Food Fairy Tales

Once upon a time, there was a cute college girl who was told she shouldn’t eat fattening foods. So she bought everything low-fat. Soon she was informed that carbohydrates were the enemy. So she bought everything low-carb. Finally she became aware that the fewer calories she consumed the more weight she would lose. So she ate less and less of everything and eventually transformed into an unenergetic skeleton.

By Candy

The moral of the story: Don’t always follow diet trends. There are many common misconceptions about food and nutrition. If you want to diet the right way, you must know the facts:

1) Low-fat foods ensure weight-loss. “Low-fat” or “fat-free” doesn’t necessarily mean “low-calorie” or “calorie-free.” Be sure to check the calorie content in all the foods you buy.

2) Carb-cutting helps shed extra pounds. Oh, right, carbs are the latest food demon. You need them for energy and should consume a minimum of 130 grams a day. But remember to stick to the “good carbs,” i.e. anything whole grain or whole wheat.

3) Brown = Whole Grain. Be sure you know what’s in the bread you’re buying. There are so many whole wheat posers out there. So if “whole wheat” or “whole grain” isn’t listed as the first ingredient, don’t buy it.

4) Cut more calories, achieve more weight-loss. Cutting your calorie intake below 1,200 a day will hurt you. Your metabolism will quickly decrease and you&#8217ll lose muscle mass.

5) A slow metabolism hinders weight-loss. Weight gain is the result of eating more calories than you burn throughout the day. If you aren’t active, you’re going to put on pounds.