Top 3-Nutrition Misconceptions

Each semester at the Show Up Fitness ONLINE internship, we spend almost two weeks reviewing nutrition. Some questions we consider are: Can you define what a calorie is? What is the first law of thermodynamics? We help trainers optimize their monthly revenue by tapping into their book of business and making more money via the Body Mass Equation (BME.)

Today we are going to help educate our readers around the Top 3-Nutrition misconceptions:

• 1- Sugar is bad,

• 2- Carbs are bad,

• 3- You can't eat past 7pm.

Let's begin with number one.

1- Sugar is addictive.

Could it be? As of today, NO, sugar is NOT addictive. Take a look at the following picture, which would you prefer?

One of the most complete journal articles detailing to simplicities behinds “sugar is addictive” can be summarized here, “The case against the harms of fructose-containing sugars appears straightforward at first, but in reality, the debate is more nuanced.”

As of 2021, sugar IS NOT ADDICTIVE. We just tend to consume foods that have a lot of sugar mixed in with fat. These highly palatable foods create a mini orgasm in the pleasure center of the brain releasing dopamine. When we see an image like this on Instagram&

We take it as face value and think “We've done our research., see SUGAR IS ADDICTIVE.”

But it's more complicated than that. Our food choices, when stressed, isolated, or at social events are typically highly palatable AND calorically dense, but they don't keep us full. Add in a few drinks and now what happens to our mindset? We don't sleep very well and the next morning we're dehydrated, low testosterone (energy & confidence hormone), and feel like shit. How often do you exercise when you feel like shit? EXACTLY! You CHOOSE to sit on your ass on the couch and binge Netflix and consume more highly palatable foods – thus the evil cycle continues.

Here's what you need to do, START LIFTING WEIGHTS & CHANGE YOUR MINDSET around GOOD vs BAD foods – because there aren't any. Learn that for every action we make, there's an equal and opposite reaction. The best thing you can do for your mind, body & spirit, is to begin lifting weights. This will reverse all of the negative associations that you have with food, restore a healthy & CONFIDENT MINDSET and help you tame those inner demons.

2- Carbs are bad.

Hmmmm, not so fast& The average American MALE weighs 191 lbs consuming ~2,400 . The average American GIRL weighs 169 consuming ~1,800 calories. The AVERAGE American consumes 50% of their diet in carbohydrates. So let's do some MATH&. MALE 2,400 x.5 = 1,200 calories from carbs, / 4 (1g of carbohydrates = 4 calories) = 300g of carbs.

KETO, PALEO, FASTING& ALL take carbs down to less than 10%. So are carbs the devil? Or is it the fact that we take out 1,000 calories from the diet? (Keto is less than 50g of carbs = 300 – 50g = 250 g carbs = 1,000 calories.) Watch this video for a better understanding of the macro breakdown and how CARBS ARE NOT BAD, we just overconsume them because they typically taste yummy.

If you want a better understanding of the Body Mass Equation and to become a Nutritionist or Personal Trainer, contact us at info@showupfitness.com to schedule a call to learn more about our ONLINE INTERNSHIP with daily LIVE ZOOM calls that are recorded AND In-Person PERSONAL TRAINING INTERNSHIP.

3- Don't eat past 7pm

According to urban legend, a 100g banana is 90-calories in the morning, but after 7 pm it breaks all the rules of physics and turns into an evil Gremlin Banana with over 1,000 calories. EVERY nutrition misconception would help with fat loss due to creating a caloric deficit. TYPICALLY our clients tend to eat highly caloric foods when we get home from work: alcohol, snacks & sweets. After a few glasses of wine, we tend to make poor choices (i.e. Grub Hub $40 worth of Taco Bell AND Baskin & Robbins ice cream sundae). The intent to challenge our clients NOT to eat at night means well but in the end, it creates poor psychological assumptions that eating at night is BAD FOR YOU- this isn't true. In actuality, consuming carbs BEFORE YOU GO TO BED helps restore glycogen in the liver which is used during SMR (sleeping metabolic rate.) Having a bowl of fruit or cottage cheese with fruit (YUCK) can help you get into a deeper state of sleep. Additionally, when are you most likely to over-do-it on snacks? Right when you wake up or before you go to bed? The day's stressors are built up and the environmental factors (see Body Mass Equation – Show Up Fitness) are stacked against you. The isolation allows ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts – Dr. Daniel Amen) to take over and before you know it, a pack of Oreo cookies is gone! One suggestion is to have an accountability buddy who you can call / Facetime / Text to help you with these temptations. Another factor within the Body Mass Equation is your MINDSET. We challenge you to change those ANTs into FAATs – Fucking Awesome Automatic Thoughts. We need to begin the process of rewiring our brain from the old you (“I'm a pile of shit and worthless”) to the NEW YOU (“I'm fucking awesome and helped 3-people today”) This FAAT kind of thinking will help you battle those inner demons!

IN SUMMARY:

Carbs ain't bad, nor is sugar or eating late at night. It's about finding a balance for a diet that works for your lifestyle. At Show Up Fitness we help our clients find a healthy balance by SHOWING UP and WINNING THE WEEK 4x. This means lifting weights 4 out of the 7 days EVERY WEEK. We challenge people to consume 18 of their 21 meals to be primarily protein, fruits & vegetables (3 meals per day, 7 days per week = 21 meals.) Our clients are not elite powerlifters, athletes, or Crossfitters, so we don't need the excess calories found in grains, etc. For more information on our 1-1 personal training in Santa Monica, San Diego or Los Angeles, fill out our form here for 1-complimentary assessment.

If you want to become a personal trainer in Santa Monica, San Diego or Los Angeles, contact us here