Every day, you read or hear about some food myths or the other. There are numerous articles that say one thing or the other about the foods we consume. Or even how we consume them. The truth is, at those times, they may have been true. However, information is dynamic and subject to change, especially scientific information. This is because research is consistently being updated. As a result, some nutritional facts we once believed have been debunked with the emergence of new and improved information.
Below are 5 food myths that you should reconsider if you’re looking to lose some weight.
You can eat whatever you want if you work out.
Killing yourself at the gym is not going to help you lose weight if you’re not responsible with your diets. It’s near impossible to out-exercise a bad diet unless you plan to spend half your day in the gym. You must work out and eat smart to see results.
You’ll burn more fat if you don’t eat before a workout.
Without the proper fuel, you won’t be able to work out for as long or hard as you need to if you want to see a difference in your body. What’s worse, fasted workouts can cause low blood sugar and lightheadedness, which can be dangerous when you’re breaking a sweat. Plus, when you’re running on fumes, you’re going to be ravenous after your workout. That means you’ll be more apt to make poor diet decisions, like downing an entire pizza after you get home.
You can’t eat at night if you want to lose weight.
It is eating too many calories throughout the day that causes weight gain, not nighttime eating. In fact, eating the right type of bedtime snack actually boosts metabolism and aids weight loss—not the opposite! “When you don’t eat before bed, blood sugar levels dip so you don’t sleep as well.
In turn, you crave more sugar- and carb-laden food the next day. If this happens often enough, it can cause weight gain. However, eating the right snack can help keep blood sugars stable so the fat-burning hormone glucagon can do its job.
You can eat as much as you want as long as it’s healthy.
Foods like avocados, oatmeal, nuts, or their butters are indeed healthy, but they are not low in calories. Truthfully, you are better off eating 200 calories of oatmeal than 200 calori es of sugar-spiked cookies made with the grain. However, that doesn’t give you free rein to eat as much of the stuff as you want.
The bottom line is; nutritious or not, portion size counts with every food. If you find that you have trouble sticking to reasonable portion sizes for caloric healthy foods, look for portion-controlled packages. Buying mini sizes in lieu of bigger tubs of food helps keep calories in check and teaches you what a proper serving looks like.
Drinking 8 glasses of water daily guarantees weight loss.
Drinking enough or too much water cannot guarantee weight loss, especially if you’re still eating an unhealthy, high-calorie diet. Regardless, that doesn’t mean you should stop drinking enough water daily. Staying hydrated throughout the day is a great habit to maintain for good health. It is just not the only change you’ll need to make for permanent weight loss.
This article is an adaptation from Eatthis’ 25 food myths.