Eat This, Not That

Reaching your goal weight can be a long process and take even longer when you follow bad advice. There’s no shortage of diet tips, but the most popular ones may not be words of wisdom. How do you tell good info from bad? We can help.

• Bad Advice: Don’t eat after 8 p.m. The idea behind this tip is that when you eat late at night, you won’t burn off the calories while you sleep.
  • Better Advice: Your body uses calories the same way, regardless of when you consume them. However, people who eat late at night tend to overeat and make unhealthy food choices. So, if you have a habit of chomping chips or munching M&Ms while watching late-night TV, try cutting the snack out.
• Bad Advice: Follow a low-fat diet to lose weight. The theory here is eating only low-fat foods will help you lose weight.
  • Better Advice: In truth, low-fat diets can actually cause you to gain weight. Many low-fat foods have added sugar and sodium to make them taste good. Besides, your body needs healthy fat. Salmon, nuts, avocados, olives, lean red meat and certain oils all have healthy fat, not to mention health benefits. Foods with healthy fat can also make you feel fuller so you eat less. Of course, avoid saturated and trans fats, which pop up in foods like butter, high-fat
    
    dairy
    
    and processed foods.
• Bad Advice: Drinking more water takes off the weight. Drinking a glass or two of water before each meal is supposed to make you feel full so you eat less.
  • Better Advice: The truth is, drinking water doesn’t equate to weight loss. That’s not to suggest you should stop altogether. Keeping your body hydrated is a good habit to develop for general health reasons. If high-calories beverages are your go-to choice, switching to water will definitely help you drop some pounds. But, drinking water without combining it with exercise and healthy eating won’t move the numbers on the scale.
• Bad Advice: Carbs are evil. This misinformation has been around for years. It’s based on the idea that your body turns carbs to sugars and stores them as fat.
  • Better Advice: Eating carbs like bread, pasta and potatoes
    
    doesn’t
    
    make you gain weight. It’s the amount you eat and the trimmings you add (think: butter, alfredo sauce, sour cream) that pack on the pounds. Pasta is fine if you stick with one serving versus the two or three that people typically eat. Potatoes can be a good source of fiber, vitamin
    
    C
    
    and potassium as long as you don’t fry them or add toppings. Whole-grain
    
    breads
    
    can be a part of a
    
    heart healthy
    
    diet if you enjoy one serving.

“There are no

short cuts

,” Dr. Ancy, opens new tab said. “Fad diets can work short term, but true weight loss and nutrition requires consistency and sticking to healthy eating habits: fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, high fiber foods, good fats, lean meats and fish, and limited portions of processed foods.”

Weight loss is a learning process. Our A Better You, opens new tab wellness program expands your knowledge of weight loss and the exercises and tools that can help you reach your goal. Join us!