Silliest weight loss/fitness myth you've ever heard?
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MichelleLei1 wrote: »mdrichardsons wrote: »RaeBeeBaby wrote: »That muscle weighs more than fat. Grrrrrrr! Can't count the number of times I've read that on MFP threads.
It does, in the same way that brick weighs more than water (and sinks) and pine wood weighs less than water (and floats).
So I have heard this but never really though about it before. But now that I'm thinking about recomp this wouldn't make sense that muscle weighs more that fat. What's real anymore?!??!
Crazy myths I've heard:
Drink a glass of hot lemon water in the morning to speed up metabolism.
Fruit after 2 pm isn't good
Spicy food speeds up metabolism
That any time you have sugar it takes 3 days to get out of you system and you won't loose any fat in that time.
It's just poor wording to say muscle weighs more than fat. It all has to do with density. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. Just like a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of lead.
https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/p/6/005/071/084/06b8238.jpg
Yes that makes sense thank you!!0 -
augustremulous wrote: »I've gotta say, this thread has a whole lot of judgment in it.
I think as long as someone isn't doing something that's actually harmful, we should be supportive of the efforts they're making. They'll tinker around and figure it out eventually. Maybe it's useful in these situations not to tell someone else how to lose weight, but instead relate your own experiences of how you lost weight and what worked best for you.
Also, it's pretty normal for people to conflate weight loss with fitness and health, or group it all in together. I know the board mantra is that a calorie is a calorie, but I think in the big scheme of things, thinking about fitness and longevity and wellness will make it easier to reach your goals.
A lot of these so called myths are myths, but they might work if they're targeted to someone's individual weaknesses.
For example, I know objectively that white rice isn't a killer to weight loss. But why do I avoid white rice? - because when it comes to white rice I'm a bottomless insatiable pit. Maybe there is something psychological about it, maybe it's a callback to my childhood. I mean I literally have a physical, biological reaction when I smell white rice that can only be compared to some sort of food boner. For that reason, I avoid it. I don't think it's inherently bad, but avoiding it is personally beneficial to me.
A lot of people have the same experience with carbs in general (so many of the people I know who are doing "low carb" are actually doing regular carb.) Or gluten in general. Or meat. Or processed foods. Or whatever.
And by the way, it's true that gluten isn't evil. But it isn't a necessary nutrient, either. People aren't doing any harm to themselves by replacing gluten with oats or almond flour or quinoa or whatever. I for one have never had something gluten free that wasn't also delicious and equally or more healthy than the gluten version. A good friend of mine cut out gluten and lost a ton of weight - probably because gluten rich products were a source of calories for her.
Ok as a former believer in almost all of these myths (yes it's embarrassing) I just have to say I am sooooooo thankful people were honest on here even if it hurt sometimes. Because when I started on mfp I was on a low carb diet that was so hard to live on I literally had no life. I did it a few years ago and lost all my weight so therefore it must be true and the only way I could actually loose. Except by the time I got there I was miserable and said I would rather be fat and happy so I stopped the diet gained all back and more. So I decided to start it again get the weight off and gain it back and just do this every few years. Like really that's what I thought my life would be because I was cursed with bad genes and I couldn't be one of "those people who just ate whatever that wanted" and be thin. Do you have any idea how relieved I am to know the truth now! The freedom I have the stress that has been taken off. Yes people need to know. It's important to call out the myths. The truth really will set you free. Could people use more patience sometimes, yes probably but I think they get frustrated with millions of people just believing something because "they" say it's a real thing.0 -
Idk maybe it is judgmental of me but sometimes I'd rather be judgmental than condescending and paternalistic on something that isn't even true.0
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augustremulous wrote: »I've gotta say, this thread has a whole lot of judgment in it.
I think as long as someone isn't doing something that's actually harmful, we should be supportive of the efforts they're making. They'll tinker around and figure it out eventually. Maybe it's useful in these situations not to tell someone else how to lose weight, but instead relate your own experiences of how you lost weight and what worked best for you.
Also, it's pretty normal for people to conflate weight loss with fitness and health, or group it all in together. I know the board mantra is that a calorie is a calorie, but I think in the big scheme of things, thinking about fitness and longevity and wellness will make it easier to reach your goals.
