure needs to be a factor with whatever way you choose to eat. Don’t restrict yourself to eating entirely clean and often flavourless meal options. This type of diet isn’t sustainable for the long term. Instead, indulge with only the amount of calorie laden food that still enables you to be happy. This may seem like an odd dieting consideration. Afterall, aren’t most of us cranky when we’re dieting? Yes we are, that’s but yet another reason why I don’t believe in dieting.
The Solution:
Curb your cravings and avoid this dieting myth by eating the smallest amount of an indulgent food that will bring you joy. This means that if you’re craving ice cream, eat it. But if it will satisfy you, order a kid size cone versus 2 scoops. To make an eating pattern last forever, it’s ultimately about selecting the meal or treat with lowest calories that you’ll ENJOY. You have to ENJOY your eating style or you’ll quit the healthy eating habits. If you can’t HAPPILY eat less, you’re not going to follow the eating plan for long.
3. The last 10 pounds are hardest to lose.
DIETING MYTH!
If you have to work that much harder to get the last 10 pounds off your frame, they probably aren’t staying off for long. It’ll probably take you a superhuman effort to keep them off, which isn’t sustainable forever. Many of us don’t want to have to change all of our lifestyle habits to reach a certain weight.
The Solution:
It’s better to use the word “slower” versus “harder” when you’re thinking about losing your last 10 pounds. It does take longer to lose weight towards the end of your journey, because you have a smaller, lighter body that’s burning fewer calories. Be kind to yourself, give yourself time to lose the weight.
I often advise my personal training clients that setting a massively challenging weight loss goal isn’t wise. In my experience, losing any more than 1 pound a week for a few months, is extremely challenging. If you have to suffer to get to a particular weight, you won’t often stay there. Whatever weight you reach when you’re living the healthiest life you enjoy is your “best” weight.
To Sum it up…The Facts About 3 Dieting Myths
Did you test your knowledge by figuring out if the 3 statements above, were dieting myths or facts? If so, how did you do? It’s OK if you were unclear on the answers, healthy eating can be tricky. There is so much information available in the form of blogs, books and videos about ‘dieting’. To make things even more confusing, many of the various diets are built on contradicting information.
So what can we do to try eating healthier and avoid these dieting myths? Make sure you are eating throughout the day before real hunger sets in. Curb cravings by eating the smallest amount of an indulgent food that will bring you joy. And give yourself permission to take some extra time to lose your last 10 pounds. All of your healthy living actions will add up, I promise!