MegaBox myth busting: NUTRITION!
Let's start by playing a quick game of true or false:
Carbs will make you gain weight… True or False?
Fasted exercise is the best way to lose weight … True or False?
Eating late in the evening/night will make you gain weight… True or False?
Three big meals a day will make you gain weight... True or False?
Have you maybe been made to believe these are all true?
Well, all these statements are FALSE but we need a much bigger picture to contextualise each one… which is what we are going to do in order to shed some light on these common nutritional myths!
We will start by looking at carbohydrates and the well circulated myth that carbs are the enemy and will make you put on weight. Of course, if we over indulge on carbohydrate based foods we will begin to put on weight but the exact same thing would happen if we consumed too many protein or fat based foods. This is simply a case of energy balance and links to our previous topic on calorie deficits, maintenance and surplus’. As long as you are consuming the same amount or less calories than you are burning on a day to day basis, you will be remaining the same or losing weight… even if all you ate was carbs (obviously not recommended)!
As talked about previously each individual is different and what works for one person may not work for the next. We advise a balanced diet of high quality protein sources, lots of veggies for all your vitamin, mineral & gut health needs and healthy fat sources. It is important your body gets a good balance of the three to keep your body functioning how it should.There are many people who exercise that will head to the gym or hit the streets for a run before having any food… thus performing ‘fasted exercise’.
Some people believe that this is the best way to lose body fat, whether it is or not is another question, there are many different bits of research that have been done to support that fasted exercise works but whether it works for YOU as an individual is another question. As with everything it will work for some people but won’t for others for many a reason.
Things to watch out for when performing fasted exercise:
- Most importantly; Make sure you stay hydrated.
- Be aware that if your blood sugar levels get too low you may start to feel sick and/or faint. So if you are new to fasted exercise and you’re used to waking up and eating breakfast straight away then start yourself off slowly and give your body time to get used to not having a meal first thing.
- You may find that there is a decrease in performance because of your body not having enough energy so again just be mindful of this when you start and don’t feel discouraged.
- Don’t believe that just because you performed fasted exercise, that you can go away and eat what you want/ eat a lot of refined carbs, this will undo the hard work that you are putting in by consuming too many calories because you are maybe tired and hungry!We cannot stress enough that what will work for one person may not work for the next, we are all individuals with our own bodies, our own needs and different ways of achieving their goals. Some people may just prefer to exercise before eating as they feel better doing that.
The main point is that fat loss is determined by our energy balance… calories in vs calories out. So if you choose to exercise whilst fasted and essentially do away with your breakfast, with the goal to lose weight… don’t go and increase your other two meal sizes to make up for it because you are going to end up consuming the same amount of calories which means you won’t be in a deficit!
Another popular misconception associated with nutrition is that eating late in the evening or during the night will make you gain more weight than eating during the day, which is simply not true. Once again, we will only put on weight if we are consuming more calories than we are burning, irrespective of when those calories are consumed. The one thing to consider on this point is that psychologically we are often more likely to reach for high calorific foods and snacks in the evening which can drastically increase our overall daily calorie consumption.
Our final true or false statement refers to the amount of meals we eat in a day. Traditionally we eat 3 meals a day and often snack in between meals, however there have always been suggestions that eating smaller amounts, more frequently during the day will be advantages to weight loss. You may be tired of hearing this but again the secret is simply down to the all important energy balance of calories in vs calories out. It really doesn't matter how many meals you are eating in a day or how much food is in each meal, as long as the total calories consumed that day is less than the amount of calories you've burnt… if our goal is to lose body fat. There are, however, benefits to eating more often for certain people; for example, someone looking to increase their muscle mass should be trying to eat more protein more often to help with the digestion/ absorption of protein into the body. For the vast majority of the population, how many meals a day we eat is largely irrelevant and will be down to personal preference, whereas the overall calories consumed over those meals is the most important aspect.
The key messages are first and foremost if you are looking to lose body fat then the most important aspect to get right is the energy balance and do what works for you!
Secondly, and arguably much more importantly, whatever you are doing to create a positive change to your appearance, diet or mental health must be sustainable and enjoyable!
