Today Parade Magazine had an article on dieting myths. The only people these myths benefit are the publishers and writers. Diet myths are like cures for incurable diseases. We dieters get desperate so we grab for anything. Better just grab for a small handful of nuts to tide you over to the next meal. :
1. There aren't any foods that help you burn fat. Not rocket science is it? Need I say that you can't eat calories to reduce calories? Well, a short walk will burn some fat if that is what you are after.
2. How many times a day should you eat to lose weight? As many times as you want as long as you eat the same number of calories. Depends on your brain needs and time constraints. I prefer to eat 3 meals, 2 small and 1 reasonably filling and have 1 or 2 small snacks between meals to tide me over. What I choose at each meal or snack is what helps me control what I will eat tomorrow. I feel "reasonably" satisfied (fatties usually need to learn to recognize when they are full enough and know when to stop) at least once a day and you should NEVER walk around with a growling stomach. Scientifically, the right food at the right time keeps your blood sugar from spiking and diving. Reducing the extremes and keeping a fairly steady blood sugar is the answer to controlling the hormones that make your brain start the famished response that leads to hunger between meals and overeating at meals. The effects of making bad choices can linger for a day or more. Best keep it under control.
3. It doesn't matter if you choose fresh or frozen veggies for cooking. What matters is not overcooking them. You can use very little water or steam them. Heck, serve the broth flavored with a couple sprays of zero calorie liquid marg or freeze and save it to make soup (doesn't work with broccoli IMHO but zucchini and green beans are super good pot liquor). You might also like it chilled for a treat. There was another related myth. Cooking does not destroy vitamins - it may even make some more digestable. People like me with Irritable Bowel Syndrome are sensitieve to uncooked acid fruits (particularly tomatos, lemons, orange juice, other citrus). Cooking destroys the enzymes that causes the problem for me.
When is a veggie overcooked? When it is yellowish and/or mushy. The smell may also become disagreeable (is that why your hate veggies? Because your mom cooked them until that stank?). A green veggie should turn bright green as soon as it gets really hot. You could eat it immediately if you like it par-boiled or crisp in a salad. Chill in ice water if you do. Or cook only long enough for them not to lose that bright color - usually around 5 minutes. If you like Japanese style stir fry, saute in a fry pan a few minutes with a little sesame or olive oil. I cook zucchini until it is just soft through but not mushy - about 10 minutes. Of course you can cook veggies AS a simple vegetable soup or as a sauted meal with poultry, beans or meat, with onions and other herbs and spices there is nothing to throw away in the first place. Have you tried throwing in some zucchini or other finely chopped veggies into a spaghetti sauce. Not only works, it's good.
4. Margarine and butter both have saturated or transfats. No advantage to either. Use small amounts of olive or other vegetable cooking oil, cooking spray and 0 calorie "margarines". You will find you don't really need anything else in the kitchen after a while. You can make delicious breaded chicken or fish cutlets by dampening, lightly breading, seasaoning and spraying well on both sides with spray olive oil. Saute as usual.
5. Decaf is has reduced caffiene. OK, you probably knew that. It isn't too much to keep me from sleeping. If it is, then don't drink it 6 hours before you intend to sleep. Nobody has proven there are any down sides to drinking coffee and there may be some upsides. So much is written on both sides it is hard to sort it out. Everything in moderation.
6. Holy cow. Bananas are actually good for you. OK, so don't binge on banana! Half is a serving. They have some good stuff in them. Come prepackaged for snacking. They do have calories. About 100 per each. Choose some of those small lady finger bananas in the market if you want a smaller size.
7. Craving a particular food? Does that mean you should eat it? Hardly. It means that you have got your sugar out of whack. Eat a slice of whole wheat bread or a small bowl of low/no sugar whole grain cereal when you are overwhelmed by cravings. Remember it is all in your head. If you gotta eat - make it something helpful for keeping the weight off.
8. I am going to go out on a limb and say that sweeteners are GOOD. If you like them!. Some myths have it that they make it harder to diet. Well, getting sugar out of my diet and still being able to get the satisfaction of something sweet worked for me. I use Splenda and there are no substantiated evidence that Splenda has any carcinogenic effects. I use 2 packets in 2 or 3 cups of coffee a day and 1 or 2 in unsweetened cereals. If you don't care for sweeteners then don't use it but I adjusted to it. I like it sweet. I went for a while without sweetener and just needed something for my sweet tooth (and Hey, no cavaties!) I don't drink more than an occasional diet soda any more and don't care for them very much. Think how many pounds you do not put on a year if you eliminate sugar in beverages and cereal. Depends on how much you eat - but 20-30 is not too far off the mark.
