Do you know any of these myths?
By: Daniel Triumbari, Hon. B.A. (Kin), DHN Nutritionist & Weight Loss Specialist
Myth #1: You need to be hungry to lose weight. In Reality: Being hungry will, in the long run, interfere with your weight loss by causing you to eat more overall. It's a common misconception to believe that losing weight and hunger are tied together. On the contrary, losing weight does not require hunger, the absence of hunger is absolutely necessary to encourage stable, steady, sustainable weight loss. This is why for all my clients, I help develop their plan with hunger in mind. You should not be hungry when trying to lose weight, you SHOULD feel full after your meals. Myth #2: Calories are everything. In Reality: Calories do play an important role, but caloric density and meal timing are equally important. Calories calories calories. They really are everywhere you look. On menus, on nutrition labels, you really can't escape them. The truth is, calories are important, and they shouldn't be neglected entirely. That being said, concentrating entirely on the amount of calories you consume fails to address why there is an underlying need to consume so many in the first place. And that problem is one word: HUNGER. We need to fundamentally address hunger before we worry about counting calories. If you weren't as hungry, you wouldn't eat as many calories. Yes, you can force yourself to count and limit your calories in the short run (even for months on end). But at the end of the day, if you don't address the underlying issue of hunger, it will eventually be pointless. How do you address hunger? By working with meal timing and caloric density of foods. Those two things will cause the calories to naturally fall down to appropriate levels, and return you to a normal weight. If you want to learn more, please feel free to book a free 15-minute phone consultation by clicking the link below: Myth #3: You need to exercise a lot to lose weight. In Reality: While exercise is an extremely important part of a healthy lifestyle, vigorous exercise is not necessary for weight loss. I encourage everyone to exercise and stay active. It's not just about weight loss, it's also about living a healthy lifestyle. But when it comes to losing weight, the question is often asked, "how much should I exercise." My response is simple, find an exercise that you enjoy (it could be walking, cycling, lifting weights, playing basketball, etc) and do it as often as you feel is sustainable and reasonable. This is why as a Nutritionist I try to avoid a monolithic approach. My job is to discover what plan works best for you! Myth #4: Moderation is key for everyone. In Reality: certain foods are literally designed to be addictive. Moderation is not the key for smoking, using heroin, driving drunk, or consuming foods designed to be addictive. Eastern thinking has influenced western thought for quite some time, but nothing gets me more upset then listening to someone misinterpret the idea of moderation. Yes, moderation is very important for a lot of things. You should probably sleep in moderation. Sleeping 4 hours is probably to little, and sleeping 14 hours is probably too much. You should also probably drink water in moderation, no water is probably too little, and 50 liters is probably too much. But moderation is not the appropriate answer for highly addictive foods. Would you tell a heroin addict, "oh yeah, just inject yourself once in a while, and you'll be okay!" NO WAY! The truth of the matter is that a lot of highly processed foods are literally designed, in a laboratory, to be MORE ADDICTIVE THAN CRACK COCAINE. I'm not saying that everyone should avoid all processed foods all the time. But I am saying you need to admit what you are choosing to consume. Deciding to have one cookie only is, for the vast majority of people, akin to only having one shot of heroin a week. Although moderation sounds like a great idea, we are lying to ourselves when we say that it is the best way forward when it comes to highly addictive foods. Myth #5: You need to drink lots of water to feel full. In Reality: Drink to your thirst. Your body isn't stupid. It knows the difference between water and food. You can't fill up on water and trying to do so will only increase your exercise by forcing you to run to the bathroom more often. People often ask, how much water should I drink. If only there was a built in alarm system telling you when to drink more water. Oh wait, there is! It's called thirst. If you are thirsty, drink water. It's literally that simple. But people have complicated things to the point that there are literally apps on their phone remining them to drink water. It's ridiculous.
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