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
Most men and women put on weight differently. But on... Read More
Your health is your responsibility. As a human being, you... Read More
Changing our eating behaviour is one of the critical lifestyle... Read More
At the beginning of December, WeightWatchers.com announced the release of... Read More
If you know someone that has been trying to lose... Read More
I have had some e-mails come in and everyone is... Read More
How would you like to eat all you want and... Read More
Glycemic index ranks different carbohydrate foods depending on their potential... Read More
Your brain has this really interesting system that is kind... Read More
For years we heard that a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet would... Read More
Every weight loss surgery patient I've met said they at... Read More
Getting to the ROOT of the matter: If the plants... Read More
Weight loss surgery is fast becoming a very popular way... Read More
I am Dr Patrick Flanagan, and this is the latest... Read More
"Your Eyes are Bigger Than Your Stomach""Your eyes are bigger... Read More
In our quest to get that "perfect" body, we actually... Read More
Among the most popular forms of dieting is the South... Read More
Your blood cholesterol level is affected not only by what... Read More
There Is A Right Way to Chew!Chewing your food is... Read More
Have you ever seen an overweight rock climber or yoga... Read More
Weight loss plans come in all shapes and sizes. Some... Read More
The Atkins diet can be boring because of the limited... Read More
It's agreed that if you raise the amount of calories... Read More
Name a diet...any diet. It doesn't work. Try to name... Read More
With the number of people suffering from obesity rising so... Read More
There has been a recent surge in the experts weighing... Read More
Lose Weight - Get A Break The American Obesity... Read More
In twenty years of consistant exercising, maintaining a low percentage... Read More
We all have aspects of health we want to improve.... Read More
New gastric bypass patients say they miss food, they grieve... Read More
Watching television exercises our eyes but nothing else. Unfortunately, it... Read More
We are inundated by exhortations to lose weight - from... Read More
Gastric bypass surgeries are temporary physical fixes to a long... Read More
The Sour Truth -------------------------- Question: I had a baby 6... Read More
When most people begin a Weight Loss program or diet... Read More
Your Non-Conscious Mind is 98% of your full power.Your Inner... Read More
If you know someone that has been trying to lose... Read More
Whole grains and weight loss have a definite, scientific, and... Read More
In March 2003 our then 13 year old daughter, Helen,... Read More
Flip through a magazine, scan a newspaper, or channel surf... Read More
"THE SECRET REMEDY OF THE ANCIENT WARRIORS"Since what would seem... Read More
Cellulite is not a medical condition or an aesthetic mutiny... Read More
Let me tell you something - if you are doing... Read More
There are several theories on the origins of Valentine's Day.... Read More
This article is about making long-term changes in the foods... Read More
As an employee of famous fitness star Kathy Smith, personal... Read More
Gastric bypass surgeries are temporary physical fixes to a long... Read More
For years we heard that a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet would... Read More
(Ailsa's Apple Crumble Diet)I'm Scottish, so it's not a big... Read More
When you have started a diet in the past, how... Read More
False campaignsMore than 50 percent of Americans and Canadians are... Read More
I want to talk to you about cows and what... Read More
Are you wondering why you're not losing weight? If you're... Read More
Dr. Atkins death was unexpected. On 8 April 2003, he... Read More
Let me ask you a personal question. As you read... Read More
After weight loss surgery it is important to include as... Read More
A metabolism drug like ephedrine, has shown many people how... Read More
Students today are faced with the serious reality of unwanted... Read More
Exercising too hardThis is probably the most common mistake. As... Read More
Do you know someone that is obsessed with the scale?... Read More
A little information if often a dangerous thing... and many... Read More
There are several factors in winning at weight loss. Sometimes... Read More
Are you ashamed of your weight? Do you have a... Read More
It was bad enough hearing almost daily that obesity in... Read More
A question from one of our readers:Dr. Mericle,With respect to... Read More
Are you trying to lose weight?If you are, STOP!Funny thing... Read More
Weight Loss |