10 diet rules meant to be broken

Some food dos and don'ts are best ignored, experts say.

WebMD Medical Reference

Medically Reviewed by Dr Rob Hicks

Do these diet truisms ring any bells in your mind?:

• Don't eat before bedtime or you'll gain weight.
• Missing meals will help you lose the pounds.
• If you want to stay on a diet, eat at the same time every day.

Experts say these are among dozens of silly food 'rules' we often try to follow to the letter. Some are half-truths, some are complete myths, and some are clearly more harmful than others, but most of them won't help you lose weight or make dieting any easier.

10 food rules to ignore

 

1. Eating at night will pile on the pounds.
It's the total calories you consume over a 24-hour period - and more often, over a week - that causes you to gain weight, and when you eat those calories doesn't matter. That said, because you may be more tired at night, your resolve may be lower, so you may tend to eat larger portions, or more high-calorie foods, than you would during the day. But as long as you keep an eye on calories and portion size, feel free to set your hunger alarm to the time that suits your lifestyle.

2. It's best to eat at the same times every day.
Eating when you're hungry rather than when the clock says it's time to eat is a better strategy than eating at the same time every day. While it can help to keep some consistency to mealtimes, forcing yourself to eat when you're not hungry - or forcing yourself to wait when you are - only makes it harder to stick to your diet. If you must eat at a certain time,  for example, during a set lunch break at work - cut yourself some slack the rest of the day and eat only when your stomach says it's time.

3. Dieting with a friend always makes weight loss easier.
No one doubts that companionship and common goals can pay off for dieters. But there are some instances in which the buddy system may work against you and your friend.
If one friend fails and the other doesn't, it could upset the balance. Also if one friend falls off the diet wagon, the other may follow suit. Ultimately, weight loss is a personal journey. If you find it's easier with a friend, remember to compete only against yourself - not each other.

4. Dietary fat keeps you feeling full longer, so you'll eat less.
This was a well-accepted food rule for many years but new research has challenged this logic. It has shown that while fat does take longer to digest, it's actually the least satiating of any food group so it won’t help you control your appetite. The foods likely to stave off hunger the longest are protein foods, followed by carbohydrates, then fats.

5. When you disrupt your diet, you might as well wait until the next day to get back on track.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Every meal matters, so if you ate a big piece of birthday cake at lunch time, you can still get back on track with your next meal. You don't have to have a full day of healthy eating in order for it to count.

6. Refusing food at a party or when visiting is rude.
If you had diabetes, or a severe food allergy to something, you wouldn't think twice about turning down food you weren't sure of - and you should feel that same sense of priority in turning down a food that you know will disrupt your diet - most people will understand.

7. Missing a meal every now and then will help you lose weight.
Missing a meal means you will be so hungry at the next meal that you are likely to overeat, say experts.  Not only that, missing meals can actually help lead to a slowdown of your metabolism, meaning you'll burn fewer calories.

8. Bread is fattening, nuts are fattening, pasta is fattening.
It's not what you eat that contributes to weight gain, it's how much you eat that matters most.
Whole wheat bread, for example, is a great source of nutrients, and it won't make you gain weight more than any other food with the same number of calories.

9. All calories are equal.
While it's true that 1,400 calories is 1,400 calories, experts say certain foods have a greater ability to fill you up before they fill you out. These tend to be fibre-rich, water-rich foods, like fruit, vegetables, and whole grains.
All calories are equal if all you're doing is counting calories to lose weight but if you care about how you are losing weight, or controlling your hunger, or the health of your body, then all calories are not of equal value.

10. If you don't clean your plate, you're wasting food.
Tying emotions to eating (like when you feel guilty about leaving food on your plate) sets the stage for emotional overeating. If you've been taught that cleaning your plate is the best way to show appreciation for a meal, consider showing your gratitude with verbal praise instead.
Food is simply a source of fuel for the body - not an emotional payoff or payment. If you don't feel right leaving the table until you've cleaned your plate, put less food on your plate to begin with.

SOURCES: Elizabeth Somer, MA, RD, author, 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet. Abby Aronowitz, PhD, author, Your Final Diet; director, SelfHelpDirectives.com; Samantha Heller, MS, RD, senior clinical nutritionist, New York University Medical Center, USA.

Reviewed on February 20, 2012

© 2012 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

Improving Your Eating Habits

When it comes to eating, we have strong habits. Some are good ("I always eat breakfast"), and some are not so good ("I always clean my plate"). Although many of our eating habits were established during childhood, it doesn't mean it's too late to change them.
Making sudden, radical changes to eating habits such as eating nothing but cabbage soup, can lead to short term weight loss. However, such radical changes are neither healthy nor a good idea, and won't be successful in the long run. Permanently improving your eating habits requires a thoughtful approach in which you Reflect, Replace, and Reinforce.

