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So. What's the worst weight loss myth?

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  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Gallowmere1984 wrote: »
    goldthistime wrote: »
    Tacklewasher wrote: »
    My vote is starvation mode. But there are so many good myths out there that are a hinderance to healthy weight loss that it might be fun to put them all in one place, argue about them and decide which is the worst of all.

    Since this IS the debate section, let me jump in with a different view on the discussion opener. IMO, if a poster is eating so little that they wonder if starvation mode is a factor in why the scales aren't moving, they mostly likely ARE eating too little to be healthy and shouldn't be advised to eat less.

    I'm in no way trying to argue that eating less will cause you to put on fat or muscle but when people stress their bodies by undereating and/or overexercising water retention/edema can follow.



    Or their tracking sucks. Ockham's Razor to the rescue.

    Do spelling mistakes count as myth's?????

    It's Occam's :)

    I agree it's most likely tracking, but how many times do we see a poster say they heard it from their PT? I think that is what annoys me the most. Paying someone to help with weight loss or training and they have no clue on what they are talking about. Not all of them, but we see it here too often.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,100 Member
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    Nadine_A_Saad wrote: »
    rileysowner wrote: »
    Nadine_A_Saad wrote: »
    Skip dinner. I hate how people say if you skip a meal you will lose weight. You won't.

    You will if you are in a calorie deficit. If I skip meals it is the first meal of the day since I usually don't like eating in the morning. If a person simply skips a meal with no thought about overall calories, they usually make it up with other meals or snacks.

    That might be true if there are tracking. But if they aren't tracking and do it everyday, it actually slow down your metabolism which makes it harder to lose weight.

    No, it does not slow down a person's metabolism. That is a myth. One that just won't die it seems.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,100 Member
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    Tacklewasher wrote: »
    Gallowmere1984 wrote: »
    goldthistime wrote: »
    Tacklewasher wrote: »
    My vote is starvation mode. But there are so many good myths out there that are a hinderance to healthy weight loss that it might be fun to put them all in one place, argue about them and decide which is the worst of all.

    Since this IS the debate section, let me jump in with a different view on the discussion opener. IMO, if a poster is eating so little that they wonder if starvation mode is a factor in why the scales aren't moving, they mostly likely ARE eating too little to be healthy and shouldn't be advised to eat less.

    I'm in no way trying to argue that eating less will cause you to put on fat or muscle but when people stress their bodies by undereating and/or overexercising water retention/edema can follow.



    Or their tracking sucks. Ockham's Razor to the rescue.

    Do spelling mistakes count as myth's?????

    It's Occam's :)

    I agree it's most likely tracking, but how many times do we see a poster say they heard it from their PT? I think that is what annoys me the most. Paying someone to help with weight loss or training and they have no clue on what they are talking about. Not all of them, but we see it here too often.

    Yet another myth, that just because someone is a PT that they know anything about nutrition and diet at all. They are trained to be trainers, not dietitians. Many specifically sign statements with the group they got certified with that they will not give nutrition/diet advice since they are not trained for it.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    markrgeary1 wrote: »
    The worst are any who cause older, feeble, or poor people to spend needed money on garbage they know won't work(all the the diet aids).

    The people who push anything like that should be on the bottom of the ocean with whale excrement.

    Spoken like someone with an elderly family member who is a sucker. Don't worry, we all have one or two. I just stopped trying to give advice to mine about ten years ago. One can only waste their breath but so many times.
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
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    Gallowmere1984 wrote: »
    markrgeary1 wrote: »
    The worst are any who cause older, feeble, or poor people to spend needed money on garbage they know won't work(all the the diet aids).

    The people who push anything like that should be on the bottom of the ocean with whale excrement.

    Spoken like someone with an elderly family member who is a sucker. Don't worry, we all have one or two. I just stopped trying to give advice to mine about ten years ago. One can only waste their breath but so many times.

    Nope, no suckers. Just a life long distaste for anyone who takes advantage of the people who can't help themselves.

    Don't get me started on financial advisors or annuity salespeople.
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
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    markrgeary1 wrote: »

    Nope, no suckers. Just a life long distaste for anyone who takes advantage of the people who can't help themselves.

    Don't get me started on financial advisors or annuity salespeople.

    I really wish people would realize financial advisors are only selling what they get kickbacks for. I know so many smart people who have bamboozled into stupid investements (yes, really dumb annuities)
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
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    Nadine_A_Saad wrote: »

    That might be true if there are tracking. But if they aren't tracking and do it everyday, it actually slow down your metabolism which makes it harder to lose weight.

    You need to read up on Intermittent Fasting.

    https://authoritynutrition.com/intermittent-fasting-metabolism/

    Short-Term Fasts Boost Metabolism by up to 14%

    Many people believe that skipping meals will cause your body to adapt by lowering its metabolic rate to save energy.

    It’s well established that very long periods without food can cause a drop in metabolism (28, 29).

    However, studies have shown that fasting for short periods can actually increase your metabolism, not slow it down (30, 31).

