Yesterday my new, seemingly 14-year-old doctor said to me in a comforting tone (or so she thought,) “If being in shape were easy, then everybody would be in shape.”
Uh, thanks, Bones. Can we be done now?
Anyway, with news like we highlighted yesterday (“Get healthy or pay more for your employer’s health insurance,”) and with the continuing mystery of what our health care system is going to look like in the coming years…
…people are starting to see “getting in shape” as a sort of hedge against the unknown, instead of a goal in and of itself. Hey, health is health, but using the wrong motivation can lead to mistakes like using ancient, outdated diet advice (you know, more than 3 months old!)
So, the good housekeepers at Good Housekeeping have rounded up some dieting myths for us to ponder…
- Carbs bad. CARBS BAAAD!!! Carbs are fuel. While the white grains can be trouble, the browns are less so.
- Fresh fruits and veggies are always more nutritious than frozen. Unless you pull them out of the ground yourself, there’s no real difference.
- Egg cholesterol BAD! It’s not great, for sure. But you can probably still eat 1 or 2 a week. Or switch to egg whites, and have as much as you want.
- Skipping breakfast? Don’t do it, man!!
- It’s all in your GENES. Actually, they say that weight is 25% genes, 75% behavior.
- Creative combinations. I did this once. Something with cottage cheese and beet juice. You see, the CHEMISTRY of the foods in certain combinations means that your body reacts by burning more… yeah, it was all nonsense.
There’s your top 5. For further explanations, as well as a list of Exercise myths, check out the original article. And have a great weekend!