So why do so many people assume they can get their best nutrition and weight loss information from someone whose job it is to do something else?

1.  Personal Trainers. A personal trainer’s job is to teach you how to exercise and to motivate you to get stronger muscles and a more efficient heart.  Yes, increasing your exercise will also help you lose weight, but they don’t specialize in weight loss or nutrition.  I’ve taken and passed one of the most difficult personal trainer tests out there and it made sure I knew how many calories are in a pound and it made sure I knew that clients should eat a meal or a snack after they workout, but that’s about all the information it required me to know about weight loss and nutrition.

If a personal trainer is going to motivate you to show up to exercise, that’s great.  If she is going to show you new exercises and better, more efficient ways to get in shape, then she’s your gal.  If you think a personal trainer is your best source for weight loss information, you’re paying the wrong person.

2.  Your physician. I know, I know, they’re saints and geniuses (and many of them are), but their job is to heal people who are ill or broken not to teach you how to lose weight. I get it, it’s easy, you’re seeing him anyway about your bunions so you may as well have him tell you what you need to do to lose weight.  Besides, your insurance will PAY for you to see the doctor and may not pay for your visits to the dietitian.  When it comes to weight loss, your doctor knows all of the ways that being overweight is bad for your health, she may be able to prescribe a medicine that might help you lose weight and she most certainly knows how many calories it takes to lose one pound.  But she won’t be able to help you the way a dietitian can.

A doctor doesn’t have the time (and often doesn’t have the interest, otherwise he’d have become a dietitian!) to learn about your typical diet, educate you on how weight loss happens, set goals for making changes in your diet and help motivate you to lose weight. Know this, if your doctor says, “You’ve gotta get this weight off or you’re going to die young.  Cut back your diet to 1200 calories per day,” he may be speaking the plain truth, but it doesn’t provide the framework or support for real, sustained weight loss. Doctors provide medical care, dietitians provide nutrition care.

3.  A Life Coach. If you need a mentor and someone to help you brainstorm, then a life coach with a solid background may be able to help you, but if you need someone to provide sound nutritional advice, he’s probably not your go-to guy.

4.  The Weight Watchers Meeting Leader. As far as weight loss programs go, Weight Watchers is reasonable and sensible, but their leaders are trained to know about Weight Watchers products, the points system, how the scale works and what worked for them when THEY lost weight.  I heard a Weight Watchers leader give the advice, “Every time I eat a bite of anything I shouldn’t eat, I count it as one point regardless of how many points it really had.”  REALLY?  So that turns a 6 point candybar into a 20 point candybar because I took 20 bites of it.  They have good intentions, but their training is in Weight Watchers, not in weight loss or nutrition.  (Same goes for Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, etc.)

And what if you need a tool that isn’t in the garage?  You can borrow it from my husband or you can rent it from Home Depot.  But seriously, what if you need more help than a dietitian?

I do nutritional “counseling” but my area of expertise ends when you stop talking about food and start talking about your marital stress, your childhood trauma, your son’s school problems or your history with depression.  As long as we’re talking about food, I am the one for you, but when the issues get bigger (and often times for people with emotional eating issues or people who consistently eat more than they want the issues are more substantial), it’s time to send in another player.  You can still talk to me and we can unravel those food problems, but when those food problems start to get figured out and we start to see that the food problem has to do with an emotional problem, you can chat with your therapist about it.

If you’re looking to lose weight, get in touch with a dietitian who specializes in it.  It’s what we love to do, it’s what we’re good at doing and it’s what we’re trained to do. Physicians, personal trainers and weight loss meeting leaders all have their skills, but teaching you and motivating you about weight loss aren’t necessarily on their tool belt.

Know this:  if you’ve got a long row to hoe, don’t use a snow shovel.

