Lies The Weight-Loss Industry Tells You Pt. 2

Lie #2: You have to count calories and eat less to lose weight.

Truth: All calories are not created equal, and you must eat more to lose more.

Mind-blowing, I know. Ever since the 1,000-calorie diet became popular years ago, women have thought calorie counting is key to losing weight. So they starve themselves to consume as few calories as possible. What they don't realize is not all calories are created equal. 1,000 calories of Oreos and cheese is not the same as 1,000 calories of vegetables and lean proteins--the stuff that actually fuels the body.

What makes the difference is not the number of macronutrients--protein, fat, or carbs--but the quality of the micronutrients--the real ingredients in the food. Because micronutrients determine whether or not your body can use the food as fuel. There is no magic number that you must hit to lose weight. It's all about ensuring your calories, proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbs. If you're eating foods from those three groups, you can eat as much as you want. You can eat until you're full because it's not about HOW MUCH you eat, it's about WHAT you're eating.

This fear of eating too much cause women to believe the lie that they have to eat less to lose weight. Just the opposite is true. Your body is like a caveman trying to survive. If you go without food because you're counting calories, your body's going to hold onto the fat, and the carbs, and all the things that you want it to burn, because it doesn't know when it's going to get the next meal. It's a natural defense mechanism of your body to hold on to whatever it gets when you skip meals and don't eat enough. You actually just need to eat more of the right things to let your body move past the caveman survival thinking.

TIP: Don't eat in front of the TV or computer. This triggers mindless eating and causes you to over eat. So turn off the TV & focus on your meal.

Understand that food is FUEL. Every time you eat ask, "Is this fueling my body for a purpose?" If the answer is YES, then you can eat as much as you want. You're not going to get fat by eating green vegetables. To lose weight, eat every two to three hours. Have breakfast when you wake up, then have a snack about three hours later. Eat lunch, have an afternoon snack, then dinner and another snack later at night. You want to keep your metabolism running consistently and burning good fuel, not starving and storing fat.

Your metabolism is basically like a campfire. When a campfire starts dying out, we put on more logs as fuel for the fire. Our metabolism is the same. When our metabolism starts slowing own every three hours or so, we should put for logs on. It speeds our metabolism back up and keeps it burning calories for us all day long. It's much more important to keep your body fueled and your metabolism moving than it is to care about how many calories you're getting, especially if you're uniting nutrition and fitness and staying active.

When you put healthy foods on your metabolism fire, the flames will burn well and take everything with it. Keep eating the wrong stuff, and it won't burn at all. That's how the fat builds up. Instead of starving yourself, keep your body fueled consistently with more healthy food.

Tip: A sweet protein/nutrition shake will help curb your sweet cravings late at night.