Plant Fit Movement > Articles > Chef AJ Quiz
TRUE OR FALSE?
Putting common weight loss beliefs to the test
by Chef AJ - bestselling author, TV chef & weight loss coach
It's that time of the year again when diets pop up left and right...
But did you know that according to U.S. News 80% of new year resolutions fail by the second week of February?
What's going on here?
To start, take this fun and short quiz where we'll put 9 of the most common weight loss beliefs to the test... Click here to start the quiz now.
Six factors that can throw off any plan of losing weight
1. Will power is a limited resource
Besides what you'll learn in our quiz, another reason why new year's resolutions fail so quickly is that will power is like a battery.
Our will power battery is full in the morning but then we face the world, deal with our boss, get stuck in traffic, have to handle screaming kids...
At the end of the day our will power is exhausted!
On top of that we are bombarded with about 5,000 ads a day
Ever gave into temptations at the end of the day or have a late night treat?
That's why and it's not your fault. It's just how our biology works. But it also means we need smarter strategies!
You'll discover some of those strategies when you take our fun, short quiz!
2. Tracking calories accurately is next to impossible
What good is a calorie based weight loss program if we can't intuitively figure out when we ate enough calories?
While it may seem logical to scientists to count calories, in real life it's next to impossible. Take drinks for example... Drinking five cans of beer a week adds up to 44,200 calories over a year, equivalent to eating 221 doughnuts!
On average adults in the US consume over 1.3 million calories a year - unless you want to make it your full time job, tracking calories is an unrealistic approach...
In fact, adults underestimate the calories we eat by 20-35% - enough to make any weight loss effort futile...
That's why I'm excited to share some of the latest research on eating smarter - not less - with you during the quiz...
3. Not all food is has the same calories
Did you know that fat is 9 calories per gram but carbohydrates and protein only 4 calories per gram?
That by itself can make a huge difference.
Another thing you can do is eat food that has a high water content because this will fill you up but the water content does not contribute to the calorie count (water has zero calories - and it helps you reach the recommended water consumption).
Yet we see many weight loss programs based on eating foods high in fat and low in water. Now I don't know about you, but I don't want to have to bend the laws of physics to lose weight...
If this makes sense to you, then you'll love my short, non-nonsense quiz! You'll be surprised which common beliefs hold up and which don't...
4. We can't outrun our diet
To burn off...
- To burn off two slices of pizza we need to run for 33 minutes (326 calories) - but let's be honest, who stops at two slices?
- To burn off a portion of french fries (460 calories) we need to lift weights for about an hour - but who eats just the fries?
- To burn off a can of soft drink it's 14 minutes cardio (140 calories)
- To burn off a small chocolate bar (237 calories) we need to sweat for 25 minutes
So exercise is the toughest way to go about losing weight. In fact the National Weight Control Registry has tracked over 10,000 individuals who have lost at least 30 lbs and maintained that weight loss for at least 1 year. The result: only 1% of those successful people relied solely on exercise!
But that's just the tip of the ice berg. Take the quiz to find out the latest research on boosting our metabolism.
5. When we eat matters (what most intermittent fasters get wrong)
Intermittent fasting is all the rage these days but what most people get wrong is that they skip breakfast and eat late instead.
Skipping breakfast has been shown to increase snacking later in the day, lead to late night suppers which is bad for weight loss and health and after reviewing studies over 10 years the USDA recommends to eat breakfast for weight management.
Neglecting breakfast and our fasting period over night is just one way we can damage our metabolism. And if you want to find out what increases our metabolism more - exercise or nutrition - just take the quiz and find out!
6. We may not lose weight in our sleep but we need to sleep to lose weight
Researchers found that poor or lack of sleep impacts our metabolism negatively and in return more energy is stored in the body as fat. Not getting enough or good sleep also messes with our hormones - increasing our insulin and cortisol levels which is associated with storing more fat.
And the list goes on... If we don't rest well at night we tend to have more appetite, have a harder time making healthy food choices and harm our health long term.
In short: try not to be one of the 40% that get less than 7 hours of sleep a day.
And while sleep is something we can control, our genes are not. To discover the impact of our genes on our weight please click here to start the quiz where we reveal more.
About Chef AJ
Over the last 8 years Chef AJ has been working with countless doctors to create recipes for everyone that are both delicious and healthy.
Chef AJ was the Executive Pastry Chef at Sante Restaurant in Los Angeles where she was famous for her sugar, oil, salt and gluten free desserts which use the fruit, the whole fruit and nothing but the whole fruit.
She is the host of the television series Healthy Living with CHEF AJ which airs on Foody TV. With her comedy background, she has made appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman and more.
She is the author of two books including the popular book "Unprocessed: How to Achieve Vibrant Health and Your Ideal Weight".
Chef AJ holds a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell University and is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
While she wasn't always healthy and struggled with her own weight in the past, today she is determined to live at least 100 and is proud to say that her IQ is higher than her cholesterol.
She's passionate about sharing what she's learned with others which is why she created this quiz for you. Click the button and let's put 9 of the most common beliefs on weight loss to the test:
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