When it comes to food and fitness, how many false assumptions have you heard before?
Carbs are bad…fat will make us fat…if we do a gazillion sit-ups, we’ll get abs…to lose weight all we need to do is keep cutting calories, right?
Not quite.
Brainwash be gone!
Carbs are not “bad.”
Although low-carb diets do lead to rapid, short-term scale weight loss (spoiler alert: it’s mostly water weight), research shows that people who follow a low-carb diet end up gaining the weight back over time (and then some).
Fat does not make you fat.
Yes, the nutrient: dietary fat, has more calories per gram (9 calories per gram) than carbohydrates and protein (4 calories per gram), but it isn’t to blame for your body fat. What is? Too much of anything, really. Too much sitting, too much snacking, even too much restriction.
It’s complicated. And it’s not a cookie cutter answer. Speaking of cookies…
Sit ups will not give you abs.
Eat too many cookies and no amount of sit ups will show those abs if there’s too much body fat in the way. So, check your cabinets first then go do a plank.
It’s not as simple as calories in vs calories out.
Surprising to many, it’s not as simple as calories in vs calories out, especially when it comes to your energy, performance and health. Focusing solely on calories may cause you to miss the bigger picture. You need a lot of macronutrients to stay alive: carbohydrates, protein and fat. These three macronutrients have different roles within your body, and deliver energy that our bodies use as fuel.
Many different factors will determine your % macro breakdown needs and timing (basic metabolism, genetics, hormones, sleep habits, stress levels, non-exercise activity: NEAT, and intentional physical activity and more.)
In the end, opt for nutrient dense foods that provide higher amounts of vitamins, minerals, and beneficial compounds per gram compared with less nutrient-dense foods.