May you be happy and healthy,

Regan

1.  Women’s magazines.  When I’m in a “good” place, women’s magazines may have new exercise and healthy meal ideas, but when I’m not feeling my best or when I’m a little down on myself, they’re not a motivator.  If I’m PMS-ing or having a stressful day/week/month, sometimes seeing a 17 year old model lifting 5 pound weights does not inspire me to health.  Sometimes the airbrushed, unattainable “beauty” is a major downer and I need to put it aside until or if I want to read it.

2.  ”Skinny”  or “goal” clothes.  These are almost always a bad idea to keep trying to squeeze into as a way to measure your progress.  I’ve found that retaining water, being sick or not getting as much activity as I’d like will change clothing size by one or two sizes so I have blue jeans in a couple of sizes.  When I’ve gained a little weight those smaller size pants can be depressing if they’re my goal.  I don’t keep them at the top of the drawer as an “inspiration.”  I have to remind myself that they’re just clothes and I look to other motivators (how I feel, if I’ve been achieving other goals) so that not fitting into a certain pair of jeans doesn’t derail me.

3.  ”Goal” photos.  Maybe it’s an old picture of you when you were at your ideal weight or maybe it’s a clipping from a magazine of a celebrity whose body you admire, either way it might not be inspiring, it might just be depressing.  I’ve read magazines that suggest putting up a photo on your bathroom mirror or on your refrigerator to motivate you.  If it does light a fire under you, go for it.  For me, though, it tends to remind me of what I’m not and what I may never be, and even more important, what may not be realistic or healthy.

4.  Unrealistic goals.  So you have an aerobics instructor whose got six pack abs and 15% body fat.  Yippee for her.  It doesn’t need to be your goal, and probably shouldn’t be.  Aim for a healthy BMI and healthy body fat percentage (8-24% for men and 21-35% for women).  Unattainable goals are, well, the definition of setting you up for failure!  Set realistic, healthy goals for yourself so that you’re not starting out already defeated.

5.  A cupboard full of “diet” food. Making healthy choices and permanent changes is the goal of all this, right?  Skipping the Froot Loops in favor of whole grain cereal with skim milk is a healthy change you can probably stick with.  But having ONLY Lean Cuisines, Weight Watchers cupcakes and South Beach snacks doesn’t sound appealing and is no way to live the rest of your life.  Remember, when you’re trying to lose weight you CAN eat regular food.  Have smaller portions, add more fruits and vegetables (they take up lots of space in your belly but aren’t very calorie dense).  Lean Cuisine can be a handy lunch option when you’re short on time, but if that’s all you eat, you’re going to feel deprived (and bloated from all that salt!)

May you be happy and healthy,

Regan

The only thing wackier than the content in many women’s magazines are the advertisements.  While on the treadclimber at the gym this morning, I came across a doozy.  At first it seems rather innocuous.  It’s not telling you to DIET, I mean, we all know that’s a load of malarkey at this point, right?  It’s a plan.  A plan of yucky, processed, sweetened “food,” if I do say so myself, but it never, ever claims to be a diet.  It just promises “a healthier you” by helping you lose up to 6 pounds in 2 weeks.  So, in Being Victorious and Taking the Special K Challenge, what does it promise you?

What it promises:  Triumphing over my sweet tooth

What it implies: If you embark on their challenge, you will no longer want food that is sweet.  You will no longer enjoy a cupcake and chocolate will be a thing of the past.  Once you have conquered that bad, bad sugar demon, your weight loss issues will be a thing of the past.

What I say: Did you know that we are born liking two tastes?  Salty and sweet. Think about it, mother’s milk is, well, milk.  And milk has sugar.  The other thing is that our bodies use the flavor “sweet” to tell us something is safe to eat.  (Red berries, sweet? Safe.  Red berries, bitter?  Unsafe.)  Your preference for sweet tasting food will never go away.  You may develop an affinity for berries, oranges and peaches as you choose more fruit to incorporate into your diet.  You may even prefer those flavors.  But you’ll never lose your sweet tooth.

What else I say: You will overcome your “sweet tooth” by, wait, no, it can’t be, BY EATING THEIR SWEET FOOD.  Fine, next…

What else it promises:  Banishing my sweatpants

What it implies: That you shouldn’t own comfortable clothing that is both attractive and well fitting.  And also that only “fat” people wear sweatpants.

