In the 1960s, a completely false idea began to circulate around the tables: eating fatty foods makes you fat.
False. Eating fat does not make you fat. It is the excess of calories absorbed compared to the calories expended (physical activity, lifestyle) that makes you fat. Of all foods, sugars and starches (carbohydrates) are the most fattening because they disrupt metabolism and appetite. However, most “0% fat” products are stuffed with it.
There is no more debate on this subject: it is since the fashion of “0% fat” that obesity has turned into an epidemic. Overweight or obese children are 3 times more numerous than at the time. We know why: they eat more sugars, in the form of cookies, candies, sodas, various snacks, but also in the form of cereals and starches, products presented as good for health because low in fat.
If there is one public policy that has failed, it is that of the fight against obesity. The myth of fat that makes you fat is written in school curricula, on hospital walls, in magazines and on TV screens. Children learn in school that 1 gram of lipid (fat) provides 2 times more calories than 1 gram of carbohydrate (sugar), and that to reduce its intake of calories, the most effective is therefore to reduce fat. On television, they are told to the point of nausea that they should not eat “too fatty, too salty, too sweet”. With the instruction not to eat “too fatty” being presented first, it is considered the most important to stay healthy.
We’ll come back to that, it’s not true. But this is far from being the only myth which, instead of making you lose weight, makes you fat. Here are 16 habits from the “Eat This, Not That” program [1] (Eat that, not that!). You can start using them right away to get out of nutritional hell, and effortlessly regain your natural weight.
Mistake # 1: Eating without fat
It sounds crazy, but for your health, you should stop buying products sold under the label “0% fat” or “Reduced fat content”. Less fat often means “more carbohydrates” in the form of flours and thickeners, which cause a spike in blood sugar, a spike in insulin, and immediately after a sudden appetite attack.
Depending on the country, it is recommended that carbohydrates cover 50 to 60% of energy needs.
However, researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (USA) have found that meals that contain 55% carbohydrates are less satiating and cause a higher increase in blood sugar levels than meals where the carbohydrate intake is limited to 43% [2].
Reducing the proportion of carbohydrates in your diet in favor of proteins and fats will allow you to store less body fat and reduce your feeling of hunger.
Mistake # 2: Not training in nutrition
Good news: by reading this letter, you are already developing habits that will help you lose weight. When Canadian researchers sent food and lifestyle tips to more than 1,000 people, they found that they started eating better and becoming more active in their daily lives.
Unsurprisingly, the habits of those who had received nothing … have not changed. Subscribe to La Lettre Santé Nature Innovation (you will find a registration link at the very beginning of this message), if you have not already done so, to benefit from the advice I give with both hands, for free, and lose weight without ever dieting again.
Mistake # 3: Sleeping too much or not enough
According to researchers at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, people who sleep 5 hours or less accumulate 2.5 times more abdominal fat (belly) than others. [3]
These are the most dangerous fats because they accumulate around the internal organs, unlike the fat found in the thighs for example.
But the problem also affects people who sleep too much: more than 8 hours per night on average. Aim for 6 to 8 hours of sleep per night – the optimal amount of sleep for weight and overall health.
Mistake # 4: Eating Free Food at the Restaurant
Bread, sauces, and sometimes chips and peanuts can be free at the restaurant, that doesn’t mean you won’t “pay” for them. Each time you eat a piece of baguette, you add 80 calories to your meal. Eat three pieces of it during the meal and that’s 240 more calories. Worse, these are “empty calories”, which have no nutritional value.
Mistake # 5: Drinking sodas
Almost nonexistent 40 years ago in Europe, soft drinks, sweetened, became daily for many children and adults. Why is it so bad? Because a 2005 study found that drinking 1 or 2 sodas a day increases your risk of being overweight or obese by almost 33%.
