3 Fitness and Nutrition Myths, Debunked
As someone who has been immersed into the fitness and nutrition world for the past couple of years, researching and applying the fundamental concepts, I've witnessed myself go through different phases and beliefs surrounding health, fitness, and nutrition.
What's more, I've been noticing some common patterns regarding misconceptions and myths widespread among people who first get into nutrition and training.
This article addresses what I perceive to be the most common misconceptions about the fitness and wellness world in our society, and the way it addresses these fallacies is through a beginner's mind, attempting to dive deep into why they are wrong as far as we know right now (based on the current scientific evidence), and why they're widespread beliefs in the first place.
A big role in fostering the spread of these myths may be attributed to the way we are being exposed to information about anything concerning fitness (aggressive advertising especially on social media platforms, weight loss products promising quick fixes with no effort needed, gurus seeking social approval through spreading false — as for current scientific evidence — but sensational information and theories about nutrition and training).
Furthermore, our lazy minds are constantly trying to find the easy way out, the shortcut that leads to the highest possible result with the minimum possible effort. In reality, what seems to work in training and nutrition is rather boring and requires consistency, dedication, and a long-term commitment, all things which our procrastinating brains don't really want to hear nor think about.
So, in this post we're going to get into 3 broad and common misconceptions about training and nutrition, dissecting them in the best way I can and figuring out why they're wrong based on the current (and often less exciting) scientific evidence.
Myth #1 — In order to Lose Fat (or Weight) You Need to Eat "Clean" (implying that quantity doesn't matter)
Myth number one regarding the nutrition and fitness world is that eating "clean" food (whatever that means) is the key to losing fat.
First of all, what does eating clean mean? The line that defines a certain food as clean is very blurry. Generally speaking, we could say that clean food corresponds to nutrient-dense food in our collective consensus. Nutrient-dense food means containing an even and balanced distribution of calories among (unsaturated) fats, carbohydrates (high fibers & low sugar content), and protein, with the presence of some micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc.) on top of that, ideally.
Although including these foods in our diets is definitely a good choice, is eating clean, boring food really necessary in order to lose weight or improve our body composition? This video by Jeff Nippard is a good resource on the topic and looks at whether or not eating clean is always necessary for fat loss.
A common misconception about clean food revolves around the quantity to eat. Some people seem to believe that you can eat as much clean food as possible, as long as it's clean. This belief is ok as it pertains to some very low-calorie vegetables (such as salad), which can be strategically used as nice options to fill up our stomach due to their high fiber content. It may not be as good when we take into account other healthy choices such as oatmeal, which, if eaten in large quantity just because clean, may easily lead to a calorie surplus by the end of the day (added to all the other food we’d eat in the day).
So, how does fat loss occur?
It all boils down to staying in a calorie deficit for a prolonged and consistent period of time. As a matter of fact, our body reasons in terms of calories in vs calories out, and the law governing nutrition, hence fat loss, is thermodynamics, as far as we know with strong evidence so far.
So, this means that in order to lose fat we need a calorie deficit, regardless of how clean the food we eat is. The primary driver of weight loss is a calorie deficit. Secondarily, we need to strategically think about how we plan on creating that calorie deficit in the first place: which is determined by the partitioning of macronutrients so to have a balanced diet in which we include reasonable amounts of fats, carbohydrates, and protein.
Consequently, we should think in terms of calories and macronutrients (fats have 9kcal per gram; carbs provide 4kcal per gram; protein has 4kcal per gram — absorbed by our body) rather than in terms of eating healthy food independently from how many calories it has.
Myth #2 - We Should Reduce, or Even Avoid at All Costs, Carbohydrates
The wide majority of the food we're exposed to on a daily basis is high in carbohydrates, with a big chunk of products containing a lot of added sugar due to the high appetibility of such foods, which taste amazing but are not filling in small quantities and don't provide good nutrients (the food that tastes the best is usually very calorie dense — i.e. it contains a lot of calories in a small amount — and packed with sugar and saturated fats). The problem with sugar doesn't lie in sugar itself. Indeed, the majority of the fruit we eat naturally contains sugar and there's nothing wrong with it (although the wide majority of the fruit we eat is also source of many micronutrients — especially vitamins). Instead, the main issue concerns added sugar, which nowadays we find in many, many processed products and don't even notice. By not paying attention to the food we ingest (reading macronutrient profile & ingredients), we easily indulge in sugar (which contains calories) without even noticing. And indulging in sugar mindlessly potentially leads to staying in a calorie surplus at the end of the day, without even noticing.
