illustration from Pixabay
by Elizabeth Magee, LRD, RD
I’m such a skeptic when it comes to certain things; lots of things really. It gets personal when they are nutrition/diet related. Here are some of the latest things I’ve been hearing; and the truth behind them.
Eating foods in a certain order will help you lose weight. Now I could see this being something that could hold some truth if the explanation behind it was more of a volumetrics type of thing – where you would be focusing on eating more vegetables and you eat those first, so you have less room for higher calories foods. You may lose weight. I still doubt it because just eating veggies isn’t going to keep you full for long – fat and protein are needed for that.
The rules I have seen on this include:
- Only eating fruits on an empty stomach. I can’t even entertain the thought of what MAY happen if you eat fruit on an empty stomach. But here’s an educated guess – NOTHING.
- Leafy greens can be combined with carbs, protein, and fat. Ummm… all of the other veggies can be combined with these too. In fact, it’s an excellent and well-rounded idea.
- Wait 3-4 hours before switching “categories” and I’m assuming categories means food groups. Again, just no. It’s recommended to have multiple food groups with all our meals and snacks. That’s how we get balanced nutrition!!
- Don’t eat fruits and vegetables together. Just go back to the first bullet for this one. I had fruits with my veggies at lunch and here I am, alive and feeling fine.
- Don’t combine different types of protein. So, if I want scrambled eggs with cheese and ham and a side of sausage or bacon, I can’t have that? This also makes no sense. What I wouldn’t recommend would be 12 slices of bacon with 12 eggs for breakfast. Mind your portions and you’re going to survive breakfast!
- Don’t drink liquids with meals. Now the only people I know that are doing this on the regular are wrestlers trying to cut weight. I don’t instruct them to be doing that either.
Lots of rules. None of them make sense. It’s no wonder we’re confused as a country about what we should be eating. There are so many things out there that seem to offer a magic fix or a quick fix or what you’ve been searching for your whole life to finally lose the weight. It’s overwhelming and they sound so promising and easy! The truth is, they aren’t. Generally, it’s a way for someone to be making money off of a product or a plan. What we need to focus on to be healthy (and healthy looks different for all of us) is eating the right foods. We can still have those treats that we know don’t benefit our health, but we also need to be getting the good stuff in every day. Balanced eating and exercise: it takes effort, but it’s what will pay off in the end!
Now excuse me while I go eat supper. With something to drink.
Elizabeth Magee is a licensed registered dietitian. Her posts appear monthly on OYT.
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