The Most Common Weight-loss Myths
By Dr. Eric Berg DC
There are several myths that people keep using as truths, which get them into
trouble. When I ask them about this, they always tell me, “But that’s what THEY
say,” or “EVERYONE KNOWS.”
I then ask them, “Who are they?” No one knows—it’s some rumor without a
source.
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.”
Drink your water
When someone tells you to drink 8 ounces of water per day, or half your body
weight in ounces, always ask them, “Where have you heard this?” This is just
another “everyone knows that,” with a lot of speculation: water flushes the fat out,
or water burns calories, or water satisfies you and makes you less hungry.
Water is necessary but not for fat reduction; it’s the wrong tool. Drink when you
are thirsty and don’t force yourself to drink. Drinking water is a very trivial piece of
the puzzle. There has been way too much emphasis placed on it.
Everything in moderation
I hear this often as 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.
For a complete diet and expercise program that will help you get healthy, lose weight and keep it off read The 7 Principles of Fat Burning.
