8 Weight Loss Myths that Might be Holding You Bac
Calorie counting, body acceptance, low fat…weight loss is confusing and there’s so much information circulating it can make your head spin! Today I’m tackling 8 weight loss myths that I wish I'd understood years ago! Perhaps unraveling some of this misinformation or bad strategies will help remove stumbling blocks on your way to your healthiest, happiest self!
Check out the video below and/or catch the summary below!
Myth #1: Thin = Healthy (00:50)
We covet, worship, aspire, envy, and want to thin! Slender bodies appeal, entice, and torture us. We think of thin people as perfect, the absolute picture of health. But is that true?
You may idolize a fitness guru with the perfectly shaped body and long to look like her unaware that when the cameras go dark and she heads home, she battles health issues you have no idea about.
It’s not uncommon to learn a thin, seemingly fit person died of a heart attack or stroke seemingly out of nowhere. No one saw it coming because they were thin. And yet, many lean people have a condition called “metabolic syndrome,” a precursor to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of markers—high blood pressure, abnormally high cholesterol, stomach fat, hormonal imbalances, etc that make a person more likely to experience a cardiovascular or metabolic disease. It doesn’t always look they way we think it should look; it’s all about what’s going on below the surface.
Despite being lean, visceral fat (fat around the organs—particularly the liver) can accumulate as a result of poor nutritional practices. This fat may not be visible, but it still takes a toll.
And of course, you can be thin and toxic, thin and malnourished, thin and hormonally imbalanced…thin and just plain sick. So while being thin is often inherently desirable, it doesn’t necessarily mean healthy and should not be used as a standard to measure health. We shouldn’t expend every effort to be thin or attach too much importance to the word skinny…especially prizing underweight and unrealistic goals.
I anticipate greater success with a client/friend/loved one who comes to be with a desire to be healthy, vibrant, energetic and well rather than someone with tunnel vision who only wants to be “thin.” Let’s think bigger. Let’s expect better!
Myth #2: A calorie is a calorie (3:16)
There are lots of systems out there for sale that will help you count calories and tell you that you can eat whatever you want as long as you come in under your calorie limit. Sounds simple, right?
1 lb of body fat = about 3,500 calories so a deficit of 500 calories a day should mean you lose a pound a week, right? Wrong. This model fails to take into account too many variables.
All calories are not created equal and do not have the same impact on health and weight. We process fats differently than proteins which are processed differently than carbohydrates. Then you factor in complexities like chemicals and additives and it’s a new game entirely.
Whole foods “speak our language” where processed, refined foods confuse our genes and promote weight gain or slow weight loss.
The types of calories, in many ways, can matter more than the quantity we consume! Rather than looking for how many bites we can take and still stay under our calories—a model that often leads us to seek empty calories—we should be looking for nutrient dense foods that fill our nutrient and fuel requirements in fewer bites, leaving us satiated and nourished. In fact, if you adopt this as your philosophy, you can often stop calorie counting altogether!
Myth #3: You can Starve Yourself Skinny if you just have the Will Power (5:40)
If I can just eat less for so long…if I can just resist all this food a while longer….if I can just give this or that up. If I can just work out more and eat less…whatever it is you are telling yourself, if you are not in harmony with your body, you can’t power through to your weight loss goals. You can’t sustain unsustainable habits. And quite simply:
Will power NEVER trumps Biology.
Eating less and exercising more does not necessarily equal weight loss!
Fails to consider variables like food choices, hormones, etc.
Activates stress response that halts fat burning
Skipping meals causes overeating later on!
This model puts all the blame on the individual. There is not enough will power to override your biology!
“Calories in equal calories out” fails to take into account variables. Can lead to the brain perceiving a threat of starvation and the limbic system goes into “fight or flight mode.” The stress response controls feeding behavior. Hunger signals increase, and even if you manage to will yourself through that, your body puts a lock down on fat stores, slows your metabolism down, raises cortisol and insulin to ensure everything you do eat gets stored away.
Whatever strategy you adopt, it has to honor your body, align with your systems and not against them. You cannot conquer your body by depriving it or driving it too hard.
I’m not fat; I’m fluffy.
Myth #4: Fat Makes you Fat (9:18)
Villainizing fat has led to a host of health issues as people have cut fat from their diets and only become more overweight and chronically sick!
It is essential to get good fats in your diet! Some of the roles and benefits of healthy fats are:
• Satiating (prevents overeating) and flavorful
• Anti-inflammatory
• Boost metabolism
• Turn on fat burning genes
• Increase insulin sensitivity
• Build protective membranes
• Essential for brain health
• Necessary to utilize many vitamins
Produces necessary hormones
The key to consuming fats while reaping the rewards is to focus on healthy fats while eliminating harmful ones from your diet. Check the chart below for a simple guide to fats and check out this previous episode on Cooking with Healthy Fats to learn more.