    One study in 11 healthy men found that a 3-day fast actually increased their metabolism by an impressive 14% (26).

    This increase is thought to be due to the rise in the hormone norepinephrine, which promotes fat burning.
  • JohnnyPenso
    JohnnyPenso Posts: 412 Member
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    annaskiski wrote: »
    markrgeary1 wrote: »

    Nope, no suckers. Just a life long distaste for anyone who takes advantage of the people who can't help themselves.

    Don't get me started on financial advisors or annuity salespeople.

    I really wish people would realize financial advisors are only selling what they get kickbacks for. I know so many smart people who have bamboozled into stupid investements (yes, really dumb annuities)
    Funny story. I was in the insurance business for a couple of years right out of university. I sold 2 - $30,000 annuities to an older couple who were approaching retirement. The guaranteed lifetime payout was fixed and based on current interest rates which were about 14% at the time. A few years later when they started collecting, interest rates were half that and continued downward of course, for the most part. Sometimes annuities do work out...pure luck of course.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    JohnnyPenso wrote: »
    annaskiski wrote: »
    markrgeary1 wrote: »

    Nope, no suckers. Just a life long distaste for anyone who takes advantage of the people who can't help themselves.

    Don't get me started on financial advisors or annuity salespeople.

    I really wish people would realize financial advisors are only selling what they get kickbacks for. I know so many smart people who have bamboozled into stupid investements (yes, really dumb annuities)
    Funny story. I was in the insurance business for a couple of years right out of university. I sold 2 - $30,000 annuities to an older couple who were approaching retirement. The guaranteed lifetime payout was fixed and based on current interest rates which were about 14% at the time. A few years later when they started collecting, interest rates were half that and continued downward of course, for the most part. Sometimes annuities do work out...pure luck of course.

    I think a lot of the financial investment houses just have a bad rap due to the last decade of things being tanked. Nevermind the 40+ years where all of the "safe" investments performed as well, or better than expected; every suit contains a shark just trying to prey on maw and paw's Social Security checks.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    markrgeary1 wrote: »
    The worst are any who cause older, feeble, or poor people to spend needed money on garbage they know won't work(all the the diet aids).

    The people who push anything like that should be on the bottom of the ocean with whale excrement.

    I would rank any that cause health problems as number 1 offenders. But I think that's fairly rare. Most of us could tolerate even a ridiculous detox without getting into trouble.

    Number 2 would be those that, as you say, cause people to spend money who can't afford to do so.

    Number 3, and I think this is where the vast majority of them fall, are diet myths that cause the process to seem so unnatural or difficult or complicated that they're unsustainable.

  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
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    Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

    I think a lot of the financial investment houses just have a bad rap due to the last decade of things being tanked. Nevermind the 40+ years where all of the "safe" investments performed as well, or better than expected; every suit contains a shark just trying to prey on maw and paw's Social Security checks.

    Except that unmanaged index funds almost always outperform managed funds. When a fund manager manages to beat the index one quarter, they celebrate and advertise widely..
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
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    How did we go from weight loss myths to index funds? :huh:
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    ladyreva78 wrote: »
    How did we go from weight loss myths to index funds? :huh:

    They both often involve losing things due to missed details?
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
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    Gallowmere1984 wrote: »
    ladyreva78 wrote: »
    How did we go from weight loss myths to index funds? :huh:

    They both often involve losing things due to missed details?

    Good point. Probably why I'll be poor to the end of my days... I don't trust anyone trying to sell me something (meaning I won't place my money in anyway that might make it more). Probably also the reason why I'll hopefully be slim one day... I don't trust anyone trying to sell me something...

    Which brings me to another myth: I'm paying a lot for it, ergo it will help me lose weight

    (that gem came from a coworker today. She's a bottomless pit for diet myths...)
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
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    annaskiski wrote: »
    Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

    I think a lot of the financial investment houses just have a bad rap due to the last decade of things being tanked. Nevermind the 40+ years where all of the "safe" investments performed as well, or better than expected; every suit contains a shark just trying to prey on maw and paw's Social Security checks.

    Except that unmanaged index funds almost always outperform managed funds. When a fund manager manages to beat the index one quarter, they celebrate and advertise widely..

    There is definitely a lot of junk out there, and advisors as a whole are a mixed bag: some are great, some are shady, and some are plain ignorant. That's why it's so important to do the research and look for fund managers who consistently beat the benchmarks on 20- or 30-year rolling returns, rather than the managers who are bleating about extremely short-term returns. Basically it all comes down to knowing your investment fundamentals, being disciplined, and doing your due diligence.

    Almost exactly like following common sense, long-term weight/fitness control techniques instead of running from Cabbage Soup Diet to ACV Diet to whatever the woo of the day is.

  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    French_Peasant wrote: »
    Almost exactly like following common sense, long-term weight/fitness control techniques instead of running from Cabbage Soup Diet to ACV Diet to whatever the woo of the day is.
    Got asked the other day if I was eating cabbage soup. "Oh God now" I quickly replied to a religious person. Ooops.

    Anyway, it was an awesome wicked thai soup I had made.

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