3 Nutrition Myths That Need to Die

3 Nutrition Myths That Need to Die

The world of nutrition can be downright confusing, right?

One person tells us the ketogenic diet is the greatest thing in the world and another tells us to avoid it at all costs.

One person says you can have red meat while another tells you to avoid it like the plague.

Ultimately, nutrition comes down to one thing – application.

What’s right for one person might not be right for another.

Making black and white statements in the fitness and nutrition space are dangerous.

The answer to a question is almost always “It depends.”

Let’s break down three common thoughts in the nutrition field and why they’re misleading.

In today’s day and age, carbs are often made out to be the devil. Some people say if you want to lose weight, you need to either greatly reduce them or cut out carbs altogether.

While carbs are tasty and certain carbs can be easily over-eaten, carbs in and of themselves won’t cause you to gain fat.

If you eat too many carbs or calories, you’ll gain weight. It’s all about the quantity you’re consuming.

You’ve probably heard of macronutrients, or “macros.” Carbohydrates are one of three macronutrients, along with fat and protein.

Your body CANNOT live without fat and protein, but your body CAN live without carbs.

Proponents of the ketogenic diet will tell you consuming carbs isn’t something you need to be doing.

However, carbs definitely make a difference when it comes to high-intensity exercise.

If you like to set PRs on your runs, push the weights in the gym or compete in any sports, you’re going to want to have carbs in your body. They provide fuel for glycolytic exercise and also aid in recovery.

When it comes to weight loss, calories are king. If you want to lose weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit. If you want to gain weight, you need to be in a calorie surplus.

Insulin, the hormone that helps your body manage blood sugar levels, has gotten a bad rap.

Some bring up the fact eating too many carbs will cause your pancreas to release lots of insulin, and in turn you’ll store excess sugars and other carbohydrates as fat.

However, if you consume too many calories in general, you’ll store excess fat.

Eating too much of anything will cause you to gain weight if it puts you in a calorie surplus.

Quantity is king, so as long as you take in the appropriate number of carbohydrates for you and your metabolic needs, you’ll be OK.

The fact is carbs tend to be tasty, so they’re tempting and easy to over-eat.

That’s why minimizing processed carbs is a good idea because it’s easy to take in too many calories from processed foods.

Again, carbs themselves aren’t bad for you.

So do you need carbs to lose weight?

No.

But can you honestly say you’re not going to crave carbs if you tell yourself you can’t have them?

Probably not.

If you want to figure out the right amount of carbs you need for your goals, start HERE.

However, admittedly, the formula in the above link will apply to only half the population because it depends to what amount your body has adapted.

Piggybacking off the first myth, “clean” eating is commonly misunderstood.

For starters, most people don’t even agree on the definition of “clean” eating.

Ask a vegan, and that individual will tell you meat is bad for you.

However, if you ask a Paleo practitioner, that person will tell you to eat lots of meat but avoid grains and dairy.

But then ketogenic practitioners will tell you to consume full-fat dairy products like butter and cheese, but to avoid carbs. But vegans and Paleo practitioners are allowed to eat carbs.

The cycle continues.

Many diets suggest processed foods should be avoided at all costs.

And while you certainly want to minimize consumption of processed foods, you may become stressed out and feel deprived if you eliminate processed foods altogether.

And excess stress isn’t good for your mental health or lifespan.

So is “clean” eating the best solution?

What does “clean” eating even mean?

For a while, I bought into the whole organic and “clean” eating craze and thought every single thing I consumed needed to be whole and unprocessed.

All it left me with was very little results and an unhealthy relationship with food.

Most importantly, when it comes to weight and body composition, you need to factor in food quantity.

Again, to lose weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit.

So you can eat all the “clean” foods you want, but if you’re taking in too many calories, you’re not going to lose weight.

If you have a piece of cake every day and eating that cake prevents you from going off the deep end, which keeps you in a calorie deficit, then by all means eat that piece of cake.

When it comes to weight loss, food quantity is king. The composition of food certainly plays a role, but the composition of food doesn’t matter nearly as much as the number of calories you take in.

Hey, remember when I told you eating in a calorie deficit is essential to losing weight in the first and second myths?

Well, let me tell you eating less to lose weight isn’t always the answer.

Let me repeat:

Eating less and moving more to lose weight isn’t always the answer.

In the fitness industry, context is king.

Let’s look at an example:

If you’re a man who’s 5 foot 11 inches tall and 200 pounds, but you’re taking in 1,200 calories per day and working out two hours per day seven days per week, do you think eating less and moving more is the answer when you have no energy and are starving?

While that may be an extreme example, you can see eating less and moving more wouldn’t be a good solution in this situation.

Now, if you’re someone who’s sedentary and consuming WAY too much food, eat less and move more is solid advice.

However, that’s a big reason biofeedback (hunger, stress, energy and sleep) should always be factored into the nutritional protocol you’re following.

If you’re someone who already exercises regularly and has been dieting for a while to the point you feel low on energy, you have no business moving even more or eating any less.

That’s where reverse dieting comes into play.

Reverse dieting is the process by which you restore hormones and metabolic function through progressively adding calories back into your diet.

While adding calories to your diet sounds counterintuitive when your goal is to lose weight, it may be the only thing that can actually help you lose weight and keep it off in the long run without destroying your health.

So how do you know if you need to reverse diet?

Pay attention to your biofeedback.

How are you feeling? Are you hungry? Are you sleeping like garbage?

If you’re not feeling the best, you may need more food, not less.

And you may need to workout less.

Training is a stress on your body, and if your body is already stressed from work, family life or your low-calorie diet, what’s adding MORE training going to do for you?

You’re likely going to wind up in a bad situation.

So, as you can see, making a blanket statement that eating less and moving more is the solution to losing weight isn’t always correct.

Every situation requires context and individualization.