Busting Myths and the Truth: Use science to take charge of your health

Myth 1: If you’re not hitting your weight loss goals, it’s because you don’t have enough willpower

Fact: Willpower is finite. People only have a certain amount of willpower to use for every challenge in their lives. 

Fact: We often live in an obesogenic environment.

Food is inexpensive. Consider these ingredients for peanut butter sandwiches.

• 40-ounce jar of peanut butter ($4)
• 30 ounces of jam ($4)
• 4 loaves of white bread ($6)

For $14, you can purchase 16,000 calories…enough for 8 days!

Food is everywhere. Visualize your route to work or to another place you go to often. How many fast food, convenience stores, coffee shops, grocery stores, and restaurants do you pass?

Socializing often centers on food.

Advertising can increase hunger and cravings. It’s everywhere - on billboards, television, online - and it’s usually promoting candy, snacks, sugary cereals, fast food, desserts, and value (big portions)

Fact: Making healthy living easier reduces dependence on willpower.

Replace old habits with healthier new habits to make healthy living easier. For example:

• Instead of going out to lunch, make extra servings of a healthy dinner and pack them up for the next day’s lunch.
• Instead of making eating decisions last-minute, build meals around vegetables and lean proteins so you’re more likely to have nutritious meals.

Make your environment less obesogenic to make healthy choices easier. For example:

• Take a different route to work so you avoid seeing a favorite drive-through.
• Keep your wallet in the trunk so it take more effort to go through a drive-through.
• Leave your lunch in the car when you arrive at work so you have to walk to the car at lunchtime to get extra steps midday

Go with the flow for healthy living. For example, if everyone’s eating cookies at a work meeting, bring your own carrots. That way, you still get to eat while everyone else does.

Myth 2: Calories don’t matter if you’re eating “clean”

Fact: Calorie consumption AND diet quality are both important

Calorie balance determines weight trajectory. Balance of calories in versus out determines weight gain, maintenance, or loss.

Nutrients in foods can affect how many calories you consume. Consuming nutritious foods can help you eat fewer calories overall. 

What about a high-protein, high-fiber diet? The thermic effect of food (TEF) is the energy your body uses to digest food. Some foods/nutrients require more energy to digest. 

Here's an example comparing two 400-calorie meals and their thermic effects and usable calories.

The difference in usable calories is only 17!

Myth 3: It’s bad to eat after 8:00 p.m.

Will eating after 8:00 p.m. interfere with weight loss and health goals? There’s no single time when everyone should stop eating.

Hormone levels change throughout the day and night. Your body prepares to fuel and energize when you wake up. 

• High insulin sensitivity
• High ghrelin (hunger)
• Low leptin (satiety)

Your body prepares to slow down closer to bedtime. 

• High melatonin (sleepy)
• Low insulin sensitivity
• Low ghrelin (hunger)
• High leptin (satisfaction)

Research on late night eating is mixed. 

A small late night snack may have benefits like increasing next-day resting metabolism and improving muscle protein synthesis overnight. However, eating too much late at night without compensating can interfere with weight loss or lead to weight gain or poorer metabolic health. 

These are common strategies for getting the most from a bedtime snack. 

• Keeping it small. Some studies have found benefits with 150 calories. 
• Eating if you’re hungry, but not if you’re not hungry. 
• Accounting for your snack when you log your daily food and beverage consumption.
• Choosing high-fiber carbs or lean proteins.
• Limiting saturated fats, refined starches, and sugars. These can spike blood sugar and keep you awake. 

Here are examples of 150-calorie snacks with fiber and/or protein. 

• ½ cup low-fat cottage cheese, ½ banana, sliced
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt, ½ cup berries
• ½ large apple, 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 brown rice cake, 1 hard-boiled egg
• ½ cup whole-grain cereal, ½ cup skim milk

Consider how the above snacks compare to some common late-night craving snacks. 

• 1 pint ice cream (600 calories, 17g saturated fat, 49 grams sugar)
• 2 slices pizza (540 calories, 9 grams saturated fat)

Food choices and portion sizes matter!

Myth 4: It's unhealthy or bad for weight management to eat at restaurants frequently

Fact: either home-prepared or restaurant meals can be healthier.

Foods away from home (FAFH) and foods prepared at home (FAH) have different average nutrients and food group components on a per-calorie basis.

Positives of FAFH: 

• Lower in added sugars
• Higher in vegetables, meats, poultry, eggs, and seafood

Positives of FAH:

• Higher in fiber, calcium, iron, fruits, dairy, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and soy products
• Lower in saturated fats, sodium and refined grains
• Lower in calories

You can take advantage of FAFH and FAH by being aware and making better choices, like ordering vegetables and watching portion sizes when at restaurants, and choosing whole grains and plant-based proteins when at home.

Your choices matter. Here are tips to make restaurant meals healthier. 

• Order dressings and sauces on the side
• Pack half for later, eat half now
• Swap in lean protein and vegetables for fatty proteins and starchy sides

Myth 5. Gluten-free and dairy-free choices are healthier

Gluten-free and dairy-free are healthier if your body can’t handle gluten and dairy. Some people must avoid gluten or dairy for medical reasons. Here are common reasons why people avoid gluten or dairy. 

It's important to check nutrient content. Here's an example looking at dairy-free yogurt options.

When considering gluten-free choices, read labels to choose the best options for you. 

On the nutrition facts panel, look at: 

• Fiber
• Protein
• Sugar

On the list of ingredients, check for whole grains and starch. 

Is the extra cost of gluten-free foods worth it? 

Webinar Key Takeaways

• Myths are often based on some facts
• Most ideas aren’t all myth or all fact - there may be exceptions and details
• Ask questions and do your own research

References

Samantha M. Leyh, Brandon D. Willingham, Daniel A. Baur, Lynn B. Panton, Michael J. Ormsbee. Pre-sleep protein in casein supplement or whole-food form has no impact on resting energy expenditure or hunger in women. British Journal of Nutrition, 2018; 120 (9): 988

The Health Impact of Nighttime Eating: Old and New Perspectives. Amber W. Kinsey and Michael J. Ormsbee. Nutrients 2015, 7(4), 2648-2662; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu7042648

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