3 Truths About How To Achieve Quick Weight Loss

By Cassandra Forsythe-Pribanic, PhD, RD

1 - If you want to lose weight, you can't eat after 7pm 
FALSE

A lot of people think that not eating after a certain time in the evening is the key to losing weight, but this is wrong.

You will not instantly get fatter by eating late at night if you’re eating a reasonable amount of whole, natural foods high in fiber, protein, and healthy fat – like hummus and fresh vegetables, or almonds and organic raisins.  In fact, this will probably help you lose weight because you’ll have less ravenous hunger the next day, and more regular blood glucose control.

But you will gain weight if you eat ice cream, fudge bars, chocolate, microwave popcorn, potato chips, or other junk foods, which are what most people eat while sitting in front of the T.V. at night.

You especially should eat at night if you've just finished a hard workout, and need calories and important nutrients (like protein) to help you recover and sleep better that evening.

Overall, it’s not the timing of food intake at night that’s the problem, but the types of foods most people choose to eat that cause our waistlines to grow and bodies to feel flabby. 




2 - To lose weight and keep it off, you have to do long-duration cardio, like running 
FALSE

Although many people feel that training for and running a marathon is the best and most essential way to lose body fat, this is not right. In fact, many people are doing their bodies a disservice by doing something their body is not built or ready for anyhow (injuries anyone?).

But, it is true that elevating your heart rate to high-intensity heart rate zones does, in fact, facilitate greater fat loss, and one of the best ways to do this is with high-intensity exercises, and long-distance running is not one of these things.

Activities like body weight mountain climbing, speed squats, kettlebell swings, and resistance band body jacks, are safer for the body (when done correctly), and result in greater fat loss and more sustainable weight loss.

If your body is made to run and likes it, please go ahead; but, don’t think that if you can’t run, you will never be lean and lose the fat that makes you unhappy. 



3 - To lose weight, you have to expend more calories than you take in 
TRUE

It is true that in the caloric balance equation, you do have to take in less calories than you expend (called a caloric deficit) to lose weight and fat.

However, if you eat much too little, you’ll not have the energy to exercise with purpose and intensity. Plus, you’ll feel horrible and no one will want to be around you (and you won’t want to be around them).

You have to find the right balance of energy-providing foods and effective, consistent exercise so that you can burn more calories than you take in. Because if you don’t exercise while eating healthy foods, you will lose muscle and will not be able to burn unsightly fat off your body.