There are all sorts of myths out there, but I want to cover the three big ones that I consistently come across related to food, habits around this, and diets.
Myth or Truth?
- Myth 1, Don’t eat carbohydrates if you want to lose weight.
Firstly, cutting out a big food group like this can be quite worrying, not necessarily short-term but mid and long-term, and this can sometimes mean that the body does not allow for glucose to be accessed easily. Glucose is our primary fuel and cutting carbohydrates out can mean that the body has no choice but to find other forms of energy or to break other food groups down like protein which can increase cravings and can also create a degree of stress in the body as well as leaving us lower in other important nutrient groups.
There are cases where a physician can be monitoring a reduction in carbohydrates and hence glucose load, but this has to be in a controlled environment.
The danger is people reading about these fads and following them can create potential problems for themselves in the long term.
The timescales are usually important because our bodies are geniuses in dealing with what is thrown at it short term, but many people seem to do this on and off and if they can get past the initial hunger they may do it for months, and that’s the worry. You have to know what you are doing and not second guess things.
It is very difficult to measure out how much carbohydrates you are cutting out which is why most people can’t do the reduction, they end up cutting it out altogether but what they cut out is good things like fruit sugars, potatoes, and other root vegetables, rice and of course, pasta and bread. The difficulty is that they score it according to what they like, and most will agree that bread is their thing so cutting out on whole root vegetables, gut-friendly potatoes and fruits make logical sense because people feel sorry for themselves and want their toast and cereal at the start and that glass of wine or two by the end of the day. But as a group of carbohydrates bread, flour is processed but can give you the perspective that they fill you up but compromising on other natural sources of carbohydrates is a mistake.
There are many incentives to cut down on carbohydrates especially when it comes to type 2 diabetes reversal or losing weight, low carb diets, or keto diets. There are hundreds of variations, and they all have outcomes that are mixed.
Here’s the thing, carbohydrates are a much-needed food group but not the way we usually get them, through highly processed foods, the bread we buy in the supermarket is one of them. Root vegetables and a managed amount of pasta, bread, and rice, white and brown, can be eaten. Just watch your portions. What you want is a gradual release of glucose so that means eating more complex carbohydrates that come in vegetables and fruits, lentils, legumes, nuts, and seeds. So many foods we eat that may belong to other food groups also have a decent amount of complex carbohydrates so let`s start changing our view of what essential carbohydrates are and not go with what food and agriculture industry or the collaborators like the pharmaceutical and government groups want from us, which is ill health and more importantly a route to chronic lifestyle illness. The so-called “white foods” promote a great deal of inflammation in most of us because of the low-grade, low-quality grains used in the flour where we get most of our carbohydrates, that we blindly buy. Go to my blog on “what foods do we eat.”
- Myth 2, To lose weight or to stop putting weight on, don’t eat carbohydrates after 5 pm
There are so many versions of this sort of confusion, especially from those who are desperate to find solutions as to why they just can’t lose weight so anything that absolves them of any accountability and responsibility that fits into their perspective nicely, is great, thank you very much. But drinking copious amounts of alcohol is not responsible in any way. It’s not food after all, so in that mindset, it doesn’t count, right?
The problem here is that the Western way is to eat most of our calories in a small space of time after work, usually from 5.30 pm to bedtime, and we go through most of the day running on virtually empty; a sandwich, packet of crisps and a bar of chocolate, and oh, sometimes but very rarely, a piece of fruit like an apple or an orange. The problem is human behaviours and habits and after 5 pm, this generally involves a frantic move towards getting dinner on for the family, sorting kids out if you have them, keeping yourself available for social functions even though you feel tired and for those who prefer a night in, eating and drinking to feel nice and cozy.
Most open the door to eating mindlessly and when they don’t really need it, but it fills a void of time that is meant to be relaxing. Habits are created to associate relaxing with overeating.
So, the message is to eat carbohydrates after 5 pm – just the right ones. Stock up on sweet potatoes and melon.
- Myth 3, Exercise more, eat less. This old chestnut seems to feed public health messages for decades.
Doing more exercise is okay, of course, it is, but just how much more?
It’s all about you and how you feel. Exercise should not be prescriptive but what is best practice is a mix of building strength and keeping your heart pumping and letting oxygen in. A mix of lifting weights and cardio workouts to perhaps a more relaxed stretching with deep breathing. You can choose which regimes fit these foundations
Many of my clients have lost the will to live when they have been sweating in Zumba classes and still not lost an inch off their waist or tummy or weight in pounds and kilos. In fact, they often find that they put weight on when they measure themselves on the scales and can’t understand why the effort has not been rewarded with a result they wanted. That’s when they throw the towel in from frustration with the unfairness of it.
Then to make things worse, they have also been eating relatively okay, cutting down on things and portions so why is that so hard.
Firstly, not one body is the same as another in terms of its responses to similar living and lifestyle. There are too many variables like diet, emotions, timings, influences, sleep, and mindset. These make experiences and outcomes different, so you cannot ever compare yourself to others. Everyone has an opinion, however, these days in what they know, that’s frustrating!
Generally, the foods that you eat will give you an indication as to how your body deals with it. What you can do for yourself, is be mindful of anything your body is telling you and that means getting less busy and more attentive to it, keep a diary account – don’t try and remember! Acknowledge the pattern of responses your body gives you and if you are unsure how food is being dealt with, then make sure you leave it out for a few days and then reintroduce it after a few days’ break.
