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7 Diet myths every gamer needs to know
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1) SKIPPING BREAKFAST MAKES YOU FAT
This myth comes from the outdated and debunked idea that eating more frequently throughout the day boosts your metabolism to burn more fat.
Because of this misconception, people think your metabolism doesn’t get “turned on” until you eat your first meal.
In reality though, skipping breakfast might be one of the easiest ways to help you start losing weight. This is essentially what Intermittent Fasting (IF) is which many weight loss experts swear by…
With IF you restrict your time eating each day to a set window of time, most commonly noon-8pm (i.e. skip breakfast).
By limiting the amount of time you have to eat throughout the day, you end up eating less automatically because you just can’t eat as many calories in that shorter time frame. Eating fewer calories is what then allows you to lose weight and burn fat.
IF isn’t for everyone, as some people feel more lethargic or sluggish not having a meal first thing in the morning and others end up feeling more hungry, knowing they can’t eat for a few hours after they wake up.
Personally, when I get further into a cutting phase and my calories become more restricted, I like to skip breakfast to save those calories for later in the day when I’m feeling most hungry.
Bottom line is it’s certainly a strategy that’s worth a shot, especially if you haven’t tried it before and skipping breakfast alone will not make you fat. Overeating calories while not moving enough will.
2) CARBS MAKE YOU FAT
This is another silly idea pitched mainly by ketogenic diet evangelists and those who simply don’t know any better.
Because keto advocates believe keto is the only way, and they find eating a high fat, low carb diet works for them… they automatically jump to the conclusion that carbs are the enemy, hell-bent on destroying your physique with mounds of fat be added to your body with every mouthful.
In reality, carbohydrates are the body’s primary energy source, help give your muscles their round, full appearance from glycogen stores (carb stores in the muscle), and boost athletic performance and that of any high intensity activities.
So, if you’re planning on doing strength training or playing high intensity sports or anything else demanding a large burst of energy in a short period of time – all of which are recommended here at 6-Pack Gaming – carbs are your friend!
Don’t get me wrong, if you’re relatively inactive, enjoy mostly high fat foods, rather than carbs, have insulin resistance, or suffer from epilepsy (the original reason the keto diet was created), then a high fat, low carb diet can work great for you, if you find it allows you to more easily eat in a calorie deficit (eating fewer calories than you burn each day).
However, like the 80/20 rule dictates, the vast majority of you will do much better consuming a higher amount of carbs and protein with moderate fat, especially when following 6-Pack Gaming exercise routines and workouts, so they should be a focal point of your diets, not a restricted banned substance.
Again, carbs will not make you fat, overeating calories and not moving enough will.
Plus, life is too short to not enjoy some good pizza and pasta, right?!
3) PROTEIN MAKES YOU BULKY AND IS ONLY FOR BODYBUILDERS
This one has been around for a while and comes mostly from old images of big bodybuilders chugging back these hardcore protein shakes every day.
News flash: protein is one of the 3 macronutrients that make up the bulk of your diet and absolutely necessary for everyone.
Whether male, female, young, old, athletic or obese, everyone needs protein and most will benefit a great deal from a higher intake.
Protein helps with the repair and recovery of cells, and higher levels of intake are required with greater physical demands on the body – like strength training – which is why bodybuilders often have a very high protein intake.
Protein doesn’t make you start sprouting muscles out of your neck though, nor does it bulk you up by itself. To get that bodybuilder type of physique takes years of dedicated training and eating tonnes of food in the proper ratios to achieve, so rest assured, a protein shake or a can of tuna is not gonna turn you into Schwarzenegger overnight.
Protein actually has the highest Thermic Effect of Food (TEF), meaning your body burns more calories just to digest and utilize it, compared to other nutrient sources like carbs and fats.
This, along with the fact it’s the most satiating (keeps you feeling full the longest), and helps build and maintain lean muscle mass, boosting your resting metabolism, makes it absolutely crucial for both building lean, defined muscle, and burning stubborn body fat.
Let me repeat, better strength, easier fat loss and a lean, defined body, along with less soreness and more healthy cells… all from protein, so don’t shy away from it!
Protein doesn’t just mean shakes either – although shakes are a great, convenient way to get your daily protein intake in – protein comes from many different sources like meats, dairy, nuts, seeds, legumes, etc.
