Eat This, Not That....Chuck Full of Malarkey!

shell1005

I used to read the website, Eat This Not That all the time.

I remember that I used to look for weight loss tips and nuggets to help me lose weight and keep it off.

Now that I fully understand the concept of CICO and that all these magic tips and tricks either don't work or are just unnecessary, I find the articles on Eat This, Not That to basically be laughable.

Here is one of their most recent. 25 Things You Did Today That RUINED Your Metabolism.

http://www.eatthis.com/things-you-did-today-to-slow-your-metabolism

One, if you ruined your metabolism....you'd be dead. It's fearmongering at it's finest. Secondly, nothing it said is true. Some of the things on the list are about basic health, but nothing on the list ruins your metabolism. Nada.

Here is the list:

1. YOU DIDN’T GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP - Nope.
2. 2. YOU STARTED YOUR DAY DEHYRATED - Nope.
3. YOU DRANK TOO MUCH CAFFEINE - Nope.
4. YOU SIT TOO MUCH - Nope.
5. YOU DIDN’T EAT ORGANIC - Nope.
6. YOU ATE TOO MANY CALORIES TOO LATE IN THE DAY - Nope.
7. YOU SPRINKLE FOOD WITH SEA SALT - Nope.
8. YOUR HOME OR WORKPLACE IS TOO WARM - Nope.
9. YOU'VE NIXED CARBS COMPLETELY - Nope.
10. YOUR ENTIRE FOCUS IS ON LIFTING WEIGHTS, NOT LOWERING THEM - Nope.
11. YOU DON'T SNACK LIKE A NUT - Nope.
12. YOU'RE NOT BEING INTENSE (HIIT) - Nope.
13. YOU'RE WORKING OUT AT THE WRONG TIME - Nope.
14. YOU’RE EATING INCONSISTENT AMOUNTS AT IRREGULAR TIMES - Nope.
15. YOU’RE CONSUMING TOO MANY PESTICIDES - Nope.
16. YOU’RE CONSUMING DIETARY TOXINS IN PROCESSED FOODS - Nope. Toxins. Cute.
17. YOU’RE DRINKING WATER CONTAINING FLUORIDE AND CHLORINE - Nope.
18. YOU’RE TAKING UNNECESSARY MEDS - Nope.
19. YOU’RE EATING TOO LITTLE - Nope. Starvation mode. Still a myth.
20. YOU’RE NOT EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN - Nope.
21. YOU'RE NOT CATCHING ENOUGH D. - Nope.
22. YOU’RE NOT GETTING ENOUGH CALCIUM - Nope.
23. YOU’RE EATING REFINED CARBOHYDRATES - Nope. LOLZ.
24. YOU’RE EATING TOO MANY SWEETS - Nope. More LOLZ.
25. YOU'RE DRINKING TOO MUCH ALCOHOL - Nope.

I did burn some calories laughing at so many weight loss myths in one article. So so many. Take a look at the whole site, it's pretty disgusting actually. They are working to twist and confuse everything and then sell you a magic book or program that will bring you that weight loss success. Disappoint.

Instead of Eat This, Not That....I have found success eating All Of This, Just in Less Quantities.

Debmal77

Good post!

soapsandropes

Oh those pesky toxins!

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Alatariel75

Good post. It drives me utterly barmey how much woo is out there surrounding weight loss. It is such an industry these days that fearmongering, misinformation and straight out lies are the order of the day.

queenliz99

Wut? No woo?

RAinWA

But they did have some nice recipes for overnight oats so it wasn't a completely wasted page

zoeysasha37

Yeah its a joke. Those type of tips drive me nuts! I hate that newcomers would read that site and actually believe weight loss was that complicated. If I was new and stumbled upon that site, I would think " this is never going to happen for me! Too many rules and tricks to remember!" So that's why those sites drive me nuts! I was new once and seriously didn't know anything. So if I wouldve read all that unnecessary craziness I would've given up that day ! Lol



There's only one real tip needed-
Eat at a calorie deficit and you'll lose weight !:)

CoffeeNCardio

thorsmom01 wrote: »

Yeah its a joke. Those type of tips drive me nuts! I hate that newcomers would read that site and actually believe weight loss was that complicated. If I was new and stumbled upon that site, I would think " this is never going to happen for me! Too many rules and tricks to remember!" So that's why those sites drive me nuts! I was new once and seriously didn't know anything. So if I wouldve read all that unnecessary craziness I would've given up that day ! Lol



There's only one real tip needed-
Eat at a calorie deficit and you'll lose weight !:)

Oh my god this. I used to limit myself and mess myself up reading about bad this and good that and this time and that time and this not that and sleeping this not that.

Thank Cthulu someone made me check out MFP

melonaulait

This stuff is gold. Thanks for posting it!

siluridae

Damn, some people fish for excuses anywhere they possibly can.
The stars are probably not right for weight loss either, and don't forget to sacrifice to the gods, but only organic.

SLLRunner

Love it!

The bottom line is that there are no magic situations or solutions to weight loss.

robertw486

But all the people who want excuses rather than results need web sites like that. Should we be critical of those that want some comfort in a pillow to cry on?























Why yes. Yes we should!

PeachyCarol

Thanks for the laugh.

Debmal77

shell1005 wrote: »

Debmal77 wrote: »

Good post!

Thanks! That website just now confirms for me why I basically get HULK SMASH rage angry with the weight loss industry and how deceptive they are. And the cautionary tale is that a few years ago, I read every word of that place like it was gold.

