If you haven’t heard the news yet, we started a podcast!
It’s been so much fun to discuss some of the topics/questions that we get every day in our offices with you whenever and wherever you choose! As of now, we have 3 episodes available.
Episode 01: Welcome to Happy, Healthy Days
Our co-hosts Barbie and Nikki introduced themselves and talk more about their backgrounds, how they ended up working for Aspen Clinic, and shared some of their personal beliefs on health, nutrition, and overall wellness.
Episode 02: Ditching Dairy
They dove right in to one of their favorite topics: DAIRY! They both have some pretty strong views on why you should completely eliminate dairy from your diet if you haven’t already done so. Finally, in
Episode 03: Busting Diet Myths
They address tons of diet myths and give you the truth on topics that often have misinformation.
In case you missed episode 3, here’s a recap of the myths Barbie and Nikki discussed:
Myth: Muscle weighs more than fat
When you really think about it, 5lbs of muscle and 5lbs of fat weigh the same (each is 5lbs). The difference is the amount of space they take up in your body.
Myth: Eating as little calories as possible is the best way to lose weight
If you are only eating a few hundred calories per day your body will end up going into starvation defense. Keep in mind, your body is made to survive. This means that if you don’t give your body enough fuel to burn off, it will end up storing everything you eat and burning it off as slowly as possible.
Myth: All fruits and veggies are good for weight loss.
While fruits and vegetables are healthy and loaded with vitamins and minerals, they aren’t ALWAYS the best option when trying to lose weight. Starchy veggies and fruits are very carbohydrate dense and will take up a good bit of your carbohydrate allowance per day. Try to stick to the green/leafy veggies and berries.
Myth: Eggs give you high cholesterol
Eggs are high in cholesterol, but they are high in HDL cholesterol which is the good kind! It would literally take close to 50 egg yolks in a day to effect your cholesterol levels, so don’t be afraid of those yolks!
Egg whites are better than eating the whole egg: We all know that the egg white contains zero fat, but the reason we want you to eat eggs is because they are very low carb and high in protein. Just eating the egg white only gives you about 3g protein while the entire egg will give you 8g. Also, the yolk has been considered a “nutrient goldmine” and is part of the reasons we allow our patients to eat eggs until you’re sick of them!
Myth: Red meat and pork are bad for you
When it comes to protein, red meat and pork are actually higher grams per ounce than chicken and turkey. The main reason that we tell you to limit your consumption of red meat and pork is because it is harder for your body to digest than other forms of protein. Remember, digestion begins in the mouth, so if it feels dry and chewy when you’re eating it, it will likely be like that through the rest of your digestive system. This is also why it’s important to take digestive enzymes every time you eat meat.
Myth: Gluten-free is always healthy/good for weight loss
Gluten is found in tons of foods that we would like you to avoid when losing weight. However, that doesn’t mean that because something is “gluten-free” that it’s a healthy option. If you go down the gluten-free aisle in your grocery store you will notice that there are nothing but GF crackers, cookies, etc. Those things are still high in carbohydrates and sugar even though they are GF.
Myth: Fat makes you fat
The only way that your body stores fat as fat is if you consume carbohydrates along with that fat. In order to be stored, fat must enter into your cells and the only way to open the “door” to the cell is with insulin. Consuming a high fat (healthy fats) and low carb diet will not lead to an increase in fat mass.
Myth: Eating healthy is more expensive
The key to spending less money on food is to plan! Healthy food is no more expensive than unhealthy food, the issue is that if you over-buy fresh foods they spoil and you have more waste. We recommend making a weekly meal plan and only buying the foods you will need and use that week.
Myth: Calories vs calories out
We all know that in order to lose weight it’s important to eat less calories than what you burn per day, however not every calorie is created equal. 1200 calories of junk food is way different that 1200 calories of healthy food. We are way more concerned with where those calories came from than just how many of them you ate. Keep in mind, your body doesn’t know that you’re food journaling and its’ all about giving your body nutrients and energy that can be easily digested.
Myth: Cardio is best for weight loss
Weight loss is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise, we recommend 30 minutes per day but it is so much more important to get to the grocery store than the gym. However, when it comes to which exercise is more effective for weight loss strength training would be the best option. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn even while at rest. More muscle = faster metabolism.
If you haven’t tuned in yet be sure to search ‘Happy, Healthy Days’ in the podcast app on iTunes or scroll to the bottom of the page under the ‘Blog’ tab on our website to find us!
