Weight Loss Myths to Lose This Summer

Dr. Amy McGuire

May 30, 2023

With the evenings getting longer and the sun emerging, some of us may feel the need to shed some winter weight ahead of the summer festivities. However, there are some myths that need to be debunked before setting off on a weight loss journey.

Gluten-free is healthier: People with coeliac disease can't consume wheat, rye, or barley, due to the gluten content of these foods. If someone with coeliac disease consumes a gluten rich food, symptoms such as diarrhoea, weight loss, vomiting and loss of energy can result. 1% of the Irish population are currently diagnosed with Coeliac disease. It can develop at any stage throughout the lifecycle. Self-diagnosis is not advised as misdiagnosis can result in the removal of certain food groups unnecessarily and thus malnutrition can occur. Treatment for coeliac disease involves adapting your dietary lifestyle. There is no medication available to manage the condition. There are a number of reasons why people adopt a gluten free diet without the condition. For example, foods like pasties, biscuits, takeaways, pizza, crisps all contain gluten and when removed from the diet the person may feel better and attribute this feeling to removing gluten, when in fact it is likely the removal of foods high in saturated fats and sugar. If you present with any of the above symptoms, visit your GP to get a full assessment before embarking on the gluten free diet.

Carbs, especially bread, should be avoided: For some reason, carbohydrates receive very bad press when it comes to weight loss. However, when you look at the biochemistry of a gram of carbohydrate, it contains the same amount of calories as a gram of protein! So, why are low carbohydrate diets so successful in in helping people to lose weight? One of the reasons for this is that for every gram of carbohydrates stored in the body, 3g of water are stored alongside it. So, when carbs are removed from the diet, so too is that additional water and that weight loss is mostly attributable to water loss. This is also the reason why when people reintroduce carbohydrates back in their diets that they seem to regain all of the weight loss and sometimes more! But, it is simply water weight, not body fat that is being lost and gained. Another reason that people lose weight when they cut down on the carbohydrates is that as we don’t tend to eat carbohydrates in isolation, we also reduce those additional extras such as the butter on the potato or toast. Carbohydrates are critical to a healthy life. Our brains need 120g alone to optimally function. High fibre varieties are generally the better option and should be included at every main meal if possible.

Weight Loss Pills & Teas are a must: These quick fixes have been doing the rounds for decades and just when we think they have reached there expiry, they are back on the market making all kinds of promises! Weight loss pills can pose many dangers to our health, with people being admitted to hospital every year complaining of breathlessness and dizziness after consuming them. Furthermore, these pills tend to be poorly monitored and recent studies have shown that their labels have been misleading in terms of ingredients and dosage. Likewise, weight loss teas are not all they are cracked up to be! In a nut-shell, weight loss teas cause a person to urinate more, resulting in weight loss – but not fat loss. Some teas also contain laxatives, which will cause you to empty your bowel more, but again this does not result in fat loss. These teas can play havoc on the digestive system and can leave consumers with long term health benefits. Instead, ensure that you are drinking adequate water (your body weight divided by 25) throughout the day.

If in doubt, detox! Detoxing the body to improve health and stop feeling sluggish is a popular strategy in January,. As we head into the summer months, these fad diets are used as a wight loss tool. Furthermore, these products claim to promote healthy gut bacteria, improve energy and boost immunity. Before we go any further, there claims are false, with absolutely zero evidence to support them. Detox diets can come in many forms such as herbal, medicinal or laxative. The premise behind them all is that certain food groups are eliminated and the consumer is encouraged to ingest large amounts of water, juice or fibre rendering some detoxes very harmful. Depending on what type of detox it is, adverse side effects can include abdominal cramping, headaches, lack of concentration, bloating, nausea, dehydration and lethargy. Detox diets can reduce the healthy bacteria in the large intestine, leading to sinister impacts on gut health. Due to the low protein content of these diets, bones and muscle can also lose strength and mass which can lead to reduced metabolism and impair bone health as we age. Luckily, our kidneys, liver, lungs and intestines do a really great job at detoxifying our bodies so that we can focus on a food first approach.