Dr. Barry Sears was recently asked several “True of False” questions from a well known diet blog. His replies are below.

If you eat food after 8 p.m., it will turn to fat.

FALSE: If you eat too many calories at any meal, the excess calories will be converted to fat for long-term storage. Many people tend to eat their largest meal of the day at dinner because they have either skipped meals or eaten meals that were too low in calories before eating dinner. As a result, they are more likely to store the excess calories at dinner as fat. The best strategy is to consume equal-sized meals throughout the day.

You have to exercise to lose weight.

FALSE: There are many good reasons to exercise (better endurance, more strength, reduced likelihood of diabetes and heart disease, feeling good about your self, etc.), but weight loss is not one of those. The extra calories expended in exercise are usually compensated by increased calorie intake to make up for the chemical energy used in exercise. Furthermore, the amount of calories expended during exercise is relatively small compared to benefits of calorie restriction of about 500 calories per day. That being said, exercise is a great way to maintain weight after your desired weight loss has been achieved.

Pasta and bread will make you fat

TRUE and FALSE: Pasta and bread eaten in moderation (especially when combined with non-starchy vegetables and low-fat protein) at a meal, will not dramatically increase insulin levels. It is excess insulin that makes you fat and keeps you fat. However, eating excessive amounts of pasta or bread at any meal will increase insulin that will increase weight gain. A moderate amount of bread or pasta would be one piece of bread or ¼ cup of cooked pasta at any one meal. For individuals who are genetically predisposed to making large amounts of insulin in response to carbohydrates, even these moderate amounts may be too much.

Eating small, frequent meals will boost your metabolism.

TRUE: The reason you eat is to produce adequate levels of the chemical called ATP that is required for survival and movement. The complex transformation of dietary calories into ATP is called metabolism. Any excess calories that can’t be transformed into ATP will usually be stored as fat. The secret of eating small meals is consistency, because if ATP levels drop too low you tend to over-consume calories at the next meal.

Drinking tons of water every day will wash away weight.

FALSE: Excess weight is really excess stored body fat. The only way to remove that is to lower insulin levels so the fat can leave the fat cells and be transformed into chemical energy. In order to keep the body hydrated, you should drink about one-half your weight in ounces of water per day. Unfortunately most Americans are poorly hydrated and that slows down the conversion of fat into ATP.

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