Mistake # 6: Eating Too Fast
If our body, so wonderfully designed, suffers from a defect, it is this: it takes 20 minutes for our stomach to tell our brain that it has received enough food. You eat, your stomach is full, but your brain doesn’t know it yet. He keeps sending you hungry messages! A study by the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that people who eat slowly eat 66 fewer calories per meal [4]. However, compared to people who eat fast, they felt like they ate more! What is 66 calories, you say? If you do this at every meal, you will lose more than 10 kg in one year.
Mistake # 7: Watching too much TV
A University of Vermont study found that overweight people who cut television time in half burn 119 more calories per day. This represents an automatic melting of 6 kilos per year [5]. This was achieved by a device that automatically turned off the television.
When watching TV, at least try to do something like peeling vegetables, ironing, sewing, or some other manual activity. Even light activity will increase your calorie intake. Also, if your hands are busy doing something, you’re less likely to snack – which is the other big danger of watching TV.
Mistake 8: Ordering a menu at the restaurant
A study in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing shows that when you order a la carte, you eat 100 calories less than eating from a menu. Why ? Because by taking the menu, you will be “entitled” to food that you would not necessarily have ordered if you had had to choose it, and to pay specifically for [6].
Thus, it is the very natural desire to want as much as possible for the money that pushes to accept in the restaurant a sweet drink or a portion of fries that we would not necessarily have taken if we had to order them individually.
Mistake # 9: Eating on large plates
One study found that, when given the choice, 98.6% of obese people choose the largest plate before using food. But it’s mechanical: the larger the plate, the more you will serve a large portion. Better to use small plates, and refill if necessary.
Mistake # 10: Putting your dishes on the table
Prepare your plate in the kitchen, and then go eat it at the table in the dining room, without placing your dishes on this table. If your only dining table is in your kitchen, sit so with your back to the dishes, to avoid stimulating your appetite while you eat. A study in the journal Obesity found that, when seated in front of a well-stocked buffet, people eat 35% more during the meal [7]. When you have to get up to go back to the kitchen to serve you, you hesitate more.
Mistake 11: Choosing white bread
A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when obese people replace bread and products made with white flour with bread and products made with whole grains, they lose more abdominal fat for 12 weeks. There are probably several factors at work, but the main one is that whole grains are filling and provide more vitamins and minerals. Cereals, however, even whole, must occupy a reduced place in the diet when watching his line.
Mistake # 12: Making Big Bites
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who eat big bites consume 52% more calories per meal than those who eat small bites and chew for a long time. By cutting your food into small pieces, you increase your feeling of satiety, and you benefit more from what you eat.
Mistake # 13: Do not drink before meals
Water takes up space in the stomach and contributes to the feeling of satiety. In a University of Utah study, dieters who had to drink two glasses of water before each meal lost 30% more weight than others. [8]
Mistake # 14: Forgetting to weigh yourself
Getting on the scales regularly increases your chances of achieving your weight loss goals, and makes it harder to cheat. When researchers at the University of Minnesota followed people who weighed themselves every day, they found that these people lost weight twice as fast as others. [9] To avoid errors of appreciation due to natural fluctuations in weight, weigh yourself every day at the same time but do not become obsessive: from one day to the next your weight can vary greatly and not necessarily downward, in particular because of hormonal variations.
Mistake # 15: Drinking fruit juices
No, drinking apple juice is not like eating an apple or orange juice.
A recent public survey from the Harvard School of Public Health, published online in the British Medical Journal, shows that drinking 3 fruit juices per week increases the risk of diabetes by 8%, while eating 3 whole fruits decreases the risk. 7% diabetes. This percentage was even 19% for grapes, 14% for apples and pears and 12% for grapefruit [10].
Fruit juices are more quickly digested. Fruit sugar (fructose) passes through the blood faster, and is then quickly metabolized by the liver, which turns it into fat instead of being used gradually to provide energy.
Mistake # 16: Eating emotionally
A University of Alabama study found that people who recognize eating in response to emotional stress are 13 times more likely to be overweight or obese. If you feel like you’re eating to compensate for stress, try drinking water, going for a walk, or, if that’s not enough, chewing sugar-free chewing gum (less of a pain).
Cheers !
Jean-Marc Dupuis