6 Popular Diet & Weight Loss Myths, Debunked!

In the information age, it has become second nature to just “Google It”, when you want to find out about any given subject. But it seems like every couple of months there’s a new study, that leads to a new diet craze, almost immediately followed by industry insiders that make their own interpretation of the facts and spread misinformation. This cycle has lead to the countless number of weight loss myths that the majority of us consider common knowledge.

You’ve most likely heard all or most of these weight loss myths repeated at some point — by a girlfriend, from a health and fitness blogger, or somewhere on social media. It’s easy to fall for clickbait with splashy headlines that promise amazing results but fall short on their claims. Misinformation is prevalent, difficult to distinguish, and unfortunately spreads faster than the truth.  

It’s important to remember that every diet choice has both benefits and downsides. If a new health craze seems too good to be true—it probably is. Below we’ll expose the truth behind some of the most common weight loss and nutrition myths, and how you can use this info to reach your health and fitness goals faster.

1. Carbs Make You Fat

The throngs of low carb enthusiasts out there would tell you that carbs do make you gain weight. But studies in recent decades have proved the contrary [1]. Of course loading up on sugary and refined-carbohydrate-rich foods, such as white bread, pasta and my favorite— doughnuts 🍩, can raise your risk of developing health problems like heart disease and diabetes.

But if you cut out the so-called “good-carb” foods, such as whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables, you’re missing out on one of your body’s main sources of fuel as well as vital nutrients and fiber. For many people, a low-carb diet may be harder to stick with in the long run.

In the first few months, a low-carb diet may yield better results than a low-fat diet. That’s because low-carb diets are more restrictive, and anything that limits your choices will help you lose weight initially. One recent report noted that although there was a greater weight loss initially, low-carb dieters tended to regain more weight by the end of three years when compared with low-fat dieters.

No matter what your approach is, the best diet is the healthy diet you can actually stick to. Consistency is key to any weight loss regimen, and eating good carbs is no different.

2. Eating 5 To 6 Small Meals Will Help You Lose Weight

This is actually true to an extent. Eating smaller meals throughout the day will force your body to keep burning calories all day long, so it will promote fat burning (yay!). However, if you eat more calories during the day than your body can handle, you’ll end up gaining weight. Simple right? Good.  

As you’ll see, the common theme here is eating the correct amount of calories. Your goal is to eat fewer calories than your body needs and then burn more by doing exercise.

Ideally, you’ll have a 400-500 calorie deficit by the end of the day, and that will lead to around one pound of excess weight lost per week. If you can divide those calories up into 5 or 6 meals, cool! But if you can’t, unfortunately eating more times per day won’t lead to weight loss.

3. Saturated Fat Is Bad For You

Myths about fat are so common that we believe them to be cold hard facts.

Real talk: saturated fat is not bad for you. Trans fats and other processed fats can definitely be unhealthy. But saturated fats from natural sources are awesome( butter, coconut oil, and eggs, a few examples) and are essential for many different functions in the body.

Including saturated fats from high-quality natural sources is a must for optimal health, function, and body composition. So, the key here is to get your fat from natural sources and not from trans fat, and other processed fats.

4. Foods Are Always Superior To Supplement

Another one of the more common weight loss and nutrition myths is that getting vitamins and nutrients from food is always better than taking supplements. I’m sure you’re thinking, “sure, that’s just common sense.” But the truth is, that it’s not that black and white. With regard to vitamins, foods are not always superior to supplements.

Some compounds are more effective in supplemental form. Many supplemental vitamins have natural and synthetic forms. This makes them accessible to more people. In some cases taking supplements is just easier, and more efficient.

As with collagen powder for example. You’d have to eat a full plate of 3 different types of protein (fish, beef, and poultry,) along with a plate of dark green veggies and citrus fruits to get the amount of collagen you get in 1 scoop of SkinnyFit Super Youth Multi Collagen with Peptides. Super Youth contains 5 types of collagen, from 3 sources, which offer an array of benefits, from supporting healthy hair, skin, and nails, to strengthening your joints and bones and promoting a healthy weight. All that without having to eat a shmorgishborg every day!

5. Eating Before Bed Makes You Gain Weight

There are studies that show a fat-loss advantage in people who eat early, and other studies that suggest the advantage goes to late eaters [2]. All in all, early eaters seem to have a slight advantage, but nothing too major. There are two main reasons why eating at night might cause you to gain weight, and of course, both are linked to an increase in your caloric intake.

The first reason is simple: If you’re tired enough to go to bed, but before you lie down to get your zzz’s, you raid the freezer to get a couple of scoops of gelato that you could’ve done without…well—you get it.

The second reason is that, when we get tired, our bodies yearn to eat to keep going, with a preference for junk food or tasty snacks. So if we stay up at night to work, study, or binge watch— we’re more likely to eat. But not because we’re hungry, our bodies are just trying to stay awake.

Eating late alone won’t make you fat unless it drives you to eat more calories than you should have in a day. It also a lot harder to say no to temptation when you’re tired.

Verdict: Get some sleep and stay away from the sea salt and caramel chocolate treats and you’ll be a-ok!👌🏽 But if late night snacking is your kryptonite, drinking one cup of SkinnyFit ZzzTox before bed can help combat cravings and relax your mind to promote better quality sleep! 

6. Men Lose Weight Easier Than Women

This is one of the most widely recognized myths about weight loss. How many times have you seen a guy in your life simply quit drinking beer for a month and seemingly drop 20 pounds like nothing?🙋🏽😤 Meanwhile, you’re drinking green juice, doing two-a-days at the gym, and hot yoga, only to drop 6 pounds in the same amount of time, making it feel impossible to lose weight.

Many people believe that when it comes to weight loss, men have an advantage, but what’s the real truth?

Weight loss is not linear, and the truth is, men do lose weight faster than women—at least at first. Men tend to have more lean muscle tissue, which burns more calories than body fat, even during rest. And when men and women cut the same number of calories, men usually do lose more weight —but it’s short-term. Over time the playing field evens out.

In one study out of England, men and women were each put on commercial weight-loss programs such as Slim-Fast and Weight Watchers. Two months in, the men had lost twice as much weight as the women and three times as much body fat. But by six months, the rate of weight loss had evened out between the genders [3] 🙌🏽.

At the end of the day, dropping pounds is hard work for women and men. And, really, it all boils down to this: Anyone can lose weight — no matter what your gender is. You just have to be consistent and committed to going after it.

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