Widely Believed Healthy Lifestyle Myths

Yes, I know. It’s been almost 2 months since I left any trace of my diet&myself on this page. But here I am again.

‘So, Maria, you better have a real excuse this time’

Well, as I’m only 16, my main excuse is, of course, school. As most of you are from the USA, I should probably explain that Lithuania’s education system is pretty different from American one.

We have no college, instead the 2 last years (11th and 12th form) are basically college courses. And the 10th grade is when you end up with all the unpleasant stuff (non grata subjects) and decide, whether you want to go to the vocational school or to the uni (majority of the students do). If so, you choose the subjects and their levels (in which your 10th class grades matter).

So I was basically buried under all the exam preparations, my additional German, IELTS English exam (my English teacher at school is so goddamn obnoxious and rude, so I’m trying to escape her existence by taking the 12th graders exam this year, what a great fun!) and choosing subjects related to medicine.

Also, I went to Milan few weeks ago (prolly the best trip everrr) and only wanted to unwind there, which meant that I left all the school books, papers and all the unpleasant stuff at home, as well as my laptop.

Yes, I’m sorry once again.

So this time I’ll give ya the loooooongest post possible to make up for this recent vanishing (get ready).

If you wandered whether my diet went wrong and I collapsed by eating                                a jar of nutela, you’re definitely

I’m glad to say that it’s been almost 10 months since I started this Mission impossible 6 (Me-On-The-Diet) + daily workout routine and it still functions well.

My friends accepted this change; one of them even joined me (yes, Alexandra, thank you so much). And for some I became a non-certified healthy lifestyle coach. Simply, if any questions about eating occur – let’s ask Maria.

That’s how I faced many widely believed healthy lifestyle myths. Most usually:

• EATING FAT WILL MAKE YOU FAT. Seriously? It the thing people used to believe the whole last century and it’s so, so wrong. Yes, a lot of fat won’t make it all better, but you’re most likely to gain weight by either eating sugar, carbs (such as wheat) or just basically too much.
• YOU CAN BURN CALORIES FROM JUNK FOOD BY WORKING OUT. ‘Yeah, I ran two miles after eating that box of chocolates, of course it made up for it cause of the calories burned’. No, it did not and please stop deceiving yourself. A calorie from a cookie is different from a calorie from an apple or salad. Seeing all calories as equal ignores how those calories are digested and used by the body for energy, and disregards a food’s nutritional profile. If you don’t gain weight after eating junk food it’s probably because of your high metabolism.
• HEALTHY FOOD IS BORING AND FLAVORLESS. Fruits, as well as vegetables are awesome, especially when they are used as sweets replacements. Spices with fresh herbs is all you need to jazz up a plate of healthy food. Experiment with these and soon you’ll realize it’s even better than the HappyMeal.
• A BOWL OF CEREAL IS A GREAT THING FOR BREAKFAST. With many breakfast cereals packaged as health foods, people believe that it’s actually a healthy way to start a day (poetry ain’t my passion, I swear). However, this image is absolutely inaccurate, as sugar levels in packaged cereals are often extremely high, even in the most “healthy” sounding brands. And some of the cereals contain more sugar per serving than a jam donut.
• SNACKS ARE OUR SALVATION. At some point, yes. If you’re having carrots as a snack and this replaces a huge dish for dinner, it’s true. But let’s be honest, how many of us eat vegetables as snacks?
• NUTS ARE AS BAD AS JUNK FOOD. Nuts are excellent sources of protein and other nutrients, as long as you keep servings to a handful. Harvard researchers found that the ones who ate that amount about five times a week were 20 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who didn’t.
• GRAINS ARE GOOD. Ever wonder why so many people have gluten sensitivity or intolerance though it wasn’t that way when your grandma was young? Agricultural practices have changed dramatically in the past century. In fact, most grains we eat are nothing like their ancestors. A diet high in today’s grains often leads to all the diseases possible, so there are definitely better ways to get fiber and nutrients in your diet. Ditch the grains for a few weeks and see how you feel.
• POTATOES ARE AS GOOD AS OTHER VEGGIES. With some governments advising to increase our daily portions of fruit and vegetables, many people are confused about what exactly counts towards this. Some joke about the nutritional value of chips and crisps as they come from potatoes, but the actual fact is that potatoes – in any form – are not the best choice of vegetable. While they might be a source of fibre they are classified as a starchy food – or carbohydrate – rather than a vegetable (yes, I just said that potato isn’t a vegetable).
• BROWN SUGAR IS BETTER THAN WHITE. I literally created this page to show that any kind of sugar is a tremendous evil. And tho brown sugar contains small traces of minerals, at the end of the day brown sugar is still sugar, and it brings all the same calories and health risks as the white one does (heart disease, tooth decay, mental illnesses and – hola! – obesity). So let’s just end this racism of additional sugar and stop consuming it at all.
• A GLASS OF JUICE CAN REPLACE A MEAL. Technically, yes. But juicing fruit removes most of the fiber, which is the key ingredient that keeps you feeling full until your next meal. This is one of the reasons calories from sweetened beverages are often referred to as “empty calories,” since they can cause hunger attacks, mood swings and leave you with low energy levels.
• CALORIES MATER ONLY. Although counting calories can be a useful tool in a bigger toolkit for weight loss, it is not a perfect solution for healthy eating. There are way more aspects to look at when improving your shape.
• THRU CRAVINGS YOUR BODY TELLS WHAT IT NEEDS. A big misconception about food cravings is that they are our body’s way of telling us that we are lacking a certain nutrient and need to get it immediately (usually via a huge slab of chocolate cake). However, while this theory may help ease guilt over giving in to cravings, many recent researches have found that those food cravings are in fact all in the mind.
• BUT OBESITY IS GENERIC! While some people have genetic factors affecting their heath, the majority does not. In fact, it became one of the most used excuses nowadays. The thing we usually inherit is an unhealthy lifestyle. We tend to eat what our parents ate. Lifestyle factors, such as routine exercise, sleep patterns, and stress, are learned at a young age. You have a lot more control of your health than originally thought.
• EATING HEALTHY = SPENDING MORE. How would you explain then the undeniable fact about 200 Euros (approx 229 USD) that I saved this year from not buying any junk food/snacks/sweets anywhere? See, the problem is that even though junk food is often cheaper, the ones who eat it usually eat more. And when on the diet, your stomach might shrink, and you’ll need less food than previously as well. So let’s correct this equation:

  

  EATING HEALTHY = SPENDING LESS.

   

   

  Those are the misconceptions about healthy eating I’ve heard most of the times. But I’ll appreciate if you share any of your known ones as well as any questions/insights below in the comments section.

Thank you for reading and keeping up with me!

With a huuuuuge amount of love,

Maria♥