1. Do not eat carbohydrates and fats together!Peanut-Butter-Oatmeal-59411

    1. How did this start?Despite small fluctuations, the Standard American Diet (SAD) has traditionally been higher in carbohydrate (52%) and fat (33%), with protein (15%) taking up the least dietary space. Since the prevalence of obesity has risen to belt-popping proportions in the US over the last three decades, it’s easy to claim that the high-carb/high-fat combination will keep you nice and plump. However, fitness buffs are typically on a high-protein/anti-carb kick, so the separation of carbs and fat in this population would have minimal impact either way. Still, the no-carbs-with-fat dictum has been adopted by many individuals in search of a unique strategy.
    2. The Research: “One thing that really bugs me is when someone makes an adamant claim about how the body works, but has no objective evidence to back it up. Such is the case with claiming that mixing fats and carbs is the ticket to fat gain (or fat retention)” Alan Aragon. “To my knowledge, there’s only a single study directly comparing the separation of carbs and fats versus their combination [2]. Both groups lost a significant amount of bodyweight. Although not to a degree of statistical significance, the combination group had greater weight and fat loss. The researchers concluded that despite popular belief, the separation of macronutrients (carbs and fat in particular) had no metabolic benefit over consuming them together.”
  1. Do not eat late at night

    1. How did this start?Nocarbs
      1. ” When you hear this, it usually applies to carbohydrates. People thought, “Carbs are energy, fat is stored energy, cut carbs and you cut fat..
    2. The Research
      1. The ONLY reason cutting carbs out of the evening works for controlling fat gain in some folks is because it restricts total caloric intake for the day. “No carbs at night” is nothing more than a calorie-cutting-for-dummies tactic. Can it work? Yes, it can. In the case of people who tend to overeat carbo-liscious foods at night, this can serve as a default solution, but it’s not a guideline that should be universally recommended. What works just as well is cutting back on an equivalent amount of calories earlier in the day. There are no night-time insulin fairies ready & waiting to store carbs in the fat tissue — at least not at any greater rate than they would do so during the day.
  2. Eating small frequent meals will boost your metabolism
    1. How did this start?Absurdly Small Diet Meal
      1. Conventional wisdom states that eating small, frequent meals helps to optimize weight loss. In theory, eating frequently enhances a phenomenon called the thermic effect of food (TEF), which results in more energy expended after consumption of the meal. What’s more, some postulate that multiple meals spaced throughout the day prevents the body from going into “starvation mode,’ thereby keeping metabolism perpetually elevated.
    2. The Research
      1. Several studies do not support a tangible benefit to eating small frequent meals on body composition as long as daily caloric intake and macronutrient content is similar. The theory that a greater feeding frequency increases post-prandial thermogenesis is fundamentally flawed. As long as the caloric and macronutrient needs are met by the day, meal timing is determined by personal preference and physical performance needs.