So, when some experts in the field suggest we reduce our consumption of carbohydrate-rich food, they're actually telling us to eat less, which is the key to reaching a calorie deficit or at least a calorie maintenance, so to keep a more healthy weight. Since carbs are all around us, it's easy for them to simplify the topic of thermodynamics and calories into “avoid this macronutrient”. So, carbs have nothing inherently bad in them as far as we know, although some people recommend eating little to no carbohydrates because they see them as the enemy hindering our health.
So far, however, thermodynamics and calories in vs. calories out seem to be the key mechanisms driving nutrition. So, we should not treat carbs as the enemy, but rather be mindful of the fact that foods rich in carbs are all around us and taste amazing. Decreasing the amount of processed food eaten may be a good idea because it tastes delicious, and we're more likely to indulge in it and not even notice. We should, instead, include starchy and fibrous carbs in our diets, in moderate amounts (the same goes for fats and protein), aware that they're not evil.
This video by AthleanX looks at the topic of carbohydrates in a comprehensive and seemingly unbiased manner and goes into the reasons for which we should not be afraid of carbs, but rather mindful of them.
Myth #3 — Whey protein is the secret to having muscle and is not healthy
Myth number 3 is all about whey protein and how the not-into-fitness world looks at them skeptically.
Whey protein is marketed as a dietary supplement that enhances the increase in muscle mass and/or fat loss, raising some doubtful and sometimes fear-driven opinions among the general population. It is the single supplement we all need if we want to look aesthetic and beautiful; except it's not. The way we're exposed to products and information particularly through media has a big impact on our perception of reality.
Whey is a byproduct of milk that gets divided from it during the process of making cheese. This byproduct is used to make whey protein.
So, whey protein comes from milk and does not contain any special or illegal ingredient that makes it instantly turn into a magical supplement transforming the average lifter ingesting it into a big bodybuilder, as far as we know.
So, the key point to consider when talking about whey protein is protein, i.e. one of the 3 macronutrients present in every food we eat. Protein has 4kcal per gram and is the main macronutrient that is responsible for inducing muscle protein synthesis, which is the process where protein is produced to repair the muscle damage caused by intense exercise and make it stronger and bigger. This implies that protein is an essential macronutrient for athletes looking to recover and develop their muscles. The general recommendation for our daily protein intake falls anywhere between 0.8 to 2+ grams of protein per kg of bodyweight, depending on the level of activity we do (sedentary people need an amount of protein on the lower end of the spectrum while advanced athletes need higher amounts of protein).
Protein (the macronutrient) comprises chains of amino acids: specifically, there are 20 amino acids which serve as building blocks of bodily proteins. Amino acids are divided into essential and non essential. A complete protein contains a full complement of all 9 EAAs (essential aminoacids) in the approximate amounts needed. Egg white is the quintessential source of protein containing a complete aminoacidic profile.
Now, in order to reach their daily protein intake (which is usually very high), athletes can use whey protein because it's convenient and tastes good. The fact is, whey protein is a source of pure protein, usually with a complete aminoacidic profile, just like the egg white or chicken breast. However, its generally cheap cost, free-from-other-macronutrients nutritional value, convenience in terms of consumption (just mix a scoop of whey protein with water or milk, and drink), and pleasant flavours make whey protein a great ally in order for athletes to easily reach their daily protein intake.
Consequently, whey protein is not an essential part of our diet. As long as we manage to eat our daily amount of protein through food and we enjoy it, that's perfect. Muscle mass is built by eating in a calorie surplus (although also calorie maintenance is suitable for building muscle mass at a lower pace — body recomposition) and ingesting a sufficient amount of protein.
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