What I say: Don’t wait to be your “perfect” weight to own clothes that are attractive and fit you.  You’ll be miserable, uncomfortable and you’ll look like you’re stuck in a sausage casing.  (An unattractive look if you’re a size 6 or a size 18.)  You don’t need to buy a whole new wardrobe, but invest in a couple of nice outfits that, even if you don’t feel pretty or “hot,” you still feel comfortable at a business meeting, going out to dinner or going to church.

What else I say: It’s OK to own sweatpants.  I find them much more comfortable to walk four miles in than say, four inch heels and a pencil skirt.  I know, now I just sound ludicrous.

What else they promise:  Celebrating me

What it implies:  You’re not worth celebrating if you’re not a size 2 like the model named Zoe from Austin.  Yes, she is a size two.  And she’s also 16 years old, is really named Svetlana and is from Ukraine, has had no children, has been made up, posed, airbrushed and told to “Hold it riiiiiight there, suck in just a tad, lean over to make your waist look smaller, ok, now SMILE!”

What I say:  Your weight is not who you are.  It is one small part of how you look.  You may have a disproportionate fat to lean ratio, but you also have pretty blue eyes, wonderful hair, legs that carry you, a belly that carried your children, fantastic hands, sexy calves, a spectacular sense of humor and kindness that warms everyone around you.

You’re still worthy of everything this world has to offer even if you’re not your ideal weight.

This company, and many others like it, makes money by making you feel bad (you must be bad if you like sweet food and wear sweatpants) and then selling you something to fix that badness in you.  It breaks my heart and makes me angry.  You must also understand that these companies survive because they have repeat customers.  That means that their products don’t work.  I understand that it may be a bad business model, but I want my clients to be successful!

You will find your path to successful weight loss, but it won’t be because of the Special K Challenge.  You’ll find it as you achieve goals, make peace with yourself and find ways to make healthy eating and physical activity a regular part of your life.

May you be happy, healthy and able to see through the baloney,

Regan

1.  Don’t be extreme with exercise. Just because your neighbor/husband/sister runs for exercise doesn’t mean you have to.  You can walk.  You can do yoga.  You can swim. Someone told you that running was a great way to burn tons and tons of calories so you’ve decided that you’re going run 4 miles per day?  Bad idea.  If you’re not a runner, it’s not realistic for you to start running 20 miles per week.  Try walking 10-15 miles per week (depending on your fitness level).  If you are already moderately active, try running on two days for thirty minutes each time.  START SLOW to avoid injury and burn out.

2.  Don’t be extreme with food.  I know, I know, you want to get rid of the 6 pounds you “found” from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.  I also know you’ve heard not to go below 1200 calories per day.  Not going below 1200 calories per day is great advice (if I do say so myself) but there’s nothing magic about 1200 calories as a daily goal for calorie intake.  If you need 2000 calories per day, you’re still going to lose weight if you eat less than you need.  If you eat 1600 calories, you’ll still lose almost a pound a week and you’ll still be able to eat food you enjoy eating and you won’t be starving.  Click on the “Weight Loss Basics” tab on this website for a link to a calculator to determine your calorie needs and for plain and simple weight loss information.

3.  Don’t get frustrated if weight loss is fast the first week and then stops or slows the next. I don’t know about you, but the cheese and crackers and salted cashews and ham were all delicious during the holidays, but they have left me b-l-o-a-t-e-d, bloated.   Too much sodium (salt) tells our bodies to hang onto the water and when we start eating normally again (oatmeal for breakfast instead of that decadent eggs benedict) our bodies will get rid of the excess water.  So if you lose 3-4 pounds that first week, remember that you’ve probably really lost 1-2 pounds of real weight and shed another 1-2 pounds of water weight.  Don’t expect to keep losing that quickly and don’t get frustrated WHEN you don’t.

