My Top 9 Austin Weight Loss Myths Debunked
Weight loss attempts are often futile and frustrating. Commercials lead you to believe that you should be full of energy, running down a beach in a bikini with a handsome hunk chasing you while on your weight loss journey. Everyone is trying to make a “buck” in the billion-dollar industry that is now “Weight Loss.” However, instead of feeling vibrant and energized about your weight loss plans and goals, we often beat ourselves up feeling defeated and tired. Are you one of those people that keeps losing and gaining the same 20 pounds? Do you feel tired and sluggish when trying to lose weight? Are you starving while counting every morsel that enters your mouth? Stop the non-sense! Weight loss should not be torture. Let’s focus on some common weight loss myths that need to be debunked.
A Calorie in is a calorie out.
I recently watched a documentary called “Fed Up” which did an excellent job of visualizing how calories are digested differently. When you eat food that is high in carbohydrates without fiber (ie cereal, granola bar), the carbohydrates are immediately broken down by the stomach thus creating a surge of sugar. This surge of sugar is sent to the liver for processing. This same surge of sugar stimulates a corresponding surge of insulin which tells the liver to make fat. When your liver abruptly runs out of this rapidly processed sugar yet still has high insulin, it stimulates premature hunger. This is the perfect disaster for fat creation and weight gain.
What is the antidote? Adding fiber prevents the body from rapidly absorbing the sugar and causes a longer, slower insulin release. It allows the body to properly use the carbohydrates without stimulating fat production. Of course, avoiding items with sugar is another excellent idea.
Weight Loss Program Austin Tip: All weight loss plans should start with a low carbohydrate, high fiber food plan.
I don’t eat much sugar.
I hear this a lot from my patients in the office. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that the majority of people who are seeking weight loss in Austin are eating too many “sugars.” Sugar comes in multiple forms. It is better called carbohydrates since this term encompasses all forms of sugars. Here is a list of high carbohydrate, low fiber foods that you probably eat: Cereal, Bread, Rice, Potatoes, Chips, Tortillas, Bananas, Pineapple, and Yogurt.
Want to know where more sugar is hiding in your diet? Watch the documentary “Fed Up.” Even wheat bread and brown rice is high in carbohydrates. While it is true that it has more fiber, it is still very high in carbs and should be limited.
Austin Weight Loss Tip: Look at food labels for added sugar.
You lose weight by working out.
If you have ever done any calorie counting, you know that the path to success is not exercise. You may think that running a marathon is your key to winning the weight loss battle, but I have seen people go to an Austin weight loss clinic while training for marathons and not losing weight.
Weight Loss Austin Texas Tip: Even if you exercise, you cannot outrun your fork!
Gluten-free is just a fad.
Have you ever tried going gluten free? I dare you to try it for 1 week and tell me that you didn’t notice any improvement in any symptom: decreased bloating, improved constipation, reduced brainfog, increased energy.
In fact, I had a patient recently stop me in a parking lot to tell me, “Thanks for the tip on going gluten-free. I’ve lost 12 pounds without changing anything else!” I had encouraged her to go gluten free in order to reduce her allergies, but she noticed steady weight loss over 3 months.
Weight Loss Program Austin Tip: Most weight loss food plans should include low gluten amounts of gluten.
Low fat foods are better than “full fat” foods
This is the greatest tragedy in American history: the invention of “low fat” foods. When you see low fat, I want you to think HIGH CARBOHYDRATES. Don’t believe me? Find low fat foods and read the label. Fat takes much longer for the stomach to break down and release to the small intestine to use for energy. This allows food to satisfy your hunger for longer. Moreover, it allows for a steadier release of energy to the bloodstream instead of the sugar / insulin spike I discussed earlier.
I was born this way. Everyone in my family is overweight.
I feel compelled to debunk this one. While it is true that you may have a genetic propensity to gain weight faster and easier than others, you can influence your genes by eating the correct foods. Think of your DNA like a book. If you only read the chapters on weight loss, then you would never know that weight gain existed. You have the power to turn off weight gain genes and turn on weight loss genes. Organic fruits and vegetables, vitamins, supplements, and exercise all influence which genes turn on and off. Use them to your advantage!
My friend is skinny, so they can eat whatever they want!
Your friend may be skinny on the outside, but they are fat on the inside! Energy consumed by the body will be packaged and placed somewhere. You cannot defy physics. I have diagnosed multiple skinny people with Pre-Diabetes. A condition associated with higher than average blood sugar, which leads to early heart attacks, vision loss, erectile dysfunction, hormone imbalance, and dementia. If you think your skinny friend with a poor diet is extremely healthy just because of their weight, send them our way. We will do a complete metabolic profile and determine exactly how “healthy” they are!
Appetite Suppressants will help me lose weight.
While appetite suppressants have their role in losing weight, they are not your path to success. Now that new weight loss drugs are being approved and advertised, people think it will be the magic pill that fixes their cravings. It will reduce your appetite, but your body is quite intelligent. It knows when it needs nutrients. If you simply reduce your caloric intake without improving the nutrients in your foods, you may lose weight, but it will be minimal and unsustainable. Moreover, your body is its own calorie counter. When you stop taking appetite suppressants, your body will make up for calories not eaten. This is why people gain and lose the same twenty pounds!
Toxins Aren’t Making Me Fat
You may not be a believer in BPA, but it is living inside you driving your metabolic processes and burning out your antioxidant reserves for detoxification.
Men: BPA stimulates conversion of testosterone to estrogen. Estrogen causes lower testosterone.
Both Men and Women: BPA causes estrogens to breakdown into inflammatory byproducts. These byproducts cause inflammation, which causes weight gain. Your body knows this, so it tries to hide BPA in fat cells. The only way to hide fat-soluble toxins is to dilute them. Your body dilutes toxins with fat.
Ever wonder why when you start losing weight, you feel exhausted and miserable? Your body is releasing stored toxins into the system that you are not prepared to handle. Eventually, you burn out and re-gain the same weight in order to dilute the toxins.
There will be much more on detoxification. Stay tuned!
Austin Weight Loss Tip: Avoid BPA and all plastics when possible. Drink water from glass bottles and stainless steel whenever possible!
