10 Big Diet Myths

I've been reading Weight Loss That Lasts: Break Through the 10 Big Diet Myths by James M. Rippe, M.D. and Weight Watchers. It's a quick and easy read, and I like the format. Each of the "10 Big Diet Myths" is a chapter. The chapter includes the myth, "kernels of truth" or a discussion of the pieces of the myth that are true, and then the real facts according to the author and Weight Watchers. Mostly, the book is reaffirming what I already know--some of what I know first hand based on the dieting/lifestyle changes I've been working on the last few months-- and not giving me a lot of new knowledge, but I'm still finding it interesting.

The author, and Weight Watchers, really goes back to basics in that a calorie is a calorie, and that if you want to lose weight you have to expend more calories than you take in; you have to create an energy deficit. It does matter what time of day you eat, how you combine your food, if you eat carbs or protein or fat. It's all about the calories!

And, the average American underestimates the amount of calories they consume in an average day and overestimates the amount of calories they burn during exercise. I definitely found this to be true as I began recording everything I ate. I didn't think I was doing too badly before, but it's amazing how many calories there can be even in a reasonably healthy diet. If you're truly eating healthy, you may be doing just fine for maintaining your weight, but cutting back quite a bit is the way to go if you want to lose. You have to create a 3500 calorie deficit for each pound you want to lose. That's a lot of calories to cut and/or burn! And when 30 minutes of moderate exercise only burns about 150 calories, but a slice of pizza and a beer add up to about 500 calories, it's going to take some work and some changes to slim down and get healthier.

The thing that rang the most true for me is that each person's diet or lifestyle change is going to be different. For instance: I'm a snacker and I know it. I'm not going to be successful in my healthier way of eating if I tell myself I can't have snacks. So, I have to eat lighter at meal time, and then plan healthy, low-cal snacks (and the occasional chocolate) into my day. And I know that I'm going to drink a glass of wine, or even a gin & tonic or martini each evening so, again, I include that "treat" as a part of my daily diet, and in turn eliminate something else. For me, eliminating all but high-fiber breads, tortillas, and cereals has worked as a good trade off. And those white, overly-processed foods are not good for me anyway. This works for me (on most days anyway), but isn't going to work for someone else. Someone else would gladly go without any alcohol if they could just have a roll and butter with dinner every night!

So off I go to read more about diet myths: You can lose weight with exercise alone; You can't lose weight if you have the wrong metabolism or genes; You can boost your metabolism by what, how and when you eat, etc...and to try to stick with my choice to eat healthier and lighter.