Diet advice: Truth versus myth?

CLEVELAND - Everyone has an opinion about what you should do to lose extra pounds. The problem is those opinions aren't always based in fact. Sometimes weight loss theories are just plain inaccurate.

NewsChannel5 asked for some expert opinion from two local physicians, known for their work with patients who need to lose weight.

WEB EXTRA: Click the video player to see much more of the doctors' explanations, and what they have to say about several other dieting theories

Jennifer Wurst is a family practice physician with Parma Community General Hospital who focuses on medically supervised weight loss.

Dr. Michael Roizen is based at the Cleveland Clinic and is co-author of the "You on a Diet" books with Dr. Mehmet Oz .

Here is the dieting advice we asked the doctors to call "truth" or  "myth".

Exercising on an empty stomach can help you burn more calories.

Dr. Wurst said that's a myth, too.

"You're gonna feel better when you exercise and you're gonna be able to go for longer and you're gonna be able to get a higher intensity level if you eat a small meal with some complex carbohydrates and some protein about an hour before you exercise," she said.

Our metabolism slows down as we age.

Dr. Roizen said that too is a myth.

"As you age you lose muscle mass which means you don't use as many calories but if you maintain your muscle mass as you age, your metabolism stays," he said.

A lcohol is empty calories.

Dr. Wurst said that one is a truth.. mostly.

There is evidence moderate drinking offers some cardiovascualar benefits and red wine does have resveratrol  and antioxidants, but Dr. Wurst says the risks outweight the benefits of drinking.

And beware of beer.

"Beer is the dieter's enemy. It's just carbs and water, that's all that's in there," Dr. Wurst said.

Your stomach can stretch or shrink, affecting your appetite.

"Truth, if you don't eat for 6 weeks at a time, but in the sort term, that's a myth," Dr. Roizen said.

You would have to eat small meals for six weeks straight for your stomach to shrink, but if you do, you will fill up faster.