Over the years I’ve heard questions like this many times. Sometimes the food in question is watermelon, sometimes bananas or strawberries, and of course the old stand-byes rice and bread have been thrown into the mix repeatedly.

There is a common cultural myth that certain foods cause weight gain and obesity. Certainly there are food choices that are healthy and those that are unhealthy, but don’t get dragged into the thought process that individual foods are responsible for weight gain or weight loss. This is the hallmark of fad diets and deprivation diets, which ultimately don’t work.

It’s not about individual foods. If overweight and obesity was the result of individual foods it would be simple to identify, isolate and excise those foods from our cultural food chain. If you want to lose weight and maintain that weight loss you need to have a healthy and comprehensive approach to nutrition.

Proper nutrition and weight management is about the principles of balanced meals and portion control. It’s not about watermelon, so breathe easy. Once you learn how to properly balance the macronutrient content of your meals (protein, fat and carbs), what your precise portions need to be, relative to your specific goals and specific metabolism, and how to space out your meals throughout the day for maximum benefit, you will have learned the formula for a lifetime of weight maintenance.

A properly supervised nutrition plan is like personal training for your eating.

For more information about nutrition and how to integrate it effectively into your life, email [email protected].