5 Myths About Healthy Eating

By Brett Blumenthal, excerpted from “Get Real and STOP Dieting!”

Recently, I was having a discussion with my friend who claimed that eating healthy and dieting are the same thing. Ouch! If that is true, then I must have been on a diet my whole life! How awful! The fact of the matter is, that healthy eating and dieting are two very different things. But, this conversation made me realize that healthy eating is really misunderstood and there’s a chance most people have acquired some preconceived ideas about healthy eating and what it actually entails. As a result, I was inspired to address some misconceptions and put them to rest.

Misconception 1: If you eat healthy, you must be on a diet. This one never fails to amaze me! Too often, the word “diet” is confused with the concept of dieting. Most people equate dieting with deprivation, especially as related to foods they love. Whether you are at your ideal weight or trying to lose weight, eating healthy is NOT dieting. It IS eating a healthy diet, however, which is a proactive lifestyle choice. If you want to eat healthy, you are choosing to do so. You choose to optimize the way you eat to look and feel your best.

Misconception 2: Eating healthy is boring, tastes awful and is never satisfying. Truth be told, eating healthy can taste better…can be wonderfully varied…and can fill you up for longer periods of time than food that is unhealthy. Many individuals who make a long-term switch to a healthier diet swear that they don’t miss the unhealthy foods they once ate. Some actually find them distasteful and unsatisfying! As you eat higher quality foods, your cravings for those that are bad for you and lack nutritional value will diminish.

Misconception 3: There is a secret to weight loss. There is absolutely no secret, no magic pill and no trick to losing weight. You are an individual with individual needs. As a result, fad diets and “secret weight-loss programs” may work for some, but not necessarily for others. Even still, those that find that these fad diets work…only do in the short term. Anything that seems too good to be true, often is.

Next: 2 more myths about healthy eating

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Read more: Diet & Nutrition, Eating for Health, Food

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Aparna K.

5:49AM PST on Jan 25, 2012

I loved this article. I especially appreciate the point that it' actually easier to eat healthy. I have also realized that if you dedicate your meals to eating well, there are SO many essentials that there isn't enough time or space in your tummy to eat junk. I ensure I eat at least 3 portion of fruits and a small portion of nuts for breakfast. Mid-morning snack is always a glass of milk. For lunch, I need a portion of raw vegetables, small portion of carbs, and either lentils or some cooked veggies. Evening snack is some whole wheat crisps crushed and mixed with chopped veggies and spiced up to make an interesting salad. Or some brown bread cheese sandwiches with veggies. Or buttermilk and a salad. And its oats with veggies or oats with salad for dinner. No time or space for unhealthy stuff. At all.
And thanks for putting it in writing that a diet doesnt not mean deprivation. And eating healthy does not mean diet. Being Indian and vegetarian I get a earful very often for not starting my day with potatoes and bread and not eating rice for dinner. Meh.

send a green star

Victor M.

8:28PM PST on Dec 5, 2011

Thx for the info

Jennifer C.

8:48PM PST on Nov 29, 2011

Thanks for the great article.

Lori K.

10:35PM PDT on Nov 5, 2011

It's true. My mom raised us on whole grains, tons of fruits and vegetables, and everything unprocessed, either raw, or as lightly cooked as possible. All sweets were homemade, and limited to holidays, or Sunday nights. None of us ever had a weight issue, and she always looked 20 years younger than she was.

My siblings and I all binged on junk food when we first moved out, felt gross all the time, and gained 20 pounds. As soon as we went back to whole grains, veggies and fruit we lost weight, and felt better. I never worry about how much I eat, and have no trouble maintaining a healthy weight. It's amazingly easy, and tastes good too.

Sofia B.

12:02PM PDT on Oct 5, 2011

Best to debunk those myths as fast as possible! As someone who struggles with overweight and trying to reduce it by healthy living, most of these things were familiar to me, but I do sometimes get surprised about how some people flutter from one dieting trend to another with no real though about their overall health.

Michele W.

1:23PM PDT on Sep 21, 2011

Thank you

Gulnara K.

1:40AM PDT on Sep 18, 2011

My main secret is: be happy. In 2009, my weight was 73 kilo. Now - ab. 57. I just allowed myself to eat my happy food - fish and salad, and fruits. Happiness is a key.

Dominique G.

6:25PM PDT on Aug 17, 2011

My mother's friend was telling me the other day that she is following a diet given to her by a nutritionist, in which she can't eat any nuts or any fruits except apples, because those foods make you fat.... WHAT???!!!!! I tried telling her that it was very unhealthy to not eat any fruits and that nuts have good fats and proteins, but I guess in her eyes I am not licensed to give nutrition advice hehe...
Thanks for the article! Truth be told!!!!

Elizabeth A.

9:03AM PDT on Aug 17, 2011

Watching everything you eat and worrying about it is a sure way to get diet obssessed...definetely not a good thing!( my way of thinking .of course)