Same here!

rankinsect

Yeah, I think every person who gave me unhelpful advice about weight loss read crap like that.

Weight loss is not complicated. It's actually extremely simple, just not easy.

SLLRunner

RAinWA wrote: »

But they did have some nice recipes for overnight oats so it wasn't a completely wasted page

I've wanted to try overnight oats because I heard they have magic weight loss proprties.

Just kidding about the weight loss proprties, but I hear they're pretty good.

SuperheroSadie

I used to use their website a lot for eating out-- I still consult it a bit when I get pulled to an applebees or Outback Steak House! You can't really screw up calorie and fat counting.

Regardless, the rest of their stuff is just clickbait!

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tracie_minus100

Yeah I used to follow them on Facebook, but they posted stuff like that all the time. So I stopped following them. No wonder so many people are misinformed when it comes to health and weight loss.

PaulaWallaDingDong

Veggie sticks will never be an acceptable substitute for nahos or loaded potato skins. That is all.

Jruzer

I can't wait to see this plastered on my friends' FB pages.

frankiesgirlie

Great post! I used to follow Eat This Not That all the time. Even purchased 2 of their books. Never. Ever got even close to my goals with their complicated advice/rules. 2 1/2 months on MFP and I'm only 4 lbs away from my goal. So F N simple calories in calories out! And I have not starved myself even one day like I did in the past.
I now consider them right up there with Dr. Oz, fear mongering and making it all seem sooo complicated---just so they can make a buck.

Need2Exerc1se

I will never understand people who believe everything they read on the internet. Why would anyone read that and assume it's true without checking it out?

CoffeeNCardio

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

I will never understand people who believe everything they read on the internet. Why would anyone read that and assume it's true without checking it out?

I think they're just desperate for answers. Desperate people cling to anything that makes them feel better. I personally have clung to stupid ideas because it made me feel better. The problem with the internet is it's not representative of truth, it's representative of who's loudest, and oftentimes the misinformation drowns out the truth, even when you do separate research on it.

Need2Exerc1se

clgaram720 wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

I will never understand people who believe everything they read on the internet. Why would anyone read that and assume it's true without checking it out?

I think they're just desperate for answers. Desperate people cling to anything that makes them feel better. I personally have clung to stupid ideas because it made me feel better. The problem with the internet is it's not representative of truth, it's representative of who's loudest, and oftentimes the misinformation drowns out the truth, even when you do separate research on it.

That's what I don't understand. Being desperate for answers but not desperate enough to spend time searching for truth.

CoffeeNCardio

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

clgaram720 wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

I will never understand people who believe everything they read on the internet. Why would anyone read that and assume it's true without checking it out?

I think they're just desperate for answers. Desperate people cling to anything that makes them feel better. I personally have clung to stupid ideas because it made me feel better. The problem with the internet is it's not representative of truth, it's representative of who's loudest, and oftentimes the misinformation drowns out the truth, even when you do separate research on it.

That's what I don't understand. Being desperate for answers but not desperate enough to spend time searching for truth.

Oh I'm not saying they don't research, I'm saying the internet itself makes it difficult if not impossible to find the good stuff. Take vaccines for example. If you were to google whether vaccines are safe, the first page is gonna be split 50/50 in people saying they are or aren't safe. As though the argument was 50/50 and not people-who-have-medical-degrees/lunatics. How's a person who doesn't know any better supposed to tell the difference? To them, it looks like walking into a room of ten people and hearing five say "vaccines are bad". That's not a good way to learn about vaccines.

In this case, when you google "how to lose weight" the first FIVE options are mostly nonsense with a little bit of truth mixed in. Like any lie, if you say "keep a food diary" between talking about "becoming a morning person" and "skipping processed foods of any kind", it makes it sound more truthful. The ENTIRE goal is manipulation. It's skewed 5/2 in favor of quick-fix bs instead of straight calorie counting. Someone of above average intelligence or someone who recognizes manipulation and logical fallacies and who knows to look for study links in these articles might be okay. The layman is screwed. And where there isn't misinformation, there are fat-acceptance pages (if you body shame, I hate you and think you need a time out from living amongst the rest of us, but telling an unhealthy woman don't worry about it, you're probably immune from heart disease, is bad too) and pages warning of the dangers of anorexia so intensely that calorie deficits might seem scary and dangerous if you didn't know.

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CoffeeNCardio

And of course, I would be remiss in not admitting that straight up denial is a big part of it. If you think you're just metabolically damaged, when really it's that you eat way too much, and you come across three articles that say you can correct that by doing X and lose weight, you're gonna WANT to believe them. So there's an element of refusing to accept responsibility there too.

Montepulciano

rankinsect wrote: »

Yeah, I think every person who gave me unhelpful advice about weight loss read crap like that.

Weight loss is not complicated. It's actually extremely simple, just not easy.

Well said!

WinoGelato

Thanks for posting this - it's a good summary of what is NOT necessary in order to lose weight.

I never even realized that site had more than just the food comparisons. My hairdresser used to have those books laying around while people were waiting and I've thumbed through them a few times. The part that gets me is that they often try to compare something which is meant to have multiple portions, to an individualized item. Granted, there are often portions at a restaurant that are oversized, and certainly many are very calorie dense, but it drives me crazy that they play on the sensationalism of the 2000 calorie Bloomin Onion and compare it to a single portion of Coconut Shrimp for 600 calories...