Doctor Fact-Checks POPULAR Weight Loss Tips
– "Turn down the lights "and turn up some music while you eat. "These environmental distractions "will take your attention
away from the food." Turn your house into a rave while you eat, get a giant bear chasing you around so that you don't have enough time to put the food in your mouth. What kind of advice is that? For those of you who are looking to be at a healthier weight, the internet has no shortage of weight loss advice. Well, in this video, I'm gonna take some of that advice, and put it through a lie detector. And find out what's true, what's not, Let's get started. "Drink black coffee. "This will boost your metabolism." Well, look, caffeine is a stimulant. So it could potentially
boost your metabolism.
But why I like this statement is because black coffee means that it doesn't have excess calories from sugar, milk, creamer. All of that. In addition, black coffee will technically keep your fast going. So if you're a fan of
intermittent fasting, you still gonna be getting
a lot of those same benefits with having a little stimulation onboard. "Hang a mirror in front
of your dining table. "Studies show watching yourself "reduces the amount of food you consume." No, if you want to hang a mirror in front of your dining
table because of decor, please, go right ahead.
If you're doing it so you hate yourself while you're eating, no. (speaking foreign language) "Use smaller plates and
bowls to serve your own food. "This is an optical trick "that will give you a full sensation "from seeing a clean plate." I like this tip. I think it's a fairly benign tip. Really, one of the biggest problems in the eating habits of my patients who are obese or overweight is that they eat really big portions, and they don't even realize it. So by having a smaller plate, you're already helping yourself to figure out a healthy portion size. But also when you see it and you eat the entire plate, there is a psychological concept to how you absorb those calories.
It really does take effect. "Participate in intermittent fasting, "though it may also reduce muscle mass." This is controversial. For some, like myself, intermittent fasting works great because you're eating in
a very specific window, meaning that you're not
eating for 16 hours of the day and you're only eating
in a time-restricted eight hour feeding pattern, you're gonna eat less calories. That's just the nature of
eating in a smaller window. That being said, some people actually get
a disordered relationship with their eating habits when they do this type of fasting. So it's certainly not for everyone, but it is an option. And we've actually seen some
favorable health effects outside of just the weight loss. That includes hormonal changes, favorable hormonal changes, increased clarity. Also there's a genuine benefit to not having to eat
for 16 hours of the day. Kind of gives you an advantage for you to be able to focus, exercise, perhaps do a little mindfulness session. Which can go a long
way to calming you down "with whey protein powder." This one I am hesitant to
recommend to a lot of folks.
I'm not a huge fan of getting my protein needs from supplements. When you eat a protein rich meal, it usually comes with some fat. Perhaps some carbohydrates, depending on the source of the protein. And when you're getting
whey protein powder, you're really isolating the protein and getting just that. I feel like you can find
nutrient rich protein sources like tuna, like salmon. And in addition to the protein, you're also gonna get a
lot of other nutrients that aren't found a whey protein, like omega-3 fatty acids. "Chew more slowly. "Your brain can take time to signal "to your stomach that you're full, "so being patient with how quickly you eat "can allow your brain time to cut off "before you overeat." I would change this
advice just a little bit.
I would say chew thoroughly, 'cause if you slow down your chewing, that might be a little bit awkward. But if you choose thoroughly, you could actually give yourself the time to signal to your body that you're fuller, that you're getting the
nourishment that you need. 'Cause it's really about eating to the point where you're satiated, not to the point where you feel so full that you hate yourself. Let's be honest, we've all been there.
But that's not an ideal place to be if you're trying to
maintain a healthy weight. "Spoil food you don't want or need to eat. "If you've got leftovers
that are calling your name, "find a way to ruin the food "such as dousing it in milk "or pouring in a ton of salt." What? Not only will this create a very disordered eating pattern where you're destroying food instead of creating a healthy relationship with it, but you're also getting rid
of food that someone can eat. People in America are hungry, especially during COVID-19. This is a true problem and it's even a bigger
problem around the world. I don't know where this advice came from, but two thumbs down for me.
"Drink green tea. "It's loaded with powerful
antioxidants called catechins, "which are believed to
work synergistically "with caffeine to enhance fat burning." I am one of the the biggest
green tea fans out there. It's important to know
that it has caffeine in it. So, ideally, not a great drink to drink at the end of it the day. But for lunch, for breakfast, green tea is a great option. Not only does it have catechins, it has polyphenols in it. L-theanine, which sort of balances out the boost that you get from
the caffeine stimulant, but also gives you that
calming effect on your mind. Now, whether or not green tea will actually boost weight loss, it's not gonna be a magical
effect that you see here. In fact, I've seen a lot of companies try and do something shady like, "Our supplements have green tea extract "and that's what helps you burn fat." Don't go that far. "Interval training. "Short bursts of intense exercise "followed by longer
stretches of mild exercise." This is my favorite.
