Myth: Eating meat is bad.

Meat comes in many forms. There is red meat such as beef, buffalo and lamb. There is poultry such as chicken, turkey, or pheasant. Then there is fish and seafood such as salmon, tuna, crab, and shrimp. All of these meats are good sources of complete proteins. Some fish and seafood are also good sources of omega3 fatty acids as well. Complete proteins help our bodies to repair muscle tissue, cell membranes, bones, hair, skin and nails.

Eating meat is a personal choice. People who do not eat meat need to get complete sources of protein by consuming other foods such as eggs or other dairy products, tofu, nuts and beans. If people choose not to eat dairy products, then they still need to get complete sources of protein by combining other plants that have incomplete proteins. Plants from the legume family carry the highest concentration of protein followed by nuts and seeds, grains and then vegetables. Whey is also a great source of protein.

Myth: As long as I eat right, calories don't matter

Weight is determined by how much a person eats and how much activity they do.  If a person consumes more calories than they expend they will gain weight.  It doesn't matter if the calories come from wholesome food sources or junk food.  If a person consumes 3000 calories a day and only expends 1000 calories in activity and basic body function, they will store the other 2000 calories as fat.  Calories in = calories out + calories stored.  CALORIES MATTER!!

Myth: Eating fat will make you fat

Fat is one of the macronutrients and is an essential part of our diet. It is important that about 30% of our diet contain good sources of fat. These sources can come from natural monounsaturated fats, natural polyunsaturated fats and small amounts of natural saturated fats. Examples of foods with these fats are avocados, nuts, tuna, salmon, sardines, olives, olive oil, grape seed oil, flax seed oil, walnut oil, real butter, and peanut butter. Fat helps us maintain the integrity of our cells keeps our nails, hair and bones strong and is a major source of important and healthy nutrients.

When we eliminate fat from our diets, our bodies hoard the fat we have in storage and will not release it. Since we are unable to access our fat storage under these conditions, we tend to eat more than we need in order to feel satisfied and it makes it very hard to lose weight (fat).

Myth: Drinking fruit juice is just as good as eating whole fruit

Juice that is made from 100% fruit has all the vitamins and nutrients as the whole fruit but it does not have roughage which helps with digestion. Roughage or fiber in whole fruit helps us to feel full while eating less. We eat whole fruit more slowly but it is easy to drink a lot of juice and thus consume more calories than we need. Juice is perceived by our bodies as sugar and sugar enters our bloodstream quickly and can spike our insulin rapidly. When this happens, we may feel full for a short period of time but then experience a drop in sugar. This will signal our bodies to feel the desire to eat again even though we have not fully utilized the calories we have just ingested.

Whole fruit digests more slowly in our bodies and enters our blood stream at a slower rate. This helps keep our insulin levels steady and helps us feel full for a longer period of time.