Nutrition is a notoriously ambiguous subject. There’s a ton of misinformation out there regarding nutrition, and for good reason. One day we’re told this diet is killing you, and this other diet is best. Next week they’re flip-flopped.
Things are made a bit more complicated when you’re a bro who is worried mainly about physique, and health second. The two aren’t mutually exclusive by any means. Typically a diet that’s good for overall physique is going to support your health.
For example, the classic staple meal of chicken broccoli? By far and away one of the healthiest meals out there, and an old school body building bro staple.
But there are certain myths that even today bros are falling for, and I’m going to try and put an end to that. Here are 3 nutrition myths that you’re still falling for.
- Artificial sweeteners aren’t actually killing you.
I’m going to be real with you guys for a moment. I actually thought this was common knowledge by now. I just kind of thought most of the bros out there paid attention to the general consensus on things like artificial sweeteners.
But judging by some of the comments on this article, that clearly isn’t the case.
So I’ll reiterate this point: artificial sweeteners aren’t actually all that bad. Just like anything, the death is in the dose. It just so happens that in order to get anywhere close to a harmful dose of artificial sweeteners you’d need to drink roughly 15 diet cokes a day for an extended period of time.
In fact when you’re on a strict diet, using something like an artificial sweetener can be one of the easiest ways to make sure that you’re keeping cravings in check without adding on a ton of calories.
If you still find this mind blowing, or absolutely refuse to believe it, then you can check out this article I wrote on the topic. Or if you’d like to dig really deep into artificial sweeteners, I’ve got you covered there too with this research heavy piece I did.
- Quantity isn’t all that matters, quality matters too.
I’ll be the first to admit that overall, calories are the biggest factor governing whether or not someone will lose weight. That’s a non-negotiable point. We’ve seen this proven true by the Kansas State professor who went on the Twinkie diet and lost weight.
But far too many bros out there take this too far, and I place part of the blame with the meteoric rise of IIFYM and it’s social media presence, which plays heavily on eating shit quality food and getting shredded.
Sure, you can eat terrible quality food and still get abs. That is a known fact. But very few people actually have the means and discipline to make that happen over an extended period of time.
On top of that, what the fuck is wrong with eating some vegetables? Or learning to cook? Just because you can eat Pop Tarts and Chipotle all day every day and get abs doesn’t mean that you should.
Develop some life skills, learn how to cook up some badass meals, and eat your motherfucking vegetables. Your health, and physique, will be better for it.
- Full fat may taste great, but low fat is helpful as well.
I love that the paleo movement has played a massive role in helping people get over fat phobia. Gone are the days when everyone feels like they need to be buying low fat everything, and in turn buying products that are filled with sugar.
But unfortunately quite a few people have taken it a little too far.
Fat is great. There’s no denying that. It’s necessary for cell health, immune function, and hormone product. But fat is also one of the most calorie dense macronutrients out there, and it’s incredibly easy to overeat. Far too few people realize just how small a serving of olive oil or butter actually is. And because it’s already in damn near everything we eat, overdoing it on fat is much easier than most of us care to admit.
Throwing butter, olive oil, and other fat sources on everything you eat isn’t exactly a way to ensure you’re looking out for your health. It’s just an easy way to make sure you won’t lose weight as quickly as you may like.