{"id":56,"date":"2017-06-23T15:51:49","date_gmt":"2017-06-23T20:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emilyfield.flywheelsites.com\/nonsense-food-rules\/"},"modified":"2022-11-11T11:18:24","modified_gmt":"2022-11-11T16:18:24","slug":"nonsense-food-rules-to-ditch-right-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emilyfieldrd.com\/blog\/nonsense-food-rules-to-ditch-right-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Ditch These Nonsense Food Rules Right Away"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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One of the most common things I hear from active women who care about getting lean, strong and fit is that they can’t make sense of all the information available to make decisions that are right for them.\u00a0 The reality is, the strategies that will help you make progress are really simple – but that doesn’t make them easy.\u00a0<\/p>

We know you don\u2019t need any more confusing, complicated or contradictory food rules to follow. You can ditch these food rules and simplify your nutrition strategy right away!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Read on for some of the most common nonsense food rules that are still out there, but need to quickly see themselves out!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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don't eat carbs after 6 pm<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Do you think your body know\u2019s what time it is, really? Does your body know what timezone you\u2019re in or if it\u2019s daylight savings? Naw.<\/p>

One reason this nonsense food rule gained some traction is likely because by following it, it forces us to cut out the types of foods we tend to mindlessly eat late at night – think sweets and munchies. Combined with the types of activities we do in the evening, it\u2019s very easy to overeat processed, packaged and refined foods with empty calories. Ice cream, chips, crackers go very well with Netflix binges or homework procrastination.<\/p>

So let\u2019s not demonize the time of day (or night), nor one macronutrient over another. Instead, we should be talking about mindless eating or eating to displace \u00a0an uncomfortable feeling we\u2019d rather avoid. It\u2019s a hard habit to break, but by finding ways to resolve feelings of stress, frustration, anger or boredom that do not involve food, you\u2019ll feel happier and likely spend less time wondering why your pants are feeling tighter.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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avoid fat, it makes you fat<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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On the surface, it seems like this makes sense. \u00a0It sounds logical that eating fat would cause you to gain fat, right? Well, that\u2019s not necessarily true.<\/p>

Thankfully, this food rule is on its way out. The last few decades of nutrition research shows us that gaining or losing weight has everything to do with personal caloric and macronutrient needs, hormones, and even the health of your gut, and little to do with the amount of fat in your overall diet. Sure, fat is calorically more dense than the other macronutrients (carbohydrates and protein) and it can be very easy to overeat, (hello block of sharp cheddar cheese) but that\u2019s no reason to demonize the entire macro-group.<\/p>

In my experience and the experience of so many of my clients, eating moderate or even higher amounts of fat makes us feel more energized. And, opting for egg yolks, avocados, nuts and heavy cream on a daily basis makes us feel full and satiated between meals. \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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don't skip breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Don\u2019t get me wrong, breakfast is important, but it\u2019s no more important than a post-workout meal or second breakfast for that matter. In the past, we might have thought breakfast was the most important meal of the day for a couple reasons, but now we know that breakfast does not jumpstart your metabolism, make you inherently more healthy or leaner than the breakfast skipper, and opting out of breakfast doesn\u2019t make you gain weight quicker. We can all sigh with relief that this one meal will not make or break your goals.<\/p>

Maybe you\u2019re in the camp that simply can\u2019t skip a morning meal. If you\u2019re eating to meet your calorie and macronutrient needs, chances are you need to plan for a substantial meal in the morning or you\u2019ll be stuck rolling deli meat around cheese sticks for dessert at night as you play \u201ccatch up\u201d to hit macro goals. For others, skipping breakfast could mean munching on refined, processed or packaged foods later in the day because you\u2019re incredibly hungry. It might mean you\u2019re crashing mid-morning because coffee is not a substitute for filling, satiating food with, you know, actual calories.<\/p>

The bottom line is: know yourself and choose to eat or skip breakfast based on your preference and goals, not based on a silly food rule that’s not rooted in actual science.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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all you have to do is eat less and move more<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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This is another food rule that seems to make sense on the surface. Burn more calories than you take in and you’ll lose weight. Seems easy enough, right?<\/p>

Well, not so much. The “eat less, move more” mantra forgets to take into account several factors like:<\/p>