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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Everyday we read in magazines or hear on television different methods about how to lose, and the best way to permanently achieve the leaner body so many of us want. Summer may be almost over, but our desire to lose isn’t. This week, let’s take a look at a few popular misconceptions, which are perpetuated even by some of us professionals in the business, versus the facts that evidence-based science gives us.
Fact or Fiction?
Fiction: Eating at night causes weight gain. Fact: Calories count first! If we eat more calories than we burn over the course of time, we gain. Some research has suggested that those of us who do eat most of our food at night, eat more calories than we realize. One reason is that night eaters eat more calorie dense foods than early all day eaters. “Start Early” and “Eat Often” are tools in my program, so let’s start early, eat often and avoid overeating at night.
Fiction: Low Carb/high protein diets work better. Fact: All diets restrict caloric intake in some way, which leads to weight loss.
I commonly hear from clients when I first meet them, that they gain weight when they eat carbs. I usually reply that the problem is not the carbs themselves, but that we just eat too much of them, or we add a lot of fat to them. A type of diet that has consistently shown to enhance permanent weight loss is a low-fat diet. Once again, the key to long term weight management is that we need to eat fewer calories to lose weight, and fat has the most calories per gram, so let’s cut more calories by trimming the fat. Anyone remember my tip “More Food or More Fat”?
Fiction: Eating in-between meals causes weight gain. Fact: Snacking aids weight loss. This is true if we snack on “real” food of course, and we wind up taking in the appropriate amount of calories for the day. Snacking helps to maintain blood sugar levels even for us non diabetics, reducing cravings (This helps to reduce the night eating!). We also raise our metabolic rate a bit every time we eat because our body acts as a fire being fueled with more wood (Known as the thermogenic effect of food). We may also be more likely to keep our portions smaller when we eat more often since our next meal isn’t as far away. I suggest that any healthy food can be a snack, it’s just a smaller portion than a mini-meal or meal.
Fiction: I need to lose weight before starting a strength training program. Fact: Strength training can reduce the amount of lean body tissue that is lost during weight loss. All weight loss is composed of water, fat, and lean tissue and each can vary with type of diet, activity level and the amount of time we take to lose. In addition, strength training can add lean body tissue which increases metabolism, a good thing over the long haul!
These are just a few of the most common misconceptions that I hear often. Have you heard any confusing facts lately? E-mail me at [email protected] and I’ll try to cover them in my next Fact or Fiction tip!
June M. Lay M.S.
JuneFit
Posted now is my Stuffed Tomato Salad for my “Summertime Salads and the Eating is Easy” Series at http://www.junefit.com/tips_recipehp.htm
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June is Lifestyle Columnist at www.healthnewsdigest.com/
Want to recommend my weekly tips to friends, relatives and anyone interested in improving their health & fitness, e mail me at [email protected] or click here.
Junefit, 2009
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