If you’re following the 6-Pack Gaming strength training routines found here, you should be aiming for somewhere around 0.8-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight each day.
So, protein is not just for bodybuilders, it’s for everyone – especially fit, healthy gamers.
Now go get that protein in you!
4) YOU NEED TO EAT EVERY 3 HOURS TO KEEP YOUR METABOLISM BURNING FAST
This is another classic myth that’s been around for years, even though it’s been debunked hundreds of times in scientific research and real-world application.
It comes from a misunderstanding of how our metabolism works – which is fair enough – humans are complex creatures and so are the systems our body uses to stay alive and healthy.
Basically, people thought that because we use energy to breakdown and digest food, that eating food was like an “on switch” for our metabolism, then once our body has digested the food, our metabolism “turns off” until our next meal.
This isn’t how our metabolism or digestion work though, and thank goodness for that, or we’d all find ourselves constantly nibbling at little bird seed sized meals 24/7 to burn fat.
Digestion takes several hours and our metabolism adapting takes several days, up to weeks to adjust.
So, whether you eat 7 small meals every couple hours throughout the day or you eat 1 giant meal for the entire day, if your total calories over the 24 hour period is roughly the same, you’re going to get the same weight loss or weight gain results over the long term, depending on how many calories you actually eat.
So, don’t worry about ridiculous eating schedules, trying to time your meals with a stopwatch throughout the day.
Focus on how many calories you need to reach your goals, and eat at whatever frequency suits your schedule.
After all, fitness and healthy eating are just a part of your life and so they should be worked into your lifestyle, not the other way around.
5) KETO IS THE BEST DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS
We already touched on this one in the Carbs Make You Fat Myth above, so we’ll be brief here.
The ketogenic diet became a very popular choice of diet for weight loss because by virtually eliminating an entire macronutrient from your food choices, you basically eliminate 1/3 of the food you can eat, which then causes you to eat fewer total calories.
The idea is pretty simple to follow, eat high fat, moderate protein and keep carbs pretty much as low as possible.
As I mentioned in the earlier section, if you’re relatively inactive, enjoy mostly high fat foods, rather than carbs, have insulin resistance, or suffer from epilepsy (the original reason the keto diet was created), then a high fat, low carb diet can work great for you, if you find it allows you to more easily eat in a calorie deficit (eating fewer calories than you burn each day).
The key thing there however is if you find it easier to help you eat in a calorie deficit. If you’re overeating calories – which is extremely easy to do with high fat foods because fats are more than 2x as calorie dense as protein or carbs – you will still gain weight and fat on a keto diet.
The ketogenic diet is simply one strategy for limiting calories and eating less than your burn each day. But many different diets will allow you to do the exact same thing.
That’s why at 6-Pack Gaming, we have a 5-level nutrition system, that teaches a flexible approach with your diet, to find what works best for you individually, because every body is different.
The bottom line is that it all comes down to lifestyle, preferences, and goals.
The vast majority of people, especially those following the 6-Pack Gaming exercise and workout routines will likely benefit from more carbs, but if you enjoy keto and it allows you to reach your goals, that’s fantastic, stick with it.
If not, try something else.
Anyone who tries to tell you one single strategy is “the only way”, is just trying to sell you something, and it starts with B, ends with S.
So, run away and find someone or something else (like 6-Pack Gaming, for example) that doesn’t have some hidden agenda or commission tied to their advice.
Keto is one way, it is not the only way. Find what works best for you and allows you to enjoy getting healthy :)!
6) YOU NEED TO EAT “CLEAN” FOOD AND AVOID “JUNK” FOOD TO LOSE WEIGHT
Now this, this is one myth I am adamant and passionate about destroying once and for all!
Write this on your forehead in sharpie, or go get a tattoo right now of this: there are no such thing as good or bad foods!
(Side note: don’t actually do that, unless you’re prepared for a lot of weird looks and a scolding from your parents. I assume no responsibility for your actions.)
It is 100% true though. This whole idea of “clean” foods vs. “junk” foods, good vs. bad, leads to a whole bunch of issues, including demonizing certain foods for no reason and even worse, developing a completely unhealthy relationship with food.
