5 fat loss myths debunked

Aug 19, 2019

Nutrition science is fascinating but also frustrating. Like anything in science, the facts of nutrition science can be proven. But if you wait long enough, these facts can also be disproven. That’s just the nature of science. The worldwide community of physicians, nutritionists, biologists, chemists and the like is constantly searching for answers and gaining knowledge. So, what we know is always changing.

And what we now know about nutrition science now is so far removed from what we used to believe, say, in the 90s. That means if you’re eating according to 1990s knowledge, you might not be serving yourself well. And who knows what truths we’ll uncover in the next 20 years! But it’s likely that some of today’s nutrition recommendations will become moot. That’s just the nature of the science game.

But hang onto your hats. Because keeping up with the facts is hard enough, but it’s even more difficult to separate fact from fiction. There are an infinite number of opinions about what you should eat, how you should eat, and when you should eat. And some of these opinions have no basis in fact. There’s some dogma, mixed in with a bit of misinformation. I’ll call them myths. These myths often focus on your feeling and looking your best. And that’s how they get your attention - by focusing on what you want most. So, I’d like to debunk five fat loss myths in this post.

1. “A calorie is a calorie.”

Calories are a measure of energy. But the idea of calories and calorie counting can be seductive. Some health and fitness influencers suggest that all calories are created equally. They put the emphasis on the calories instead of what the calories represent.

Here’s an example … you know those 100-calorie snack packs? Like 100 calories of chocolate chip cookies or pretzels. Ok. Well, compare that to an average-sized apple which is also about 100 calories. If you’re focused on the calories, you might think the snack pack is as valuable as the apple. That snack pack tries to seduce you into believing that 100 calories will have the same effect on your body, regardless of the source.

But that’s not true. So, don’t fall for it. 100 calories of apple will serve you better than 100 calories of chocolate chip cookies. And you know that intuitively, right? But the confusing messaging of influencers and marketers gets in the way. But here’s the truth: food is more important than calories. It’s nutrients too! Food is fuel and information. So, whenever you can, choose the food with the greater nutritional value, regardless of the number of calories. Your body will thank you. To read more about why I don’t like counting calories, head here.

2. “You need a fast metabolism to lose body fat.”

Simply put, metabolism is turning food into fuel. However, the exact process of metabolism varies depending on what each bite of food contains. There is protein metabolism and fat metabolism, but most humans primarily rely on sugar metabolism.

Metabolism begins as soon as you take a bite of food. When the bite contains carbs, your body starts metabolizing sugar. A process that starts in your mouth and ends in your gut. And then your blood sugar goes up. Blood sugar goes up minimally when you eat a high-fiber/low-sugar carb, like spinach. And it goes up slowly. Your blood sugar goes up significantly more when you eat a low-fiber/high-sugar carb, like semolina pasta. And it gets high quickly.

That high rise in blood sugar is a sugar high. And just as quickly, your blood sugar will be low again. That’s a sugar crash. And that’s fast metabolism. Once your blood sugar crashes, you’ll go looking for more sugar! That's a sugar craving. Then, blood sugar spikes high and crashes low again. And on and on it goes … it’s a roller coaster of fast metabolism.

It’s not ideal to metabolize food quickly. Fast metabolism keeps you craving and eating and eating and craving. You don’t need a fast metabolism. You need a metabolism that smooths out the sugar highs and lows. When you feed your body with food that it metabolizes slowly, you’ll have sustained energy. And you’ll keep cravings at bay. Doesn’t that sound better than the sugar roller coaster? If you want to learn more, my post, “Understanding Your Blood Sugar,” will give you all the details!

3. “Eat low-fat food to lose body fat.”

For decades, fat has gotten such a bad rap. But it doesn’t deserve it! It’s important and healthy to eat fat. Let’s call the fat you eat dietary fat.

There’s also fat in very important parts of you. You have body fat. It’s normal and necessary. You need to eat fat and you need to have fat. But eating fat doesn’t make you gain fat. Eating excess sugar does!

When your day is full of low-fiber, high-sugar foods, the sugar eventually overwhelms your system. Once your body has all the sugar it needs for energy, it packs the rest of the sugar away. It goes to your liver and then it gets distributed to the rest of your body.