Myth #5: It’s in my Genes-It is my destiny! (11:57)
With regards to weight, genes do determine certain things like where we put weight, energy expenditure, fullness/appetite and even a predisposition to obesity.
BUT our genes are not “set in stone.” They often act more like a switchboard, with their expressions being switched on and off depending on several factors. Epigenetics determines which genes are expressed when.
Epigenetics is the study of what effects gene expresison—environment, actions, even our thoughts can influence how enzymes attach to proteins that turn genes on and off.
So those “genetics” in your family that “doom” you to being heavyset or predispose you to diabetes or other metabolic conditions could be more the influence of your family culture and learned behaviors that are stopping your weight loss!
Nutrigenomics is specifically the study of how nutrition affects genetic expression, especially where disease and obesity is concerned. Again, whole foods speak the language of your genes. Learning what foods serve your body, balance your imbalances, cool your inflammation, optimize your metabolism and otherwise promote health will help you turn off any genetic predispositions you have towards weight gain and disease.
In the video I share an example of nutrigenomics suppressing a potentially harmful pattern in his “blueprints.” My husband has a genetic marker that sets him up for tragically high LDL cholesterol. People with this marker have a much higher risk of clinically high LDL and even higher risks of cardiovascular disease. And yet, his numbers are beautiful. Perfect, if such a thing can be said. He consumes a lot of fat, but it is healthy fats and part of a diet we designed to support his needs. He has successfully switched that gene off by giving his body what it needs to counteract that expression. Hooray!
Myth #6: The Protector/ Big Brother Myth (16:20)
We may mistakenly think that if we read labels and listen to the news and take the recommendations, we will be taken care of. And yet….
Does it seem like labels change, recommendations contradict and the news can’t make up its mind?
The truth is, you need to watch out for your own health.
Government policy is largely funded by corporate interests.
Medical professionals are largely educated by pharmaceutical companies.
Studies are often biased to favor those who funded them
Public opinion is swayed by corporate dollars.
There is a long and painful history to illustrate each of these concepts. Lard was once the standard of virtue. Then it was demonized and replaced by margarine (though margarine initially disgusted the population and required some serious PR to become accepted in American kitchens!) And now people are coming around to the detriments of the “I can’t believe it’s not…” movement and once again seeking out traditional fats. And what about eggs? A health food one day. A junk food the next. And back and forth. Just two examples.
The FDA is painfully inadequate to police food quality and most food chemicals are “innocent until proven guilty” anyway. Government recommendations (RDAs) are really just the bare minimum required to prevent disease. So meeting the daily allowance for vitamin C may keep you from getting scurvy, but is it enough to fire up your immune system and your metabolism?
You need to step up and be your own advocate. You need to seek out knowledge, discern motives and bias, and second guess facts that don’t quite make sense. You need to be your own protector.
Myth #7: Play By the Numbers (19:40)
Do you live and die by the scale? Are you one of those that step on the scale daily, even several times a day?
Do you have a specific, magical number in mind that you are absolutely set on achieving?
Focusing on numbers give you tunnel vision: an incomplete picture that doesn’t account for real healing and progress!
Do you have a goal to lose X number of pounds in X days and nothing less will do?
Rapid weight loss is not safe, sustainable, or normal.
Weight fluctuates, even daily from one hour to the next.
Numbers that work for one person work differently for others. Trying to weight what you did in a different stage of life or seeking to weigh the same or less than someone else isn’t always healthy or even feasible.
Be flexible with numbers. Be willing to change goals, accept a winding path rather than a straight line and be patient with your healing journey. Abandoning a plan that isn’t working according to the numbers can shortchange you and derail healthy progress!
Myth #8: Body Acceptance—This is me. (23:17)
I am anti-body shaming. But body acceptance doesn’t ring true to me either. It doesn’t seem right to accept your body as it is, to be resigned to the state you’re in. You should challenge your body and push it to improve. You should strive to heal and excel. You should set forward moving goals and embrace change. So rather than “body acceptance,” maybe it would be more accurate to say “Body COMPASSIONATE” or “Body Appreciative!“
You need to build a positive relationship with your physical self NOW.
Start by listing what you can do. Tell yourself you are beautiful. Thank yourself for what you have.
That doesn’t mean you have to accept your aches and pains. The excess weight. The acid reflux, the trouble sleeping. You don’t have to ACCEPT the status quo. But you do need to acknowledge this body you’re in is your transportation for this life, your tabernacle, your clay. It is a powerful ally, not an enemy to be battled, subdued, or shamed.
Listen to your body. Understand the messages it is giving you. Honor it. Love it. And thank it for embarking on a journey with you. Maybe you could even promise each other: I will take care of you, body, and you will take care of me.
Hungry for More? Talk to Me!
Could you use a helping hand in launching a weight loss plan that works with your body and not against it? Let’s chat about ways to get help aligning your diet with your goals. Remember, your food should be serving you!
Schedule a free 20 minute consult by phone or video chat so we can discuss your challenges and goals and ways I can help.
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