• REFLECT on all of your specific eating habits, both bad and good; and, your common triggers for unhealthy eating.
• REPLACE your unhealthy eating habits with healthier ones.
• REINFORCE your new, healthier eating habits.

Reflect, Replace, Reinforce: A process for improving your eating habits

1. Create a list of your eating habits. Keeping a food diary for a few days, in which you write down everything you eat and the time of day you ate it, will help you uncover your habits. For example, you might discover that you always seek a sweet snack to get you through the mid-afternoon energy slump. It's good to note how you were feeling when you decided to eat, especially if you were eating when not hungry. Were you tired? Stressed out?
2. Highlight the habits on your list that may be leading you to overeat. Common eating habits that can lead to weight gain are:

• Eating too fast
• Always cleaning your plate
• Eating when not hungry
• Eating while standing up (may lead to eating mindlessly or too quickly)
• Always eating dessert
• Skipping meals (or maybe just breakfast)

3. Look at the unhealthy eating habits you've highlighted. Be sure you've identified all the triggers that cause you to engage in those habits. Identify a few you'd like to work on improving first. Don't forget to pat yourself on the back for the things you're doing right. Maybe you almost always eat fruit for dessert, or you drink low-fat or fat-free milk. These are good habits! Recognizing your successes will help encourage you to make more changes.
4. Create a list of "cues" by reviewing your food diary to become more aware of when and where you're "triggered" to eat for reasons other than hunger. Note how you are typically feeling at those times. Often an environmental "cue", or a particular emotional state, is what encourages eating for non-hunger reasons.
   
   Common triggers for eating when not hungry are:

• Opening up the cabinet and seeing your favorite snack food.
• Sitting at home watching television.
• Before or after a stressful meeting or situation at work.
• Coming home after work and having no idea what's for dinner.
• Having someone offer you a dish they made "just for you!"
• Walking past a candy dish on the counter.
• Sitting in the break room beside the vending machine.
• Seeing a plate of doughnuts at the morning staff meeting.
• Swinging through your favorite drive-through every morning.
• Feeling bored or tired and thinking food might offer a pick-me-up.

5. Circle the "cues" on your list that you face on a daily or weekly basis. Going home for the Thanksgiving holiday may be a trigger for you to overeat, and eventually, you want to have a plan for as many eating cues as you can. But for now, focus on the ones you face more often.
   
6. Ask yourself these questions for each "cue" you've circled:

• Is there anything I can do to avoid the cue or situation? This option works best for cues that don't involve others. For example, could you choose a different route to work to avoid stopping at a fast food restaurant on the way? Is there another place in the break room where you can sit so you're not next to the vending machine?
• For things I can't avoid, can I do something differently that would be healthier? Obviously, you can't avoid all situations that trigger your unhealthy eating habits, like staff meetings at work. In these situations, evaluate your options. Could you suggest or bring healthier snacks or beverages? Could you offer to take notes to distract your attention? Could you sit farther away from the food so it won't be as easy to grab something? Could you plan ahead and eat a healthy snack before the meeting?

7. Replace unhealthy habits with new, healthy ones. For example, in reflecting upon your eating habits, you may realize that you eat too fast when you eat alone. So, make a commitment to share a lunch each week with a colleague, or have a neighbor over for dinner one night a week. Other strategies might include putting your fork down between bites or minimizing other distractions (i.e. watching the news during dinner) that might keep you from paying attention to how quickly — and how much — you're eating.
   Here are more ideas to help you replace unhealthy habits:

• Eat more slowly. If you eat too quickly, you may "clean your plate" instead of paying attention to whether your hunger is satisfied.
• Eat only when you're truly hungry instead of when you are tired, anxious, or feeling an emotion besides hunger. If you find yourself eating when you are experiencing an emotion besides hunger, such as boredom or anxiety, try to find a non-eating activity to do instead. You may find a quick walk or phone call with a friend helps you feel better.
• Plan meals ahead of time to ensure that you eat a healthy well-balanced meal.

8. Reinforce your new, healthy habits and be patient with yourself. Habits take time to develop. It doesn't happen overnight. When you do find yourself engaging in an unhealthy habit, stop as quickly as possible and ask yourself: Why do I do this? When did I start doing this? What changes do I need to make? Be careful not to berate yourself or think that one mistake "blows" a whole day's worth of healthy habits. You can do it! It just takes one day at a time!

Want to learn more?

Losing Weight
What is healthy weight loss and why should you bother?
Getting Started
Check out some steps you can take to begin!
Keeping the Weight Off
Losing weight is the first step. Once you've lost weight, you'll want to learn how to keep it off.

Resources: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention http://www.cdc.gov