The worst food 'advice' for women

Separating diet fact from fiction isn’t easy. In fact, there are so many myths out there that it’s easy to find yourself feeling overwhelmed and stressed before you’ve even got a proper diet and exercise plan in place.

While Centr recipes take the guesswork out of fitness nutrition – leaving you free to focus on smashing your goals – you’re probably still bombarded with nutrition misinformation every day.

Together with advanced sports dietitian Lisa Middleton, we’re debunking four of the worst diet myths out there for women, so you can stress less and feel better about your food.

1. "Cut out carbs"

Carbs get a bad rap. After all, how many times have you been told that the secret to weight loss is making sure a loaf of bread never darkens your pantry door again?

It’s true that leaning too heavily on biscuits and breads won’t help you lose weight or build fitness, but cutting carbs completely isn’t the answer.

Carbs are the fuel for your fitness fire. “If you don’t eat enough carbs your training will suffer,” Lisa says. “Cutting carbs means low-energy workouts, and over time it can even slow your metabolism and cause muscle loss.”

Instead, choose your carbs carefully. Sweet potato, corn, oats, fruit, yogurt and sourdough bread are all nutrient-dense options that will power up your workouts and keep you feeling great.

2. "Choose ‘diet’ or ‘low-fat’ every time"

Find yourself hit with a pang of guilt whenever you choose any option but ‘low-fat’? So do a lot of women. But fat isn’t the enemy of your fitness journey.

Not only do healthy fats like those in avocado, nuts, and seeds help you feel fuller and more satisfied, but when it comes to essential fats such as omega-3 fatty acids, your body can’t make them on its own – these have to come from food sources like salmon and walnuts. When you slash fats from your diet, you’ll be missing great nutrients, which leaves you feeling sick and tired.

More than that, a lot of supposedly ‘healthy’ low-fat options can be loaded with sugar. In some cases, the ‘skim’ or ‘light’ choices can actually be worse than the full-fat foods you’re trying to avoid.

That’s why Centr recipes don’t necessarily call for ‘low fat’ or ‘skim’ ingredients. Reduced-fat might sound good on paper, but a really effective eating plan is a balance of macros and healthy portions – without sacrificing flavor.

3. "Skip meals to lose weight"

It sounds too good to be true: skip a few meals here and there, then eat whatever you want the rest of the time. But despite its popularity, intermittent fasting can be a risky route to weight loss.

For one, this restrictive form of eating requires patience and attention – there’s not much margin for error. When you’re stressed or overwhelmed, diet is the first corner you cut, and you’re likely to crash and burn if you just skip meals without a tailored advice from a dietitian. Overall, that’s bad news for your workouts.

“Cutting out meals randomly here and there is not a sustainable strategy,” Lisa says. “It can slow down your metabolic rate. Along with low blood sugar, it can leave you fatigued and unable to do your best, either day-to-day or at the gym. Plus, you'll be fighting some serious sugar cravings.”

That’s why Centr nutrition plans focus on three balanced meals a day (with tasty and strategic snacks). We want you to reach your health and fitness goals without losing your joy for food – or your energy for exercise.

4. "Avoid soy"

Like eggs, soy has been the target of scaremongering and misinformation. Some people will tell you that the isoflavone levels in soy can upset your hormonal balance, leaving you fatigued and sick.

But the real science is more complicated. Results from studies are mixed and can vary by age, health and the soy products themselves. As a complete protein, soy also provides one of the best alternatives to animal products. That’s particularly handy if you’re on a plant-based diet. But even if you’re not, there are a lot of benefits to changing up the places you get your protein from – variety is the spice of life (and nutrition), after all.

“From a nutrition composition perspective, soy is a winner all round,” Lisa says. “Plus, the results from studies done on animals or in the lab are not always applicable in humans – look beyond the headline to see exactly how the research was done before jumping to conclusions.”