4.  Don’t get suckered in by a get-thin-quick scheme.  They don’t work, end of story.  Yes, your cousin’s sister’s friend’s daughter may have lost 50 pounds on the ridiculous HCG diet, but that’s because it’s a starvation diet.  If you eat only 400 calories a day, you will lose weight but also become malnourished and fatigued.  Real, sustainable weight loss comes from  making life changes you can keep forever.  Let me know when your cousin’s sister’s friend’s daughter gains it all back.  Your 20 pound weight loss will still be with you and her 50 pounds will have settled in nicely along with her slowed metabolism.

5.  Don’t go to the gym if you hate going to the gym. There are other ways to get physical activity.  You can go for a walk, you can go to a yoga studio, you can start riding your bike. The gym membership only works if you’re willing and able to make it part of your lifestyle.

6.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help at the gym.  Hiring a personal trainer to show you how to use the machines could be a very valuable investment.  It may help you feel less self conscious and keep you on the right track.  Yes, it’s OK to hire a trainer to SHOW you what to do.  You don’t have to buy 15 sessions.  If you’re motivated and all you need is an exercise program, be sure that’s all you buy.

7.  This is kind of a weird one, but don’t forget to wash your hands at the gym! There’s a couple things happening here.  First, when we exercise a LOT we lower our bodies’ ability to fight off infection (moderate exercise is an immunity booster, but going WAY beyond what we’re used to makes our immune system less effective.)  Second, the machines at most fitness clubs are FILTHY.  Don’t touch your eyes or your nose, wash your hands with soap and warm water.  Yes, it’s better than the hand sanitizer, but if that’s all you’ve got, use the hand sanitizer.  If you’re sick, it’s really hard to maintain those healthy changes you’re making.

Remember, weight loss does require changes in your lifestyle that may be uncomfortable at first.  But you shouldn’t be in horrible pain and you shouldn’t be miserably uncomfortable. Misery for 30 seconds on the spin bike?  Fine, you can sustain that, but lifelong changes must be sustainable.  If you must have a piece of chocolate to get through the day, have a piece of chocolate.  Even if you must have a Coca Cola and aren’t ready to give it up or switch to diet, trade a 32 oz for a 12 oz.  You’re still heading in the right direction.

May you be happy, healthy and sensible,

Regan

Fresh Mex…Burrito vs. Salad. Hmmmm, so you’ve basically got all the stuff that’s in the burrito, but then you add a half a cup of salad dressing (yup, measure those little plastic cups, the regular serving ones are half a cup, the smaller versions are a quarter cup), then add fried tortilla strips and then add guacamole.  Granted, the burrito DOES have cheese, but by adding the dressing, the fried tortilla strips and the guacamole, you’ve more than made up for the shredded cheese.  If you want to eat a salad because the fresh, crisp flavor appeals to you, then enjoy!  But if you think you’re making a lower calorie choice, eat the burrito and savor it.

Bacon…Turkey vs. Pork. Same calories per slice.  Say that again!?  Yes, they have the same number of calories per slice.  The main nutritional difference is that turkey bacon has 1 gram of saturated fat and pork bacon has 2 grams of saturated fat per slice.  I guess if you’re going to eat 5 slices of bacon per day it’s going to make a difference (and then you may end up with other issues to address), but if you have a couple slices on a Sunday morning, choose the bacon that you want to eat and relish it.

Fast Food Sandwich…Burger vs. Chicken. At Wendy’s, a Double Stack cheeseburger has 360 calories and a grilled chicken sandwich has 350 calories.  If you want a cheeseburger, eat a cheeseburger!

Rice…Brown vs. White. Brown rice has 140 calories per 1/4 cup of uncooked rice and white rice has 150 calories.  Brown rice is less refined, can keep you more satisfied and is more nutritious, but when it comes to calories, they’re pretty much tied.  Yes, I always recommend eating whole grains, but I always recommend enjoying your food.