You absolutely do not, and I will even say should not eat 100% “clean” foods in order to lose weight or burn fat.
When you deem certain foods as good or bad, it misleads people into believing all they have to do is eat “good” foods and avoid bad ones and that magically causes fat loss and muscle growth, regardless of the amount of food eaten – not true!
Additionally, overly restricting yourself to this limited list of “clean” foods, I would say is unhealthier than eating some “junk” food on occasion, both mentally and physically.
By restricting your food intake too much, you limit the variety of nutrients you are consuming which can lead to nutritional deficiencies and ultimately disease.
Plus, what’s “good” and “bad” is completely relative to each individual’s needs based of the rest of the foods that make up their diet. What’s “good” for someone else, may actually be “bad” for you, and vice versa.
Now, I am not saying you should go and eat a dozen chocolate bars every day and start your morning with a bowl of gummy bears for breakfast because there’s no way that would fit into your ideal number of calories for the day and allow you to meet all of your nutritional requirements.
There are more and less nutritionally dense foods (foods that contain more or less micronutrients) and those micronutrients are critical to ensure all of your bodies processes function properly – they’re like the nuts and bolts that keep things running smoothly.
Overall, you need to eat the total number of calories each day for your goals.
You need to eat in a calorie deficit if you’re main goal is losing weight and burning fat; you need to eat in a calorie surplus if your main goal is building muscle and gaining weight, period.
Just as with everything else though, I feel you should follow the 80/20 rule with your diet.
Meaning you should have 80% of your calories from minimally processed, nutrient dense foods, and for the remaining 20% you should allow yourself to enjoy whatever the heck you’re craving or really feel like having.
You do not need to feel guilty about eating a damn cookie, and you do not need to choke down broccoli and tuna if you hate them to reach your health and fitness goals.
That is what the whole 5 level nutrition system here at 6-Pack Gaming is all about, learning to be more flexible with your diet for greater results both mentally and physically.
You can absolutely lose weight, get in shape and build the body of your dreams, while still eating foods you love. You just need to know the proper way of how to do it.
Follow the nutrition quests here on 6-Pack Gaming and you will be set for the greatest results you could imagine and love the process of it at the same time
Dieting should be fun, it should be a game, with the objectives and missions leading to you reaching your ultimate ideal body and weight and that’s exactly how we roll here at 6-Pack Gaming.
So forget the whole “clean” food vs. “junk” food nonsense. It’s just food, and as long as you know how to use it to reach your goals, you can get in amazing shape and love doing it.
7) EATING SPECIAL “WEIGHT LOSS FOODS” MAKE YOU LOSE MORE WEIGHT
This one really ties in well with the previous “clean” vs. “junk” food debunk.
When was the last time you saw some exotic berry or miracle weight loss food advertised that burns fat instantly?
How about every “health/fitness” magazine you’ve ever seen, right?
The perpetuating myth about miracle “weight loss foods” in mainstream media is sickening.
No magic berry, or exotic fruit is going to instantly melt off belly fat as the ads proclaim month after month.
If they did, there wouldn’t be a need for a “new magic fat loss food” every single month, now would there?
Simply put, these marketers pray on the uninformed and gullible who are so desperate for a quick-fix, instant solution, they’re willing to fork over $47 + S&H every month for some magic detox tea, or exotic berry pill, powder or potion.
All foods can be weight loss foods, they can also be muscle building foods, or fat storing foods.
It all depends on how much you eat of them and how you use your body physically.
If you eat 5000 calories of these “weight loss foods” and you don’t move, you’re gonna be a blimp.
If you eat a less calories than you burn each day, you’re gonna lose weight and gradually burn fat.
And if you exercise and train your muscles while fueling your body with enough calories and the proper nutrients to support muscle growth, you’ll build muscle.
So, bottom line is this, stop looking for a magic food, and start focusing on the amount of food to help you reach your goals.
And there you have it!
You’ve now mastered the 7 myths every gamer should know. Congratulations.
You are now fully prepared to take on the 6-Pack Gaming nutrition quests and journey through the 5 levels of nutrition, to master the world of food and to achieve the dream body, health, energy and vitality you truly deserve, while enjoying the foods you love!