1. ‘Lite’ or ‘light’ means low calories or fat
Don’t be fooled into thinking that products labelled as ‘Lite’ or ‘light’ mean low fat or calories. For example, ‘Lite’ cheese is a LOWER fat version of cheddar but is NOT low fat. ‘Lite’ cheese is still over 20% fat. And sometimes products can just be referring to the colour! For example, ‘light’ olive oil is light in colour but has the same calories/kilojoules and fat as Extra Virgin olive oil.
2. You can use more oil than butter because it’s the ‘good’ type of fat.
1 teaspoon of butter = 1 teaspoon margarine = 1 teaspoon of oil. They all equal 5grams of fat! It’s important to select the good (unsaturated) types of fats, e.g. oil, margarine, avocado, nuts, seeds etc, as they are better for the heart, but remember that ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fat both have the same amount of calories.
3. Carbohydrates make you fat.
That’s a big fat lie! Weight gain is the result of too many calories NOT carbohydrate. Aim to choose grainy carbohydrates and those high in fibre as these will keep you feeling full for longer.
4. Fruit juice is the same as eating a piece of fruit
If you squeezed an orange, how much juice do you think you get? So how many oranges do you think it takes to make a glass of juice? You could expect to take around 4-5 oranges to make a glass of juice, now would you ever eat 4 or 5 oranges in a sitting? Probably not! Also, juice doesn’t contain any fibre so you miss out on the ‘filling up’ factor that you get from a piece of fruit.
5. Multivitamin/mineral supplements give you energy
A micronutrient (multivitamin/mineral) supplement might make you feel better because it may correct an already present vitamin or mineral deficiency but it does NOT supply energy – only macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein or fat) can do that.
6. All canned fish is high in Omega-3 fatty acids
Canned tuna is lower in omega-3 fatty acids than salmon or sardines. Although tuna is a great low fat protein option when selected in brine or spring water, salmon or sardines are a better choice if looking to enhance omega-3 in the diet.
7. Drinking water doesn’t cause weight loss
Water does NOT contain magical properties. You won’t lose weight unless energy in is less than energy out. That means you need to eat less and move more.
8. Just because there is lettuce in it, doesn’t mean that it is healthy
A Caesar salad can contain more fat than a serve of fish and chips! Parmesan cheese, fried croutons, bacon, and other extras that may be added like egg and chicken, plus a dressing – that’s a lot of ‘fat’ things and they all add up.
9. Skipping breakfast will help me lose weight
WRONG! In fact, breakfast eaters are more likely to have better weight control and have lower cholesterol than those who skip breakfast as this often leads to overeating later in the day.
10. Dried fruit is full of sugar
Dried fruit is just a dehydrated version of fresh fruit. Therefore, 4 dried apricots are the same as eating 2 fresh apricots. Most people would probably never eat more than 2-3 apricots in a sitting so that means you shouldn’t really be having more than 4-6 dried apricots at one time (your gut probably wouldn’t thank you if you did).
