Diet Myth Busters:

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Diet Myth Busters

• Presented By
• Renee M. Wolford RD, LD
• Registered Dietitian

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• Why do so many diet myths exist?

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Diet Myths

• Weight loss products 40 BILLION dollar industry
• Being told to lose weight the old fashioned way
  is not as profitable as gimmicks and fads.
• Gimmick and fad dieting are how many nutrition
  myths are born.

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Diet Myths

• What types of myths could be derived from the
  following advertisements?

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(No Transcript)
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Diet Myths

• FACT Calories Count
• Calories are energy from food
• Excess calories stored primarily as fat
• Fats, proteins, carbohydrates and alcohol
• Eating more calories than the body burns causes
  weight gain
• Eating less calories than the body burns causes
  weight loss
• It takes a deficit of 3500 calories to lose one
  pound of fat

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Diet Myths

• FACT
• The only ways to lose weight (without surgery or
  prescription medications) are
• 1. Eat fewer calories
• 2. Burn more calories with activity
• 3. Both

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Diet Myths

• Myth
• Fad Diets work for permanent weight loss

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Diet Myths

• Fact
• Fad diets are typically unrealistic to follow
  long term.
• If weight loss does occur, its because of a
  strict calorie restriction, not because of the
  magic of the plan. Ie Atkins, Zone
• Fad diets are often unhealthy because they may
  not provide all the nutrients you need.

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Diet Myths

• Myth
• High protein, low carbohydrate diets are the best
  for weight loss because carbs are stored as fat
  on your body and protein is stored as muscle.

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Diet Myths

• Fact
• Calories in excess, regardless if they are
  protein or carbohydrate calories, will be stored
  primarily as fat unless you are exercising
  frequently to build muscle mass.
• The key to building muscle is weight lifting, not
  eating more protein.

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Diet Myths

• Myth
• You burn more calories digesting foods such as
  celery, cabbage, and grapefruit than the food
  actually contains. So these are negative
  calorie foods and can cause you to burn fat.

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Diet Myths

• Fact
• There are no negative calorie foods. No foods
  can cause you to burn fat.
• You need to be in a calorie deficit induced by
  decreasing calories consumed, increasing calories
  burned, or both to burn fat.

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Diet Myths

• Myth
• Anything you eat after 800 pm will be stored as
  fat.

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Diet Myths

• Fact
• No matter when you eat, your body will store
  most excess calories as fat.
• Nothing magical happens at 800 pm that causes
  your body to automatically start storing food as
  fat.

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Diet Myths

• Myth
• Skipping meals will help you eat less calories
  and lose weight.

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Diet Myths

• Fact
• Studies show that people who skip meals tend to
  be heavier than those who eat small, frequent
  meals.
• Skipping breakfast and other meals can lower your
  metabolic rate and often lead to overeating later
  in the day.

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Diet Myths

• Myth
• If a food has zero grams of fat or carbs, then
  you can eat as much as you want of that food and
  still lose weight.

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Diet Myths

• Fact
• Just because a food has zero fat or zero carbs
  does not mean it has zero calories.
• Many foods that have no fat or no carbs are
  actually very high in calories and could cause
  weight gain.

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Diet Myths

• Myth
• You have to cut out all fast food and desserts to
  lose weight.

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Diet Myths

• Fact
• Deprivation is the downfall of all diets.
  Completely eliminating fast food and desserts is
  unrealistic and unnecessary.
• However, you need to learn to make better choices
  and limit portions of these foods because they
  often are high in calories.

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Diet Myths

• A healthy diet is one that
• Is realistic for you to follow long-term
• Provides a sufficient number of calories for one
  to achieve a healthy weight (BMI of 18.5-25) and
  encourages regular physical activity
• Encourages wise spending of those calories (see
  the foods listed below) but allows you your
  favorite foods in moderation
• Fruits/vegetables
• Whole grains
• Low-fat dairy products
• Lean proteins
• Heart healthy fats (avoids saturated and trans
  fat)

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Diet Myths

• Visit www.mypyramid.gov for more healthy eating
  information.

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Questions