Debunking Weight Loss Myths

How many times have you heard statements like: “I can’t eat past 6pm or I’ll be fat” and “Carbs made me gain weight” ? Let’s talk about diet and weight loss MYTHS.

Myth 1: You can’t change your metabolism.

Your metabolism is not your destiny even though it has genetic factors. You can change your metabolism by increasing lean muscle mass. Building lean muscle mass by resistance and strength training will increase your metabolism.

Myth 2: Muscle weighs more than fat.

One pound of muscle and one pound of fat weigh one pound. The difference is that one pound of muscle takes up less space in your body – it is more condensed in size. This is why two people who weigh exactly the same can have completely different body compositions.

Myth 3: Don’t eat after a certain time of day.

The only reason to restrict eating after a certain time of day would be if it disturbs your sleep. Your metabolism never turns off, so there is no truth in cutting off food intake in terms of weight loss and metabolism. Weight loss is about the total amount of food you eat vs what you expend.

Myth 4: You don’t need to watch what you eat, because you exercise a lot.

You can’t out-train a bad diet! Exercise is great and necessary but when it comes to changing body composition, it’s always about the food.

Myth 5: Eating ____ makes you fat.

Carbs don’t make you fat. Fat doesn’t make you fat. Diets that demonize and eliminate entire food groups are partially to blame for this myth. For example, the ketogenic diet eliminates carbohydrates from the diet.

Myth 6: Weight loss is predictable, steady and linear.

If your goal is weight loss, and you’re in a caloric deficit and eating, you would expect that you’ll lose weight every single week. This isn’t true because weight loss is not linear or constant. There are so many factors that come into play such as how much water you drank, the sodium you ate, menstruation, etc.