A lot of these so called myths are myths, but they might work if they're targeted to someone's individual weaknesses.
For example, I know objectively that white rice isn't a killer to weight loss. But why do I avoid white rice? - because when it comes to white rice I'm a bottomless insatiable pit. Maybe there is something psychological about it, maybe it's a callback to my childhood. I mean I literally have a physical, biological reaction when I smell white rice that can only be compared to some sort of food boner. For that reason, I avoid it. I don't think it's inherently bad, but avoiding it is personally beneficial to me.
A lot of people have the same experience with carbs in general (so many of the people I know who are doing "low carb" are actually doing regular carb.) Or gluten in general. Or meat. Or processed foods. Or whatever.
And by the way, it's true that gluten isn't evil. But it isn't a necessary nutrient, either. People aren't doing any harm to themselves by replacing gluten with oats or almond flour or quinoa or whatever. I for one have never had something gluten free that wasn't also delicious and equally or more healthy than the gluten version. A good friend of mine cut out gluten and lost a ton of weight - probably because gluten rich products were a source of calories for her.
To be honest when I made this thread I was looking for the crazier responses - not the "everyone has talked these to death a million times" talking points.
I wanted to laugh! 0 -
I thought the full moon, she cray, werewolf thing was pretty funny.
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I met my best friend for lunch and her weird sister came along. She went on and on about her new diet and how she hadn't had a single french fry for over a month. Then she ordered onion rings with her sandwich. Whaaaaat?0
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augustremulous wrote: »singingflutelady wrote: »Also I have seen quite a few gluten free products in my grocery store that had the same if not more calories than the same thing with gluten. If the product is equally "healthy" and had similar calories why would you spend twice the amount of money for the gluten free product?
Well, you know, there are in fact all the traditional foods that are eaten in Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East - a very large chunk of the world's eating population that don't traditionally eat gluten and have just started to eat a little in the past generation because of globalization. And that traditional food isn't more expensive than the cuisines of North America and Europe, which traditionally have gluten. Walk into any asian grocery and the majority of what you see will be gluten free and waaaay cheaper than what you find at your supermarket.
I mean I get what you're saying - companies are using the gluten free fad as a marketing gimmick in order to charge higher prices for food.
That said, I think if someone doesn't want gluten, a good enough reason is "I'm just not interested," or "I don't enjoy it enough to be worth eating." Cutting gluten isn't like cutting carbohydrates or proteins or fiber - it's not a nutrient that's necessary to eat. And I don't get why the burden rests on *that* person to give *other* people a good reason for what they choose to put in their *own* bodies.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat and other grains. That's all it is. It's not "necessary" to eat, but that seems like kind of strange reasoning to avoid it. I'm not allergic to peanuts, but lots of people are. Peanuts are not necessary. Wouldn't it be weird to see everything suddenly hyped up to be "peanut free"? Not that it's not extremely vital for people with allergies to know that information, but as someone who is not allergic, I have zero reason to care whether or not that cookie I just ate was processed in a factory that also processes peanuts, nor would I ever go out of my way to avoid eating peanuts as an ingredient just because they're not necessary. I don't understand the reasoning behind it.0 -
lol I bet the full moon thing was about women eating before their period.0
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thereshegoesagain wrote: »I met my best friend for lunch and her weird sister came along. She went on and on about her new diet and how she hadn't had a single french fry for over a month. Then she ordered onion rings with her sandwich. Whaaaaat?
Lol this reminds me of when my friend and I were eating breakfast on vacation. I got a cinnamon roll and she comments. "Maybe you should get something with more protein in it, we're going to be walking all day." This would have been solid advice if she weren't eating a nutella croissant. According to her nutella is a protein source since it's kinda like peanut butter.0 -
augustremulous wrote: »"Why don't you just take up smoking? That will get the weight off quickly."
Omg.0 -
Carbs are bad
Fat is bad
"Don't eat after 7pm"
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Fat is bad for you
Eggs are bad for you
You shouldn't skip breakfast0 -
Eat every 3 h to speed up metabolism
Eat protein with every meal to speed up metabolism (and fruit is not a meal!)
