Busting some common diet, workout and weight loss myths

Icy_Fox

Greetings, my friends and I recently had a debate about healthy living, working out, diets etc. and we had a ton of arguments. A lot of 'myths' came up and I though it would be fun (and informative) if we try to bust them together I'd like you to not only say that a myth is true or not, but also why you chose that option. Without furhter ado, here are the myths:

1. Working out after a meal is better than before a meal

2. Working out on an empty stomach burns more calories

3. If you want to gain muscle mass, you shouldn't eat junk food / sweet/ sugar

4. Junk food gets stored in the area under the belly button (you can't have a flat belly if you eat junk food)

5. If you are severly obese, you can't lose enough weight / transform your body to the point where you would have a flat belly and visible abs

6. If you only do ab and core exercises (no other muscle groups), you can still have a six-pack

7. Managing macronutrients is way more important than calories for losing weight / gaining muscle

8. You can't gain muscle mass if you don't consume a lot of protein

9. Only body weight exercises are enough to get a flat belly (no cardio)

I look forward to hearing your opinions & discussions on this topic. If you have any other myth you'd like to add, leave it in a comment and I'll edit it in.
Cheers!

callsitlikeiseeit

I don't give audience to myths and old wives tales.

TavistockToad

eeeerm.... yeah, no.

6 and 9 could actually be right if you're in a calorie deficit...

nutmegoreo

It's like you picked all the hotly debated topics and put them into one thread. You just needed a "this diet is the best for everyone, cuz magic" myth. This might be interesting.

jjpptt2

Icy_Fox wrote: »

Greetings, my friends and I recently had a debate about healthy living, working out, diets etc. and we had a ton of arguments. A lot of 'myths' came up and I though it would be fun (and informative) if we try to bust them together I'd like you to not only say that a myth is true or not, but also why you chose that option. Without furhter ado, here are the myths:

1. Working out after a meal is better than before a meal

2. Working out on an empty stomach burns more calories

3. If you want to gain muscle mass, you shouldn't eat junk food / sweet/ sugar

4. Junk food gets stored in the area under the belly button (you can't have a flat belly if you eat junk food)

5. If you are severly obese, you can't lose enough weight / transform your body to the point where you would have a flat belly and visible abs

6. If you only do ab and core exercises (no other muscle groups), you can still have a six-pack

7. Managing macronutrients is way more important than calories for losing weight / gaining muscle

8. You can't gain muscle mass if you don't consume a lot of protein

9. Only body weight exercises are enough to get a flat belly (no cardio)

I look forward to hearing your opinions & discussions on this topic. If you have any other myth you'd like to add, leave it in a comment and I'll edit it in.
Cheers!

It's all about context. Myths often have some truth in them, but only when presented with proper context.

1. It's better if doing so makes you feel better during your workout and/or helps you stay on plan with your intake. If it doesn't, it's not better.
2. If doing so allows you to push harder or go longer (no giggity), then it does. If it doesn't, then it doesn't.
3. If junk food/sweets/sugars prevent you from getting enough protein, then those things might be "bad"... but to talk about them absent of overall calorie balance and protein intake is meaningless.
4. that's just nonsensical, as far as I know. I'd never heard any such claim, though.
5. There is probably some degree of truth to this in terms of excess skin and such, but those are all relative terms... "severly"... "flat"... Even so, that doens't mean you can't dramatically change your appearance or ever look "good". I'm not sure the point of the statement, so that's hard for me to defend/contradict.
6. Maybe, maybe not. Lots of other factors at play when it comes to abs.
7. Macronutrients = calories, so if you have proper macro goals and hit those goals (not go over/stay under), then calories will necessarily follow. But macros *can* be harder to manage than cals, so it's iffy advice for most.
8. protein is important, sure, but it's not that black and white.
9. True, but diet plays a role too. And BW exercises aren't the only option out there.

#9 is the type of thing I often see in magazines. Diet magazines say "eat this and have a great body"... fitness magazines say "do this workout and get ripped" - truth is, you probably have to do both (or some version of both diet and exercise). So the claim they are making isn't necessarily wrong, it's just incomplete.