Hydration…Sports Drinks vs. Water. I know sports drinks aren’t really sold as “diet” beverages, but they’re still touted as healthy and necessary.  This choice a no brainer, but it doesn’t stop people from drinking Gatorade and Powerade.  Water has no calories and unless you’re running a marathon in the summer heat, you don’t need the extra sugar and electrolytes.  Even if I’m on my bike for an hour and a half in the summer, I’ll still choose water and a granola bar.  Same calories as the Gatorade, but with fiber and “staying power.”

If you’re working on losing weight, pay attention to the calories in food and don’t assume that something “healthier” or “guilt free” is actually lower in calories than the food you’d like to eat.  And don’t forget that you can have a smaller portion of the food you’d like to eat rather than the whole portion of something “guilt free” and “flavor free” and still eat the same number of calories.

May you be happy, healthy and enjoy your food,

Regan

This would follow the new fad of cutting out carbohydrates and increasing protein to lose weight.  There is a claim that huge amounts of protein will help dieters “maintain lean muscle mass” and allow more fat burning to occur because eating carbohydrates releases insulin and insulin tells the body to store fat.  Their claim is that by not eating carbs our bodies won’t store fat because there’s no sugar to cause our bodies to release insulin.  Allow me to shed some light on this.

First, you’re all familiar with my mantra at this point:  Calories in vs. calories out is all that matters in weight loss.  If our bodies get too many calories from protein, it will still be stored as fat.

Second, OH THE MISERY!  Our bodies want to be fueled with carbohydrates for energy and are very unhappy when it’s not available.  Not having enough carbohydrates makes going to the gym very difficult because our bodies are fatigued.  If you’re too lethargic to do the heavy duty exercise that this particular program demands, you won’t be able to follow it.

Third, by not eating carbohydrates, we deprive our bodies of all sorts of vitamins and nutrients.  Carbohydrates come mainly from plant sources (also from dairy which provides much needed calcium) which provide so much good, important “stuff.”  Aside from Vitamin A, Vitamin C, folate, etc., plant food sources also provide fiber.  If you’re only eating egg whites and the occasional iceberg lettuce salad, you’re not going to get the recommended amount of fiber.  (Yeah, so you’re hungry, fatigued and constipated.  Sounds like something you can do long term, right?)

Where did this whole “high protein” thing get started?  One thing to know is that protein tends to help us stay feeling full longer and by avoiding hunger pangs, losing weight can be easier.  So instead of just having a piece of toast for breakfast (mostly carbohydrate), if we have a piece of toast and an egg, our bodies won’t be screaming for food as soon.  By adding a little peanut butter to your apple, you can get more staying power from your snack.

How much protein do our bodies need?  You don’t need to memorize this, but I’m going to spell it out for you so you can see why these high protein diets are ludicrous.  Our bodies need 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.  Someone who is doing body building needs at the most 1.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.  (To get kg, divide lbs. by 2.2)  A 150 pound woman weighs 68 kg.  So she needs 55-95 grams of protein per day.  Ninety-five grams would be needed if she were working really hard at body building and/or was very muscular.  If this 150 pound woman were on a 1200 calorie per day diet (the lowest she should go) and was getting half of her calories from protein, she would be getting 600 calories of protein (get it, 1200 divided by 2).  Since protein has 4 calories per gram, she would be eating about 150 grams of protein per day.  Remember, we said at the MOST she needed 95 grams/day?  So what happens with all that extra protein?  Our bodies use it to make muscle right?  No!  Extra is not turned into more muscle, extra is turned into sugar and fat!

By disregarding the unfounded recommendation of 50% of calories from protein, you can eat regular food that will make you feel good and have energy.

And this whole thing about carbohydrates making our bodies produce insulin?  It’s true.  *GASP*  But did you know that insulin allows the broken down carbohydrate to enter our cells so they can produce energy?  That’s what insulin does!  Insulin is a good thing (ask anyone with Type 1 diabetes) because it allows us to use the energy we eat.  And the whole discussion about whether insulin leads to fat storage?  Well, it’s more complicated than what the diet quacks would like you to believe.  Yes, insulin does promote “lipogenesis” (creation of fat), but fat creation also comes from protein and fat.  And just because fat is being created doesn’t mean that fat is being stored. Unless you’re studying for your Advanced Human Nutriton exam, all you need to know is that too many calories in or too few calories out will result in weight gain.

