Will you lose weight by eating light food? Eat every day to lose weight faster? Debunking 3 Light Meal Myths

As the weather gets warmer, it is time to eat light meals to help lose weight. Nutritionists remind us that the words "light meals" may seem healthy on the outside and can help people maintain a slim figure, but they may harbor evil intentions! Before people adopt the light food diet method to lose weight, they must first decipher the three common light food myths. Only with the correct concept can they successfully overcome body fat.

Nutritionist Chen Shuyun from Daqian General Hospital said that "light food" refers to a diet that is simple to prepare, small in portion, easy to fill up, light, balanced, natural, healthy, burden-free, and unprocessed. In terms of nutrition, it can be described as food that is low in fat, calories, sugar, salt, and high in fiber. In principle, it is a diet that can help people maintain a slim body.

Common light meals include salads, appetizers, soups, sandwiches, desserts, coffee, and fruit and vegetable juices. These light meals may seem refreshing and less burdensome, but there are actually traps hidden behind them. Be careful not to eat the wrong ones, or you may gain weight instead of losing weight! Here are 3 common myths about eating light to lose weight:

Myth 1: Is it easier to lose weight by eating light meals?

In principle, you will lose weight when your calorie intake is less than the calories your body needs. So if you take light meals as full meals, you can indeed reduce your calorie intake compared to bento boxes and Western meals filled with fish and meat. However, if you eat three normal meals and treat light meals as afternoon tea or midnight snacks, the calories in the light meals will become an extra burden.

What’s special is that light meals have small portions, and most people always think that they are not filling enough and it’s okay to eat a little bit every day, so they neglect their calories. If you eat a little bit every day for a long time, be careful that the calories will accumulate day by day, which will make you fat!

Myth 2: Light meals must be low in calories?

The answer is "not necessarily"! Take the lettuce salad that female friends often eat as an example. The colorful vegetables are rich in dietary fiber and phytochemicals, and are the guardian of health. However, the salad dressing contains a surprising amount of fat, which can easily make people fall into the high-calorie obesity trap. Every gram of fat contains 9 calories. If you put too much salad dressing, you will consume more fat while enjoying the delicious food.

When eating light meals, many people will drink them with coffee or milk tea. At this time, be careful that the creamer and milk balls added are not "milk", but high-calorie "oil"! Nutritionist Zhan Shuyun said that most creamers and milk balls use hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is a trans fat fatty acid that will increase the bad cholesterol in the body, promote atherosclerosis, and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Myth 3: Are light meals suitable for daily consumption? Eat every meal?

Nutritionist Chen Shuyun said that the new edition of the "Daily Dietary Guidelines" of the National Health Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2018 covers six major food categories: whole grains, beans, fish, eggs, meat, dairy products, vegetables, fruits, oils and nuts and seeds, and recommends an appropriate ratio of the three major nutrients (protein 10-20%, lipids 20-30%, carbohydrates 50-60%).

As long as you incorporate the calories, food categories, and nutrients of light meals into the six major diet plans of your day to achieve balanced nutrition, there is no problem eating them every day. However, eating it every day may lead to nutritional imbalance, so it is not recommended, especially for the elderly, pregnant women, adolescents and growing children.

Eat light meals wisely and lose weight easily without worries

Nowadays, female friends are keen on eating light meals to help lose weight. Nutritionist Zhan Shuyun reminds us that in addition to breaking the above three myths and establishing correct concepts, we can also refer to the following principles and practices to make ourselves lose weight quickly and healthily:

Tip 1/Replace dinner with light meals: Light meals are suitable for healthy adults and obese people who are losing weight to replace a meal. In order to avoid burdening the body with heavy fish, meat and high fat, it is recommended to enjoy light meals for dinner.

Tip 2/Choose low-fat salad dressing: Losing weight means nothing more than low calories and high fiber. It is recommended to choose low-fat salad, or use natural fruits and vinegar, or lemon juice to make homemade salad dressing, or replace salad dressing with low-fat yogurt.

Tip 3/Pay attention to the way the lettuce is cut: When choosing lettuce and fruit salad, pay attention to the balanced ratio of lettuce to fruit. It is recommended to have more lettuce than fruit. In addition, the way you cut lettuce will also affect the calories you consume. Cutting lettuce into large pieces is better than cutting it into thin strips because the larger area can reduce the adhesion of salad dressing.

Tip 4/ A big NG when pairing lettuce with fried food: A common combination on light meal menus is lettuce paired with fried chicken nuggets, fried fish fillets and other fried foods. Although the crispy texture of fried foods is well-loved by everyone, if you often consume too much fat in your diet, it will increase blood fat in the body and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. You might as well try grilling or braising instead to reduce the greasiness.

Tip 5/ Eat light meals and don’t do strenuous exercise: To avoid hypoglycemia, high-intensity exercise is not recommended during light meals. In addition, light meals to assist weight loss must also be combined with a balanced diet. Whole grains are preferred as staple foods, and beans, fish, eggs and meat are prepared using low-oil cooking methods, paired with fresh fruits and vegetables and a small amount of original nuts.