Crafty_camper123

ooh boy. Some of those are doozies! I think Jjpptt covered them pretty well. #4 would possibly be caused by bloating in the intestines, but it's certainly not fat storage! That's purely genetic.

I feel like we need to throw ACV and rasberry ketones in there somewhere, lol.

cmriverside

@jjpptt2

Get back to work! Good job having the patience for your post.

Icy_Fox

Crafty_camper123 wrote: »

ooh boy. Some of those are doozies! I think Jjpptt covered them pretty well. #4 would possibly be caused by bloating in the intestines, but it's certainly not fat storage! That's purely genetic.

I feel like we need to throw ACV and rasberry ketones in there somewhere, lol.

They sure are doozies hahah that is the point of this post though. What do you mean with ACV and rasberry ketones? xD

MelanieCN77

The same as you can't say "this thing is true for everyone" nor can you say "this thing is untrue for everyone." The reason these aphorisms gain traction is because they contain a seed of sense if you don't delve too deeply. For me I'd talk to people about critical thinking in addition engaging on specifics of diet and exercise.

Crafty_camper123

Icy_Fox wrote: »

Crafty_camper123 wrote: »

ooh boy. Some of those are doozies! I think Jjpptt covered them pretty well. #4 would possibly be caused by bloating in the intestines, but it's certainly not fat storage! That's purely genetic.

I feel like we need to throw ACV and rasberry ketones in there somewhere, lol.

They sure are doozies hahah that is the point of this post though. What do you mean with ACV and rasberry ketones? xD

The myth that they burn more fat, help you lose weight, and rid the body of "toxinz". It's a bunch of bull-puckey. Just some of the one's I've seen on various blogs, and through the grapevine at work.

jasondjulian

Not. Going. To touch. This one.

Addressing these statements regardless of how answered will only fuel the flames and achieve nothing. We all know and believe what we know and believe.. there is no point in debating or commenting further on such statements. Sorry.

Crafty_camper123

I'm assuming the intent of OP's post was to discuss the bad dieting myths we've heard through our lives, and why they're BS? I agree there's not much to debate about it. But sometimes it is fun to share the load of crap we've heard from other people that absolutely believe it to be true. We've all been there trying to explain to Aunt Martha that she doesn't need to do a detox/cleanse to lose weight. Or explaining to our co-worker that white foods aren't making them fat. Eating too much is.

Running_and_Coffee

Icy_Fox wrote: »

Greetings, my friends and I recently had a debate about healthy living, working out, diets etc. and we had a ton of arguments. A lot of 'myths' came up and I though it would be fun (and informative) if we try to bust them together I'd like you to not only say that a myth is true or not, but also why you chose that option. Without furhter ado, here are the myths:


2. Working out on an empty stomach burns more calories Not true, but there are advantages to doing fasting cardio if your goal is endurance.


4. Junk food gets stored in the area under the belly button (you can't have a flat belly if you eat junk food) I don't know about this one...for me, personally, my stomach is flatter when I eat high protein/low carb. Even at the same weight. I'm not a scientist but am an expert on my own body, and I also just feel better sans junk food!

Duck_Puddle

Nothing about carbs or cleanses?

toxikon

My favourite website for busting diet/fitness myths is www.examine.com. If you use their Search function you can find a ton of great articles with scientific references.

I personally avoid talking diet with friends and coworkers, it's like opening a can of worms.

kshama2001

10. Person isn't losing weight because of a "broken/slow metabolism"
11. Person isn't losing weight because of "Starvation Mode"

mbaker566

AnnPT77

jjpptt2 pretty much nailed it.

Just one comment, re #5

5. If you are severly obese, you can't lose enough weight / transform your body to the point where you would have a flat belly and visible abs

Wanna know how I know you haven't read all the threads and looked at their before/after pictures in the "Success Stories" forum?

It doesn't take more proof that it's possible than one real-life example. There are multiples there.

There's a thread in "Debate" that's a #3 killer, too:

3. If you want to gain muscle mass, you shouldn't eat junk food / sweet/ sugar

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10348650/cico-still-skeptical-come-inside-for-a-meticulous-log-that-proves-it

(Look at his recent photo on what's currently the last page, page 59.)

TavistockToad

I think a few people have missed the point of this thread... OP is saying that all the points she has posted are myths.