So all you protein pushers out there, what have we learned today?  First, fatigue and lethargy are a normal part of a “low carb” diet which make it more difficult to increase activity and lose weight.   Second, we miss out on lots of important nutrients by skipping carbohydrate rich foods.  Third, we don’t need as much protein as the “wackos” claim.  Finally, remember that half truths are also half lies.  Get your weight loss and nutrition information from a dietitian not an internet based snake oil salesman.

May you be happy, healthy and enjoying your fruits, veggies, low fat dairy and whole grains,

Regan

A healthy, reasonable weight loss is 1/2 pound to 2 pounds per week.  These contestants are losing so much weight, so fast that it makes the show’s viewers feel like failures if they have an astounding weekly loss of one pound.  I’m sure you know this, but the contestants on the show work out for hours and hours each day.  They have a dietitian supervising every morsel they consume.  They meet with a psychotherapist to help handle stress and old emotional wounds.  And they’re also very, very heavy.  (The more you weigh, the more calories you burn.  If you weigh 400 pounds and eat 1500 calories each day, you’ll lose weight really fast.)  If you weigh 185 pounds and eat 1500 calories per day, you’ll probably lose about a pound a week.

I like the show, no, I love the show.  It is hopeful and helps people recognize that developing self esteem and confidence is really important in the pursuit of weight loss.  I like that Jillian pushes and pushes and the contestants learn to depend on their trainers and themselves.

What I don’t like is that when a person loses weight that fast, they are making enormous, drastic, unbelievable changes in their lives.  For most people, those types of changes don’t “stick.”  Generally, the smaller the change, the better we are at maintaining it.  The show’s participants are getting a lot of help to learn new habits and they’re doing it without having to go to work or deal with Halloween candy.

I will keep tearing up at the end of “The Biggest Loser” and I will keep cheering them on, but I will also keep telling people that this is “reality TV” (notice the quotation marks?) not real life.  So if you are working at losing weight, just remember that it’s the direction not the distance that the needle moves on the scale.  Heck, sometimes it’s not even about the scale, it’s about feeling good about yourself, your body, food and your life.  So cheer them on, be happy for them, but don’t compare yourself.

May you be happy, healthy and content with real life,

Regan

Myth:  Cleanses are good for our bodies and are a great way to jump start a weight loss program

Fact:  Cleanses are a waste of time and money and may be harmful.  Unless you’ve got heavy metal toxicity, your liver, kidneys and immune system do all the cleansing you need.  Most cleanses are very calorie restrictive, many are quite expensive and none are necessary.  When someone tells me they’re “going on a cleanse” I ask them, “What are you cleansing?” and they don’t have an answer.  It doesn’t make a bit of sense and it encourages disordered eating.  Our bodies don’t  have a “build up of toxins” from eating sugar or meat and if we have one too many drinks at the company Christmas party, our bodies will get things back in order in a day.  If you’re hoping a cleanse will rid you of excess pounds, remember this:  Weight loss is only about calories in versus calories out.  When we eat less than we need, we lose weight.  Cleanses cannot change that.

Myth:  Colonics can get rid of excess pounds

Fact:  This one falls into the downright dangerous category.  First, it’s dangerous and can lead to dehydration, electrolyte imbalances and even perforated bowel.  Second, there’s no reason to even think that it could cause real weight loss since it doesn’t affect calorie intake or calorie expenditure.  Don’t get suckered into this weight loss myth; it won’t help you and may seriously harm you.   Here’s a link to an article at WebMD that debunks the colonic myth and the hCG diet.  http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/weight-loss-cure-dont-want-you-to-know

Myth:  The hCG diet works miracles

Fact:  Don’t even get me going on this one!  You may lose weight at first because you’re only allowed 600 calories a day, but not eating any food is not a good way to lose weight and you’ll eventually start eating again (I hope.)  The injections don’t do anything to help with weight loss.  I’m not even going to expand on this because there’s nothing to say.  It doesn’t work, ask any REPUTABLE physician.  What can I say, Dr. Dre and Dr. Pepper are both “doctors” but I wouldn’t take medical advice from either one.

