As a weight loss and wellness coach, and as someone who once struggled with losing weight and keeping it off, I have heard them all. I know losing weight is not the easiest at times. And for me, it was truly a thing of trial and error until I found something that worked for me. And I can share with you some of the most common lies that are detrimental in helping you lose weight.
I know what to do
Truly, this has been one of the MOST difficult things to have to deal with, realizing that I did NOT know what to do. Of course I knew that eating healthy and exercising was the key to losing weight. But in all reality, I had NO clue as to what healthy meant and how much exercise I truly needed.
As long as I exercise, I can eat whatever I want
Again, a myth. You cannot out-exercise a bad diet. If you’re eating junk food, you’re not feeding your body with the appropriate fuel you need to lose weight. You wouldn’t fill your car’s gas tank with mud, would you? And if you have a Maserati, you bet as hell that you’ll give it the BEST fuel possible. Treat your body like you would a Maserati. Give it the BEST possible fuel by feeding it real, fresh, non-processed food.
All I need to do is eat low-fat food
The food industry has found the PERFECT combination to get us hooked into buying their processed food: Low-fat, but loaded in sugar (to make up for the lack of flavor from the depleted fats). So what happens? We end up eating food-like products that are labeled as “healthy” but are not. Our body gets used to the sugar and sugar gets stored as fat in our body. Our body actually needs cholesterol to produce steroidal hormones. So we need a good balance between good and bad cholesterols so that our body can perform better. Also beware of “organic” processed food. Just because it’s labeled as “organic” doesn’t make it healthy.
I can do this by myself
Let’s face it… it’s often SO difficult to get motivated on our own. The BEST thing you can do is to get a friend or two who you can trust in and confide in and have them join you and support you in your commitment to being healthy.
People who are fit, spend hours at the gym
Been there, said that and again, another myth. You can do a 25 to 30 minute workout and benefit from it. Even walking will benefit you. Overtraining is not the answer and It can lead to injury and tons and tons of frustration! Not only that, but by overtraining, you add more stress to your body, which may hinder your weight loss. Short but intense workouts appropriate to your fitness level will be more beneficial.
I’m too old to lose weight
No, you’re not. You’re never too old to improve your health. While it’s true that our hormones and metabolism will change as we age, our lifestyle more than anything will impact our metabolism and hormones more than aging will. I’ve seen people well in their late 30’s and 40’s who have been able to lose weight with effort and consistency, me being one of them. I’ve also seen people who are a lot younger who have had hormonal and metabolic imbalances that stem from a poor lifestyle.
Maybe a diet pill will help
Our Western medicine is one to prescribe a pill for whatever ails you, instead of supporting you in finding the cause and helping you improve your health. Doctors are necessary, yes, ABSOLUTELY necessary. However, there’s a time and a place for everything. Taking pills to lose weight is just taking care of a symptom. If you don’t improve your health by changing your lifestyle, no matter what pills you take, you won’t improve.
Once you have kids, you’ll NEVER get your body back
I heard a friend say this and I remember thinking to myself that it couldn’t be true, because I knew women who had gotten back in shape after having children. That being said, I wasn’t one of them! I actually ended up gaining a whopping 60 pounds AFTER having my daughter. When I started to feel ill, and my sugar levels started to go up, I decided it was time to do something and made a few changes. Was I perfect? NOPE. Was it easy? NOPE. But it sure was worth it.
Healthy food tastes nasty
Oh yeah, I’ve heard that one too. And the truth is that this stems from the cardboard-tasting “low-fat” processed food-like items that the food industry has marketed and that so many of us at one point or another have bought into. I LOVE food! I love it so much that I eat several times a day (6 to be honest). And I space my meals by 3 hours. But you bet you’ll always find a good source of protein on my plate (turkey, chicken, fish, bison, grass-fed beef and eggs), and a good source of healthy fats (coconut oil, avocado oil, almonds, almond butter), as well as a good source of wonderful organic produce, including sweet potatoes.
People who are fit NEVER eat cake (or other treats)
Oh gosh… this is so NOT true! At least for me it isn’t. I actually DO eat cake every now and then, specifically on special occasions when I’m celebrating something. Life is all about balance, and you just can’t live a life in which you feel you’re being deprived of cake (or ice cream, if you’re like me). That being said, I ALWAYS have a healthier version of my favorite treats! For example, my flour-less zucchini brownies are to die for and were a HUGE hit at my daughter’s old school. If you’d like to check the recipe, click here.
And finally… don’t for a minute believe that once you lose weight you’ll be happy. You have to practice being happy TODAY. Be grateful for the life you have. Be grateful that you opened your eyes this morning. My secret to being consistent is to stay in a place of gratitude. I’m grateful that I have a body that responds well to a healthy lifestyle.
If you’d like to be part of my next 30 day free “Eating healthy made easy” group send me a message and I’ll help you get started.