Don't ever skip breakfast, it starts up your metabolism
Don't eat late, because your metabolism is off and everything will be stored as fat
Carbs are bad for you
Last meal of the day should be pure protein, no fat no carbs
Don't eat bananas
Eat fruit only until 1 pm
Lifting weights will make you bulky
Counting calories is pointless
You shouldn't cut more than 200 kcal from your tdee, because your body will go in starvation mode and you'll start gain weight instead of losing
Don't eat potatoes/pasta/bread/white rice0 -
Counting calories doesn't work
You'll lose weight if you cut out peanut butter
You can't lose weight if you are a child as your body is not ready to do adult things.
You can't lose weight if you are a pensioner as you are too old.
Calories from liquids don't count as they don't make you feel full
Muscle turns to fat if you stop working out
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I wish the following sayings would just die already:
Carbs are the devil. I have cut down on processed sugar such as cake and cookies but 40%-50% of my diet consists of fruit, bread, rice and pasta. I refuse to feel guilty for eating an apple. And I've lost 10.5 pounds in 10 weeks so far.
Gluten is the devil. This has been in bread and flour forever and most human ancestors tolerated it just fine. Now the lastest fad is gluten free everything because some experts have now decided that it's the new devil. If you don't have celiac disease, just eat it.
Eating after 6pm/7pm/8pm is the devil. Most days, the earliest I get to eat dinner is around 7:30pm. I've lost 10.5 pounds so far so that meme is BS.
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dustedwithsugar wrote: »Eat every 3 h to speed up metabolism
Eat protein with every meal to speed up metabolism (and fruit is not a meal!)
Don't ever skip breakfast, it starts up your metabolism
Don't eat late, because your metabolism is off and everything will be stored as fat
Carbs are bad for you
Last meal of the day should be pure protein, no fat no carbs
Don't eat bananas
Eat fruit only until 1 pm
Lifting weights will make you bulky
Counting calories is pointless
You shouldn't cut more than 200 kcal from your tdee, because your body will go in starvation mode and you'll start gain weight instead of losing
Don't eat potatoes/pasta/bread/white rice
Oh God. This is a good list. I literally have believed (or at least followed) every one of these, except for the fruit and bananas one. Though to be fair some of these are "back door" calorie cutting aimed at people who have bad habits. For example, many people who eat late are eating an extra meal that packs on calories. Cutting carbs and nothing else will reduce your total calorie intake, as will cutting fat.
But general calorie counting is so much easier! It actually give you room to change your diet around to your mood and taste and social situations. It's nice to have the option of having a high fat meal once in awhile, or a high carb meal once in awhile.0 -
emmaling142 wrote: »Counting calories doesn't work
You'll lose weight if you cut out peanut butter
You can't lose weight if you are a child as your body is not ready to do adult things.
You can't lose weight if you are a pensioner as you are too old.
Calories from liquids don't count as they don't make you feel full
Muscle turns to fat if you stop working out
Hey could you clarify about the last one, about muscle? I literally have no idea what that means? Who says muscle turns into fat and what is the logic?0 -
augustremulous wrote: »emmaling142 wrote: »Counting calories doesn't work
You'll lose weight if you cut out peanut butter
You can't lose weight if you are a child as your body is not ready to do adult things.
You can't lose weight if you are a pensioner as you are too old.
Calories from liquids don't count as they don't make you feel full
Muscle turns to fat if you stop working out
Hey could you clarify about the last one, about muscle? I literally have no idea.
Muscle and fat are separate tissues. You can lose and gain both but muscle doesn't turn into fat and fat doesn't turn into muscle0 -
"Drink a huge glass of orange juice before your weigh in because your metabolism will go out of control and it'll show a big loss on the scale."
"If you eat carbs at night you'll gain weight. That's why I can't eat macaroni and cheese anymore. It makes me fat."
"You'll lose weight if you eat a big breakfast because you have all day to burn it off."
"When I'm dieting I just eat like three heads of iceberg lettuce for dinner and that's it."0
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