Common Myths about Weight Loss

Calories

You seem to always see this one with the “experts” giving you faulty advice. Are you ready for it? Here it is: Weight loss requires fewer calories consumed or more calories spent in activity; it doesn’t matter what diet you do as long as you consume fewer calories. This is the expert’s inability to differentiate between types of calories: a calorie of white sugar is the same as a calorie of celery. Maybe this person is still stuck in confusion in chemistry class talking about molecules, thinking that everything is a combination of protons and electrons and therefore it doesn’t matter if something came from the ground or from a chemical lab. If calories are all the same and this theory were true, how do you explain people cutting calories and not losing weight or very skinny people eating tremendous amounts of food but never gaining an ounce? The argument breaks down here; however, the expert will then jump to genetics: “They are just born with a slow metabolism.” Hormone reactions to the different calories from foods are VERY different. There is a much more effective principle to focus on: Instead of even looking at calories, focus on foods with the highest density of nutrients (plant foods). These, by the way, have the lowest calories. The experts will then tell you, you did not lose the weight because of the nutrients—because of the low calories of plant food. Very funny. High-nutrient-dense food sends signals to your brain telling it, “That’s enough—stop eating; I’m satisfied.” Low-nutrient-dense food signals never give this message, leading to “I’m still hungry; keep eating.”

Everything in moderation

This phrase is often the justifier for eating junk foods: “It’s just a little bit—it won’t kill me”; “It’s only a few calories”; and “I’ll just have a small bite.” Here’s a missing piece of important information: It only takes a small amount of insulin-stimulating carbohydrate to BLOCK all six fat-burning hormones. In the presence of very small amounts of insulin (sugar or refined-carbohydrate induced) the fat-burning effect from a healthy diet and exercise is nullified. You will not understand this unless you rid yourself of the misconception of the calorie myth. You can do all the right things yet be consuming, unknowingly, hidden sugars in your foods and NOT get any results. Just to demonstrate this point, weigh yourself and then consume some pure refined carbohydrate foodstuff. Then weigh yourself the next day. You will weigh a few pounds more. You’ll weigh more than the actual foodstuff you ate. WHY?  Because low-density foodstuffs deplete nutrients in your body, especially potassium, causing the retention of sodium AND the retention of water. You will hold more fluid with refined foods!

Exercise more

If you are trying to solve a problem of weight and it’s not working within a reasonable amount of time, then maybe you are solving the wrong problem. Exercise doesn’t work by melting the fat off your body through heat (thermodynamics). It merely influences hormones, which act a couple of days later during the rest period. A lot can happen in between (dietary-, stress- and sleep-wise) that can block this effect. It can also be the wrong exercise for your body type. Adding more exercise, if you are doing the wrong kind for your body type, can result in adding more stress to an already overstressed body. This equals more of the same—no results.