And the low-fat diet myth has made this phenomenon even more apparent. As fat is removed from food, oftentimes so is the taste. So, the fat removed is replaced with sugar to boost the flavor. In that way, choosing low-fat foods backfires. Because adding dietary sugar adds body fat.

Let’s look at cow’s milk as an example. Whole milk is 4% fat. Low-fat is 2% and skim is 1% fat. And as the fat content in cow’s milk goes down, the sugar content goes up. Not convinced? The next time you’re at the grocery store, take a look at the nutrition facts of all three. Skim milk has at least 10 times as much sugar as whole milk. So, if you like dairy, feel free to eat it with full fat because the low-fat stuff actually leads to fat gain.

4. “Detox to lose body fat.”

Sugar, which is at the root of most chronic diseases in the US, isn’t a poison. For that matter, neither is salt or fat. So, you don’t need to detox from these things. Your body is detoxing all the time … without your interference. You just have to nourish and trust your body.

But maybe you just want to try a detox diet, and that’s your prerogative. So, if you do, please pick your detox wisely. Some diets use primarily water or tea and they’ll leave you starving and depleted. So, while I don’t recommend diets, I encourage you to always pick a plan with nutritional value.

So, if you want to lose body fat, you may consider a juice detox. And, in general, this won’t be harmful. But the detox should include vegetables. A 100% fruit juice cleanse won’t jump start your health. Truly, more vegetables than fruits will serve you and your fat loss goals best.

Here’s why: it takes 2 to 4 oranges to make a glass of orange juice. Similarly, it takes 4 to 8 apples to make a glass of apple juice. And the serving of juice is essentially sugar - 2 to 8 times as much as a serving of the whole fruit - without the fiber! So, if you drink fruit juice all day, you’re essentially mainlining sugar.

You’re consuming big loads of sugar without the fiber to slow down the sugar roller coaster. Also, fruit sugar - known as fructose - goes directly to your liver. When your liver is overloaded with sugar, it leads to gaining fat. If you’re intrigued by a juice cleanse or detox, look for one that includes fresh-squeezed juice which preserves a little fiber. Also, including more veggies than fruits will moderate the amount of sugar in the plan. That’ll help you reach your goals.

5. “To lose body fat, you have to eat less and exercise more.”

The ages-old credo “calories in, calories out” oversimplifies fat and weight loss. It suggests that as long as the calories you burn (with exercise) are greater than the calories you consume (with eating), you’ll lose body fat. But there’s more to it than that.

First of all, this idea underestimates the power of good sleep and fat loss. And research shows that you can literally burn fat while you get high-quality sleep. It also undermines the power of your thoughts. And your thoughts absolutely deserve attention when you’re setting out to do something new and challenging like losing body fat. So, pay attention to your sleep habits and the stories you’re telling yourself.

Now, movement (or exercise) is important to living healthfully, but more isn’t always better. In fact, research shows improved fitness with just a 4-minute workout! It’s called HIIT or high intensity interval training. More specifically, it’s tabata. And it doesn’t require hours of your time. In fact, really long, steady state workouts can actually increase body fat by increasing your stress hormones.

Lastly, calories in versus calories out has the most power early in your fat loss journey. Small increases in effort will result in recognizable fat losses. But as you progress in your journey, fat loss will seem harder to get, in spite of working out harder. Your fat loss will start to plateau, in spite of burning more calories. And that’s totally normal because your body has a set point and it wants to stay there.

And if you try to push past this plateau by eating less and working out more, you’ll just weaken your system. You still won’t lose more fat, but you’ll also be sicker and weaker. So, I encourage you to move your body because it boosts your energy, because you like it, or because it’s your you time. Move because you want to feel agile and strong.

Simply put - working out builds muscle and healthy eating habits burn fat.

Your health includes sleep, thoughts and movement but nutrition contributes to your health goals more than anything else. That’s why it’s my passion to guide you in creating healthy eating habits that will unlock your potential. You can reject myths. And you can reject hacks, quick fixes and diets while you're at it!