The 4 Stupid Diet Myths

by dailymuscle on December 4, 2005

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diet mythThere’s nothing like achieving a healthy lifestyle through proper nutrition. but most people don’t even come close to eating a healthy well-balanced diet. We are mostly victims to many common diet myths that often advise cutting out essential nutrients that your body needs to function properly.

Stupid Diet Myth 1:
Some food groups should be eliminated

Fad diets emphasize the elimination of certain food groups or eating primarily only one or two food groups. We need a balanced diet that supplies us with the diverse nutrients that keep us healthy. Water, vitamins, protein, fat, minerals, carbohydrates, fiber, and oxygen. Eating a diet rich in fruits, veggies, grains, nuts, and seeds will help you rebuild your immune system, which will in turn help you to stay healthy.

Stupid Diet Myth 2:
You have to eat meat to get enough protein

There are various sources of protein. A bodybuilder/athlete could require up to 150 grams of protein per day. For ordinary individuals, we need only approx 30 grams of protein each day. Meat and dairy products are very high in sodium and fat. Fruits and vegetables have at least one gram of protein in them. Grains, nuts, oils and legumes contain complete proteins whereas meat proteins are actually incomplete.

Stupid Diet Myth 3:
Eliminate fat from your diet

Never! Believe it or not, your body needs approx 50 grams of fat each day to function properly. It helps your joints and muscles work smoothly and aids in hormone production/regulation. Raw nuts, olive oil, and avocados are a rich source of nutritious and healthy fats (Natural peanut butter is an excellent source of good fats!). Look closely at the foods you buy and stay away from hydrogenated fats.

Stupid Diet Myth 4:
You have to go hungry to lose weight

The average woman should never eat less than 1,200 calories/day and the average man should never eat less than 1,800 calories per day. If you feed your body natural foods, then you’ll have no need to go hungry. You can pretty much eat all the fresh fruits and vegetables you want, and it will not adversely affect your weight.

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MMR (The Malaysian Medical Resources Blog) has got an interesting post on Intuitive Eating where you basically follow your gut feeling and eat accordingly. I dont know how effective this is as I’ve read that it sometimes takes up to 20 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain that it is actually full… but I could be wrong.

Your friend and coach,
DM

Read also:

  1. Should I Add Protein Shakes to my Diet to Increase Weight Loss?
  2. Low Carb Diet Blues
  3. What does a Diet mean?

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

1 ano 05.25.06 at 4:21 pm

dailymuscle: What is this “natural peanut butter”? Where can you get one?

2 dailymuscle 05.25.06 at 6:23 pm

ano: It’s 100% pure peanut butter.. minus the oil which is purposely added in common brands. Try an organic food store… I know there’s one at BSC. You may see a layer of oil floating on top of the butter.. which is all naturally ocurring due to the peanut fat by the way, which can be poured off.

3 ano 05.25.06 at 6:29 pm

dailymuscle: What is this BSC? Well, i am not local to KL. It is Bangsar Shopping complex?

4 dailymuscle 05.25.06 at 6:33 pm

ano: Yes, Bangsar Shopping Complex (Center?). If you’re lucky.. you’ll see theyogainstructor chilling at La Bodega. Heh heh.

5 ano 05.28.06 at 11:50 pm

dailymuscle: Thanks. Finally i can taste what is this “natural peanut butter”. Well, it is delicious. Tell you what. Now they are having promotion to sell RM2 per bottle to clear the stoke. Well, the owner of the shop is very honest. She said because it is going to expire soon. Well, i dont mind so i bought one bottle.

6 dailymuscle 05.29.06 at 7:26 pm

ano: RM2 per bottle? Hmm.. thanks for the tip.

7 Mark 07.25.08 at 2:28 pm

For myth #2: I think you’ve got it the other way around. Protein from animal products (meat, eggs, dairy) are actually complete, with all the necessary amino acids that make up the branch of protein.

Whereas the protein in grains, nuts and beans are incomplete due to lack in certain amino acids. An exception to this is quinoa, the only grain with complete protein.

8 dailymuscle 07.26.08 at 2:01 am

Mark: Yes you are right indeed. I can’t believe I made that mistake. Oh well.. this was way back in 2005! And thanks for spotting that. Do remember to take my slightly older posts with a pinch of salt.

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