HIIT, HIIT, HIIT, HIIT exercise. That's high-intensity interval training. You go all out for 30 seconds or a minute. And then for a minute,
three minutes, five minutes, you do really mild
light-intensity activity. One, it promotes weight loss. Two, it promotes muscle building. Three, it also improves
heart rate variability. When you start exercising really quickly and you go full on intensity, your heart rate should
go up to compensate. But then when you do
light-intensity exercise, your heart rate should be
able to settle back down. As you do this more and more, your heart's ability to calm down in that period of
light-intensity will improve. And what we've actually
seen in scientific research is improved survival in individuals who are having heart attacks if they had good heart rate variability. It's a true survival benefit.
"Get used to and accept the
feeling of being hungry. "You can't lose weight
without enduring hunger. "So recognizing and normalizing
that feeling is important." Not true, you can lose weight without necessarily ever
feeling hungry and suffering. Intuitive eating is something
that many of my patients have done and done quite well, actually. You only eat to the point
where you're no longer hungry. Where you feel satiated, but not overly full. That way, you're not overeating calories. You're not having these tremendous portions of unhealthy foods, and you don't have to
sit and starve yourself. "Lift weights instead
of just doing cardio. "Not only does this cause you to lose fat, "but you also build muscle to replace it." Over simplified advice, but overall decent concept.
I'll explain. When I recommend an exercise
routine for my patients, I rarely say just cardio
or just weight training. It's usually a combination of the both. Reason being is they
have different benefits and those benefits really paint a complete picture of
good or optimal health. For example, going for a run. Really good for your heart. Helps heart rate variability, especially if you're doing high-intensity interval training. But when you're lifting weights, you're not only burning fat and using calories
while you're exercising, you're also doing that when you recover. Later that day, the following day, because it takes energy
to rebuild that muscle and to rebuild it even stronger or bigger if you're lifting heavy enough and consistently enough. "Snack often, this will
prevent metabolic slow down "where your metabolism stops "if there is nothing there to digest. "While snacking, your metabolism
is forced to stay engaged." This one has been pretty much
debunked by modern science. While for some individuals, as long as they monitor
their caloric intake and they're not eating poor quality foods, grazing, snacking like that could be a potential option.
But it is not a mandatory way for success. There's plenty of people that can eat two meals a day, three meals a day and do just as good a job as those who eat smaller frequent meals throughout the day. This is an individual decision based on your goals, your lifestyle, and really what your preferences are. This should not be a painful process. "Drinking water 30 minutes before a meal "will help your body burn calories faster "and therefore lose weight." Losing weight isn't as simple
as drinking some water, but water is a really important
nutrient for your body. And there's several benefits
to staying well hydrated. When you drink water, you stretch out your stomach. Therefore, you're less likely to consume a really large meal.
Second, there is a water-induced
thermogenesis process. that has some evidence and truth behind it where by drinking 70 degree water, you actually have to heat it up to your normal body temperature and that burn some calories. Not a huge deal, but definitely worth noting. It helps remove waste of your body. So it decreases bloating and it gets that whole system going. It also keeps you hydrated
and performing well during your exercises. When you have a good exercise session, you're more likely to burn more calories. "Begin meal prepping. "Plan out all of your meals for the week "and spend a few hours "cooking them, storing them "in resealable containers ahead of time. "This will allow you to eat a prepped meal "instead of ordering take out "when you're too tired
to cook something fresh." I love this piece of advice. I've tried to do this in the past, but I realize I'm a terrible cook. So I'm working on it. But the reason why I enjoy this is because A, you get to control what
kind of foods you're eating.
What kind of oils you're cooking with. When you have that layer of control, you're gonna make better decisions. Second, when you're tired, and you're coming home and you don't have the
energy to make something, you're probably gonna order out. And when you're ordering out, you're gonna say, "Well, since I'm ordering out, "I want to enjoy it." And you're gonna get something
that's less than ideal. So yes, plan your meals out ahead of time. You'll save money, eat healthier and potentially even learn a new skill, which I need to do. "While exercise can
certainly aid in weight loss, "diet accounts for the vast majority "of the equation behind losing weight. "And it's quite possible to lose weight "without adjusting your
workout routine at all." I always want my patients to exercise and it's not solely because I know they're gonna expend more energy, therefore lose some weight.
It is because it is healthy in all aspects of life. It's gonna help somewhat with weight loss, your mood, your aches and pains. Your confidence level, which will play a role in your anxiety or depressive symptoms. That being said, if you really are interested in lowering your weight to healthy level, to a weight that's ideal for your height and your lifestyle, diet is the number one
thing you should focus on.
That being said, sleep, exercise, your mental health. All of those things need
to be taken into account. Calories in and calories out could make sense from a
scientific perspective. It's not really great from
a practical perspective, of my Real Nutrition videos. Or you want to have a good laugh, As always, stay happy and healthy. Which video are you clicking on?.
