True or false ?

True or false: 2% milk is low in fat.

False: An 8 ounce (250 ml) glass of 2% milk contains 5 grams of fat, about the same amount as two slices of bacon.

True or False: Soft drinks like Coca-Cola have about the same amount of calories as plain fruit juice with no added sugar.

This is true. An 8-ounce (250 ml) glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice has 118 calories, and a glass of the same amount of Coca-Cola has 107 calories. Fruit juice, on the other hand, is much healthier because it provides more nutrients and contains fructose instead of refined sugar.

True or false: If you want to lose weight, you should eat as little as possible.

False: The human body must be provided with everything it needs. What will happen to a house built with half the number of nails needed? It may look solid at first, but sooner or later problems will arise. An organism on a poor diet is like a poorly built house. At first, nothing will seem abnormal, but over time, problems will appear.

The human body does not have large reserves of certain vitamins such as those in the B and C groups, nor of certain minerals such as potassium and iron. It also lacks protein reserves. It is therefore important to avoid running out of these substances during the period of weight loss. As fats are present in large quantities, one should of course avoid unnecessary absorption during the diet, except for essential fatty acids, which are fairly easy to obtain, for example, by eating salmon or tuna regularly. For people who do not eat fish, we recommend taking an omega-3 dietary supplement.

True or false: If you are on a diet and feel weak, you should definitely eat more.

False: Let’s take the example of a person who has 40 pounds (18 kg) to lose. One pound of adipose tissue constitutes a reserve of 3500 calories. This person therefore has a reserve of 140,000 calories at all times and is not at risk of running out of energy. When you follow a good eating program and do not lack any of the essential elements such as water, minerals, vitamins and proteins, there is no reason to feel weak. On the contrary, people who follow a good weight-loss program will feel more energetic.

The feeling of weakness is often due to dehydration or a lack of essential elements.

True or false: Dieting slows down the metabolism permanently.

False: During a diet, there is indeed a slowing down of the metabolism. However, during the maintenance period, the metabolism returns to its initial speed. Researchers have studied hundreds of people who have lost weight and then gained it back. They did very precise tests on the metabolism of these people and found that they had exactly the same profile before and after their weight loss diet.

True or False: Almost all people who are dieting gain weight afterwards, often exceeding their initial weight.

False: More than 80% of people who attend monthly follow-up meetings and use the tools of the Slimming Motivation program maintain their weight for three years after the diet.

We all have ups and downs. If you are doing well, come to your follow-up visit to maintain your gains. If you’re not doing so well, put your pride aside and come see us. We can help you.