Myth:  Eating late in the evening will make me gain weight

Fact:  It doesn’t matter when you eat, if you eat more calories than you need, you’re going to gain weight.  There are reasons why many of these myths persist.  In this case, it’s that when we eat at night we’ve probably already had dinner, we’re eating calorie dense foods (ice cream, potato chips) or there’s a good chance we’re eating more than we realize because we’re watching TV or playing on the computer while we eat.  In other words, for one reason or another we’re eating too many calories but blaming it on the time of day.  Some people think that if they sleep right after they eat their bodies will automatically store that food as fat, but that’s just not true.  Extra calories will eventually be stored as fat, but it’s spread out over several days not hours.

Myth:  We should consume a very low fat diet to lose weight

Fact:  Honestly, as I write this I realize what a broken record I must sound like, but the only thing that matters is calories.  That said, here are some of the reasons that this type of thinking persists.  Fat has a lot of calories in it.  A gram of fat has 9 calories so things that have a lot of fat in them tend to have a lot of calories.  Things like avocados, nuts, cheese, fried foods all have a lot of fat in them so they have a lot of calories or are “calorie dense.”  Think about it, if you have a handful of almonds and the same size handful of grapes, the almonds will have a lot more calories because they have quite a bit of fat in them.  Food with fat tastes good, fat makes us feel satisfied, our bodies need fat and some high fat foods are very nutritious.

Myth:  I have to limit carbohydrates if I want to lose weight

Fact:  I’m not even going to say it, but you know what I’m thinking!  Lots of foods we think of as “carbs” have a lot of calories because they also have a lot of fat in them.  Things like cookies, cakes, ice cream, muffins and French fries have a lot of carbs, but they also have a lot of fat.  You know how I told you that fat has 9 calories per gram, well carbohydrates only have 4 calories per gram.  So why do we still think that eating carbs will make us gain weight?  A big part of it is portion size.  Have you ever measured what a serving size of pasta or a cup of rice is?  We tend to eat two to three times the serving size of many foods with lots of carbohydrates.  Another reason is that carbohydrate rich foods and drinks lots of times don’t satisfy us and are “empty calories.”  (Remember that term from junior high health class?)  Sugary sodas, sports drinks and even healthy fruit juice have a lot of carbohydrates and a lot of calories, but they don’t keep us feeling full or satisfied the way the same number of calories from a banana or peanut butter sandwich would.

Myth:  Don’t use a scale to measure your weight loss progress, just see how your pants fit

Fact:  Two pound weight loss isn’t going to show in how your jeans fit, but it can be a huge motivator to see that change on the scale.  For some people using the scale can become an obsession and can really affect how they feel about themselves or can reinforce disordered eating.  For most people, though, using a scale once a week at the same time can help them see changes in their weight that they wouldn’t see in the way their clothes fit.

Myth:  BMI (Body Mass Index) doesn’t really matter.  It tells lots of people that they’re overweight when they’re not.

Fact:  Body Mass Index or BMI is an excellent indicator as to whether or not you’re at a healthy weight.  For weight lifters and serious athletes, sometimes BMI isn’t a great indicator of whether or not they’re at a healthy weight because they have a great deal of muscle mass.  However, if you’re an average Joe (or Joan), a BMI calculator or chart will tell you if you need to lose weight and will tell you how much you should weigh for how tall you are.  Here’s a site I like: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ It will tell you if you’re at a healthy weight, if you’re underweight, overweight or obese.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.  Please feel free to comment on my posts or ask questions.  If you want to be updated as I post, please subscribe to the RSS feed.

Regan