Debunking Some Myths Related To Healthy Eating

Have you heard the saying that weight loss and keeping healthy is 80% diet and 20% exercise? Now, I’m not sure if I agree with those specific figures. But that being said, healthy eating is a must. Being a healthy eater requires you to become both educated and smart about what healthy eating actually is.

Contrary to popular belief, being “food smart” isn’t simply about learning to calculate grams of fat, nor is it about studying labels and counting calories. Both of these are extremely useful, and I cover them in great detail in the Strategic Nutrition Guide. However, if you are not at that stage yet, it would help to keep things simple to start with.

Healthy eating is all about balanced and moderate eating, consisting of healthy meals at least three times per day, although this is not set in stone.  Healthy eaters eat many different types of foods, not limiting themselves to one specific food type or food group. Truth of the matter is that it also does require a fair amount of flexibility.

It is virtually impossible to take note of every single food item that passes your lips. Being humans, you might eat too much or not enough; consume foods that are sometimes more or less nutritious, and that is absolutely normal. However, you should always fuel your body and your brain regularly with enough food to keep both your mind and body strong and alert.

A healthy eater is a good problem solver.  Healthy eaters have learned to take care of themselves and their eating with sound judgment and are adept at making wise decisions.  Healthy eaters are always aware of what they eat, and know the effect that it will have on their bodies. That is the fundamental level that you should aim to reach to start with.

When someone is unable to take control of their eating, they are also likely to get out of control with other aspects of life as well.  They could end up spending too much, talking too much, and even going to bed later and later. You should always remember that restricting food in any way is always a bad thing.  Healthy eating is a way of life, something that you can do to enhance your body or your lifestyle.

If you’ve thought about making your life better, healthy eating is just the place to start.  You’ll make life easier for yourself, those around you, and even your family.  As you may know, not fuelling up with the right nutrients can affect how well your body performs and your overall fitness benefits.  Even though healthy eating is important, there are myths that you have to be wary of. Here is a discussion of some of them.

If you hear a rumbling noise in your stomach, it is a sign that you are running out of “fuel”.  In order to prevent this, you can “go on the attack” before doing exercise. Just follow this principle – before you exercise or do any physical activity, always eat a light snack such as an apple. Have it at least half an hour before exercising.

The second point is the over-reliance on protein bars. Although they are fine every once in a while, they don’t deliver the antioxidants you need to prevent cancer, or provide you with other essential vitamins. The only way to get them most efficiently is by eating fruits and vegetables, which contains heaps of vitamins, minerals, fluid and fibre.

Next up, we move to the controversial topic on the importance of breakfast. Traditional wisdom holds that skipping breakfast is never a good idea, as your body needs fuel as soon as possible, and without it, you’ll be hungry throughout the day. There is some truth to this as you would have had many hours without eating when you wake up.

Eating healthy and exercising doesn’t give you an all-access pass to eat anything you want.  Everyone needs the same nutrients whether they exercise or not, and so you should learn to eat enough fruits and vegetables. On that note, although losing weight involves calories, losing it too quickly is never safe.  Always make sure that you are getting enough calories to keep your body operating smoothly.  If you start dropping weight too fast, eat a bit more food.

Changing how you eat is always a great step towards healthy eating and it will affect how your body performs.  The healthier you eat, you better you’ll feel.  No matter how old you may be, healthy eating is something you should strive for.  Once you give it a chance, you’ll see in no time at all just how much it can change your life – for the better. Get more educated by getting yourself a copy of the Strategic Nutrition Guide, which is part of the Granite Fitness Masterclass.