Nutrition Myths: BUSTED

Fact or Fiction?
Much of what we’ve heard about nutrition is wrong

From friends commenting on their own bodies, to coworkers gossiping about what a celebrity looks like, to ads on television and social media promoting diets and quick fixes to lose weight and get fit fast, we are inundated with unhelpful messages about food, fitness, and body image.

As a personal trainer, fitness instructor, and nutrition coach, part of my job is addressing the myths and misconceptions my clients hear on a daily basis

I totally get the confusion. Before I worked in the fitness industry, I worked out obsessively and “ate healthy” to avoid gaining the dreaded “Freshman 15.” Society and teen magazines taught me that was something to avoid at all costs, so I dutifully went to the gym at least once a day and ate salads and cut out many foods I actually enjoyed.

Luckily, my education as a personal trainer and nutrition coach has shown me a different way to live, one that includes a well-rounded exercise program, balanced nutrition and a healthy relationship with food, as well as a critical eye when it comes to some of the most common myths about nutrition.

Myth: Eating less is better

Many people think cutting calories is the key to weight loss/healthy eating. 

If you've ever used a calorie tracking app, you might have noticed that total calories are displayed in green when they're under the daily goal, but the number switches to red (often with a negative symbol) as soon as you go one single calorie over. This creates positive associations with eating less, or coming in under your calorie goal, and negative associations with going over.

Unfortunately, many of those apps, not to mention popular diets and "lifestyles," set calorie goals that are way, way too low. 

Severely restricting calories can be counterproductive, even if you're trying to lose weight.

The human body needs certain nutrients from food, in certain amounts, to control all bodily functions, and cutting calories too low prevents the body from working properly. This affects hormones that control hunger, fullness, metabolism, stress response, and more, so slashing calories below what you actually need can negatively impact just about every aspect of life.

Significant restriction can be a sign of disordered eating. If you are struggling with disordered eating, contact https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

Myth: Counting calories is an important weight loss tool

Unless you’re weighing every morsel of food you put in your mouth with a well-calibrated food scale, your calculations are going to be slightly off. And if you’re consuming pre-packaged food, the nutrition label is legally allowed to be off by 20% due to different methods of calculation. Different cooking methods can also impact the calorie count of a food.

We also don’t absorb all of the nutrients from the food we take in, and things like stress and lack of sleep can throw our hormones out of whack, which also affects how our bodies process food.

It’s virtually impossible to know precisely how many calories you’re taking in, and the “calories burned” is also not the most accurate, no matter how good your tracker is.

If you’ve ever tried to track your calories, you know it can be time-consuming. It’s a lot of work for a rough estimate, and while learning about the nutrient densities of different foods and understanding serving sizes on labels can be helpful, relying on calorie counting for fitness and weight loss is often a fast track to minimal results.

For most people, using hand portion sizes and tuning in to hunger and fullness cues are more reliable ways to control intake.

Myth: Some foods are "good" and some are "bad"

As a culture, we have completely villainized foods that absolutely don’t deserve it. Potatoes? Too much starch. Bananas? Too much sugar. Steak? Too much fat.

Besides, food has no moral value. Food is food, and different foods have different amounts of calories, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, fibers, sugars, and vitamins and minerals, and that doesn't make it good or bad. It just means you need different amounts of different foods to achieve a well-balanced diet. 

Dividing food into “good” and “bad” can lead to positive or negative feelings about ourselves based on what we eat. We’re “good” if we opt for lettuce wraps and “bad” if we keep the side of fries instead of swapping in a salad.

To eat healthy, eat a range of fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats in moderation, striving for unprocessed when possible. Most people really don't need any diet rules or meal plans besides that.

Myth: Carbs and sugar are unhealthy

If you fear bread, if you begrudgingly wrap your hamburgers in lettuce and pretend it's the same, if you've ever spent extra at the grocery store for low-carb bread that has the same taste and texture as...something not very bread-like, I hereby give you permission to just eat the bread.

(Of course, if you don't actually like bread, if you prefer lettuce wraps or have found a low-carb brand you really enjoy, or if you have health concerns that necessitate a low-carb diet, don't eat bread.)

Carbs, including bread, get a bad rap these days, but carbs are one of three macronutrients -- carbohydrates, fat, and protein -- that are essential for proper function. Not only are carbs delicious, they're also super important. Carbohydrates support brain function and provide energy to working muscles, so if you're cutting carbs and feeling a little foggy or fatigued, try adding some carbs back into your meals.

Not all carbs are created equal -- whole wheat bread has more nutritional value than white bread, for example, and foods like oats and sweet potatoes include even more nutrients -- but carbs and bread aren't "bad." No food exists solely by itself. We eat foods with other foods, and the way those foods interact, as well as our sleep, stress, and exercise, affects how they're digested and stored in the body.

Again, the most important guideline is to consistently eating a range of healthy food in the right amount for you!

Myth: You shouldn't eat after 8 pm.

Some people say 8, some say 6, some say 5, but they're all wrong.

There is NO set time people have to stop eating. The calories in a specific food are the same whether you eat them at 7:59 pm or 8:15.

Not eating after a certain time is a rule that was made up to keep people from snacking at night. If it helps you, that's cool, but if it means you're skipping meals because you can't get them in before a certain time, that's not so good.

If you go to bed earlier, you might want to eat earlier to have more time to digest before trying to sleep. I generally recommend giving yourself at least a few hours before bed. But there is no magic time that's going to change how the food is stored in your body to make you gain or lose weight.

If you are consistently eating a range of healthy foods in the right amounts for you, getting enough sleep and managing stress, and moving your body, you can eat whenever.

Myth: Fruit isn't healthy because it has too much sugar.

Fruit does have more sugar than vegetables, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't eat fruit!

Fruit is much more than just naturally occurring sugars. It also contains fiber, which helps you feel full and is important for healthy digestions, along with a range of phytonutrients, which are key for preventing issues like heart disease, cancers, osteoporosis, and diabetes.

Whole fruit has high fiber and water content, so it would take a lot more fruit to consume "too much" sugar -- think 4-5 apples or bananas to match what you'd get in one 20 oz soda. And remember, when you're consuming fruit, you're not downing straight sugar. You're also getting the other nutrients, antioxidants, fiber, and water that will positively effect your health.

Whole fruit, sugar and all, will always be a healthier choice than processed foods, even the "low-calorie," "diet," or "sugar-free" choices. 

While the diet industry will never stop coming up with new theories and concepts to try to promote weight loss (and make people feel like they're not good enough, thin enough, disciplined enough, etc.), you can always come back to the basics.

Eat a wide range of less processed foods in appropriate amounts. Listen to and follow your hunger and fullness cues. Drink water. Move your body. Get some sleep.

Better health is much, much simpler than all the confusing nutrition myths have led us to believe.