Big Fat Myths


So, over the years, MILLIONS of statements have been made in regards to the "best" way to lose weight or the things you should NEVER do under any circumstances when following a diet.
Some are completely valid, like drinking lots of water to increase your metabolism, and reducing the amount of starchy carbohydrates you eat (though to be honest, this one also needs a little elaboration to clearly explain why starchy carbs aren't a "bad" thing in their own right! They simply lead to water retention which means excess "scale" weight.)
My following statements may conflict with some of the methods you've previously sworn by when following a strict nutrition plan.
I ask you two things before reading on:
1. Who made those statements in the first place?
2. Do you really KNOW it's true?
Here are some fantastic popular weight loss statements and my opinion on their validity...
Statement number one: DON'T EAT CARBOHYDRATE HEAVY MEALS AFTER 6 O CLOCK!
Opinion: Think about this logically...you have a daily TOTAL calorie intake. When you exceed that intake, you will gain excess weight.
This intake is supposed to be distributed between all of the macro-nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fat) if we are eating a HEALTHY diet.
However, you might find that you have eaten protein heavy meals all day, with only a little fat and no carbs...
Suddenly, it gets to 6 o clock; you decide to eat a carbohydrate heavy meal.
You are on target for your daily protein intake, but your fat and carbohydrate totals are WELL under their target numbers.
What happens?
Provided your carbohydrate heavy meal doesn't contain enough calories to take you over both your fat AND carbohydrate calorie allocations...
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
That's right, nothing. You got away with it.
And to all the people who will no doubt say "but carbohydrates are used for energy, you don't need energy at that time of night! it'll just store as fat when you sleep!"
Well, the truth is that when we sleep our body is in its most active state of repair and recovery - your metabolism is still in FULL swing even if you aren't physically moving much.
Your vital organs and nervous system require fuel too you know!
And if you doubt this, eat a carb heavy meal before sleeping, and the most obvious piece of evidence to support my statements will present it self when you wake up...
You'll have an empty stomach, because the food will have been burned off for fuel to sustain the growth and recovery process I just mentioned.
I rest my case.
Statement number two: FRUIT CONTAINS SUGAR! DON'T EAT IT!
Opinion: Fruit does contain sugar; Fructose to be exact.
Fructose digests at a much slower rate than the refined form of sugar that comes in the majority of junk food.
If you eat fruit first thing in the morning, immediately before working out, or immediately after working out, then I guarantee that you wont gain excess weight.
And here comes more information for the people who took my last statement on board who may be saying "But you said we have daily totals! you said as long as we didn't go over them we wouldn't gain weight!"
That's true, as long as the carbohydrate source is healthy.
I'm willing to bet some of the people reading this don't eat healthy carbohydrate sources.
So what happens?
Well, we have two forms of carbohydrates in my opinion; "fast" carbs, and "slow" carbs.
Slow carbs digest slowly as they contain lots of vital nutrients and fibre, they are great for our bodies.
Fast carbs digest incredibly fast as they contain nothing useful and our body has no need to keep them in our system. There is simply nothing in them worth keeping.
Pure sugar like the kind found in sweets and pastries etc is a fast carb.
Fruit, grains, cereal, beans vegetables and pulses etc are slow carbs.
If your carb sources remain within your daily intake levels and they come from the slow carb categories, you simply can't lose.
If they come from the fast carb options, your body will simply try to use it all at once as it has no need to digest it slowly; you will simply not be able to access all of this "energy" in one go, meaning the excess will get stored as fat.
As the digestion rate of fast carbs takes place at such an accelerated rate, you'll also crash the very second the energy is used up as there is nothing left to spare.
"But you said to eat fruit at specific times! what's all that about!"
We determine a slow and fast carb choice using something called the GI (Glycemic Index) scale. Anything 55 or below is "slow" in my opinion, and anything 65 or above is "fast".
Some fruit options have a higher concentration of fructose than others, putting them within the "fast" range.
These fruit sources, as with ANYTHING over 65 on the GI scale, should be consumed at the times I previously specified when your body will need a fast acting source of glycogen.
The GI scale can be found at: http://www.glycemicindex.com/
So, even though that wasn't a short answer, most fruit is fine.
Statement number three: WE DON'T ACTUALLY NEED TO EAT CARBOHYDRATES!
Opinion: Your brain (that's right, the sponge that makes EVERYTHING in your body work) draws its main fuel source from....
Guess what; GLYCOGEN!
Glycogen comes from carbohydrates!
Ever wondered why people on very low carb diets are moody, gaunt and (in some unfortunate cases) develop bad skin? It's because their brain literally isn't functioning at its optimal levels.
Yes, you do need carbohydrates.
Statement number four: STAY AWAY FROM FAT!
Opinion: Fat is responsible for correct immune system function, central nervous system function, and especially in men, correct hormonal release (and specifically in men, testosterone production)
If you want to be ill, have bad skin, and risk (for ladies) destroying your natural menstrual cycle, then go ahead and go low fat.
If you really want to damage yourself, combine low fat with low carb for hyper-destructive results.
Or as a better alternative, keep the daily totals I mentioned earlier in mind and do one thing, and one thing only to ensure safety...
Don't eat like an idiot.
Statement number five: I BARELY EAT AND I NEVER LOSE WEIGHT! I'M A FREAK!!!
Opinion: You're not a freak, you're just not being sensible.
We (all of us) have a BMR (Base Metabolic Rate) number that we need to adhere to if we want our body to function in its proper state.
Our metabolism is (obviously) a working part of our body, and if our body does not function correctly, then neither does our metabolism.
If our metabolism does not function correctly, then we simply cannot burn fat.
Never eat below your Base Metabolic Rate and you will be fine, as long as what you DO eat is balanced and healthy.
Statement number six: DON'T EAT!!
Opinion: Do eat.
If you don't eat breakfast within the first half an hour of waking up, your metabolism will not start.
If your metabolism doesn't start, you can't even begin to burn fat.
If you don't keep it fueled throughout the day at regular (roughly every three hours) intervals, then you are reducing your fat loss results.
Look at this formula:
Nutrient Rich Food = tools.
Metabolism = Workforce.
NRF + Metabolism = weight loss!
So yeah, believe it or not, you need to eat to lose weight!
These are just some of the popular myths out there, there are HUNDREDS more that given the time i'd love to offer my opinion on...but that's all for now.
If you want to know your daily calorie totals, visit: http://www.freedieting.com/
You can use their daily calorie intake calculator and macro-nutrient calculator together to get your daily intake totals.
Never take anything you hear too seriously before you do some research first....
Visit http://www.jasondiprose.co.uk and http://www.oneclubyork.co.uk/fitness-bootcamps-york for the best solutions to weight loss and fitness development.

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