Bad advice?

shaf238

SuzySunshine99 wrote: »

In my office, the general thought is that if a food is considered "healthy", you can eat as much of it as you want. I heard someone the other day advising a co-worker to snack on as many almonds as she wants and she won't gain weight because they are "healthy". Another woman was recommending those huge protein cookies as an alternative to a bag of chips to help lose weight. Protein aside....bag of chips was 120 calories and "healthy" cookie was 400 calories.

THIS.

Candyspun

Cutting carbs, going sugar 'free', sweatsuits and body wraps.

try2again

kimny72 wrote: »

I have been maintaining a healthy weight for @ 2 years now, and I regularly have overweight coworkers, family, and friends telling me I will end up gaining it back if I don't cut out "carbs and sugar" as much as possible. I'm also routinely scolded for drinking diet soda - "You know that just makes you more hungry, right?"

I don't know @kimny72 ... sure you've successfully managed your weight for years, but maybe you're just 1 candy bar away from the precipice...

try2again

leonadixon wrote: »

shaf238 wrote: »

I overhear in my office people being given bad advice when starting their fitness journeys.

For example, someone was told to lose weight she had to cut out carbs. There was no medical reason for it. Just cut out carbs and the weight will all fall off

What's the worst advice you've received? Or heard about?

My doctor actually told me this yesterday. "The only way you are going to lose weight is to cut out all carbs". Seriously. Yes, a medical doctor in the U.S.

All I could do is just look at her.

Doctors often fall back on this lazy suggestion with the assumption that, while the person likely won't comply, their efforts may at least reduce their overall calorie intake.

leonadixon

@try2again, I told her I am using MFP, counting calories, weighing my food and staying in a calorie goal. She still insisted that is the only way. I felt like it was not just lazy, but that she really believes it!

Ninkasi

I work with a woman who follows a keto plan but doesn't watch her overall caloric intake. She thinks fat is magic (gotta admit, I like it too), eating it has no dietary consequences, and tells me my salads are bad carbs but I need some kind of dressing-she recommends blue cheese-so I can "absorb the nutrients" from my evil-carb salad.

I know there's some nutritional truth there about fat and vitamin absorption but I don't like salad dressing generally and I am a pretty good cook who can make a well-composed salad that satisfies my calorie intake and macros and doesn't need dressing to be tasty. Leave me alone and let me eat my lunch!

This is the same lady who tells me the bubbles in my bottle of San Pellegrino will prevent me from losing weight, not that I have ever said word one to her about my weight loss.

kimny72

try2again wrote: »

kimny72 wrote: »

I have been maintaining a healthy weight for @ 2 years now, and I regularly have overweight coworkers, family, and friends telling me I will end up gaining it back if I don't cut out "carbs and sugar" as much as possible. I'm also routinely scolded for drinking diet soda - "You know that just makes you more hungry, right?"

I don't know @kimny72 ... sure you've successfully managed your weight for years, but maybe you're just 1 candy bar away from the precipice...

True, I'm probably accidental weight gain just waiting to happen. A carb away from disaster

ccrdragon

Ninkasi wrote: »

I work with a woman who follows a keto plan but doesn't watch her overall caloric intake. She thinks fat is magic (gotta admit, I like it too), eating it has no dietary consequences, and tells me my salads are bad carbs but I need some kind of dressing-she recommends blue cheese-so I can "absorb the nutrients" from my evil-carb salad.

I know there's some nutritional truth there about fat and vitamin absorption but I don't like salad dressing generally and I am a pretty good cook who can make a well-composed salad that satisfies my calorie intake and macros and doesn't need dressing to be tasty. Leave me alone and let me eat my lunch!

This is the same lady who tells me the bubbles in my bottle of San Pellegrino will prevent me from losing weight, not that I have ever said word one to her about my weight loss.

Oh those evil nasty bubbles - telling your body to hold the weight!!!

I have an office mate who will tell anybody and everybody that calories consumed after 6pm get magically doubled by the body... I just shake my head and walk away.

happytree923

SuzySunshine99 wrote: »

In my office, the general thought is that if a food is considered "healthy", you can eat as much of it as you want. I heard someone the other day advising a co-worker to snack on as many almonds as she wants and she won't gain weight because they are "healthy". Another woman was recommending those huge protein cookies as an alternative to a bag of chips to help lose weight. Protein aside....bag of chips was 120 calories and "healthy" cookie was 400 calories.

The calorie counts on some of those high protein cookies/desserts are ridiculously high. Especially since they're not really sold as meal replacements or weight gain aides as far as I have seen.

Not really advice, just silly behavior, but someone insisting that dark meat and skin-on chicken breasts are so bad for you that you should only eat skinless chicken breasts when eating chicken. This person made no other attempts to reduce saturated fats in their diet so it never really made sense to me.

Also people who consider calorie counting disordered behavior while they eliminate entire food groups from their diet to try to lose weight.

AnnPT77

That my friend thought I should stop losing because she worried I was becoming anorexic (advice offered while I was eating 2000+ calories most days and at a BMI in the 20s, near goal weight).

From another person, that it was impossible "at our age" to lose weight without cutting carbs because "she read all the books last Winter and they all said so" (even as I sat there 50 pounds lighter, actually eating carbs ATM, and the speaker knew both of these things). SMH.

hesn92

I don't hear much weight loss talk going on at my office. My boss does weight watchers which is reasonable, another coworker was on an eating plan that her trainer had her on, which also seemed pretty reasonable, although i suspect didn't teach her how to build her own meals for life, just for that short period of time.

I just get irritated when people perpetuate false things, like "you have to eat breakfast to lose weight" "you must drink x amount of water to lose weight" "you must cut carbs to lose weight" , that it's an all or nothing type thing. Either you only eat super healthy things and are not allowed to have any "bad" foods, or, heaven forbid you eat a piece of pizza. In that case you're off the wagon and might as well give up and forget about losing weight altogether.

deannalfisher

i was just reading a recipe blog and in her recipe for roasted potato/butternut squash...she recommends using purple potatoes because "Besides being loaded with more nutrients, carbohydrates in purple potatoes are digested and absorbed into the blood stream much slower than white potatoes. This helps keep our bodies out of fat making mode. "

Jackie9003

I have that person that thinks as soon as you're "on a diet" you should only eat salad, and the one that eats the salad but drowns it in dressing.

sardelsa

You aren't going to lose bodyfat if you consume any alcohol. Um.. ha.. ok.. watch me

2snakeswoman

deannalfisher wrote: »

i was just reading a recipe blog and in her recipe for roasted potato/butternut squash...she recommends using purple potatoes because "Besides being loaded with more nutrients, carbohydrates in purple potatoes are digested and absorbed into the blood stream much slower than white potatoes. This helps keep our bodies out of fat making mode. "

Hmmm; I wonder if that's why, as I am prediabetic, I was advised to use red potatoes or sweet potatoes because they are digested more slowly and don't cause a sugar spike.

deannalfisher

2snakeswoman wrote: »

deannalfisher wrote: »

i was just reading a recipe blog and in her recipe for roasted potato/butternut squash...she recommends using purple potatoes because "Besides being loaded with more nutrients, carbohydrates in purple potatoes are digested and absorbed into the blood stream much slower than white potatoes. This helps keep our bodies out of fat making mode. "

Hmmm; I wonder if that's why, as I am prediabetic, I was advised to use red potatoes or sweet potatoes because they are digested more slowly and don't cause a sugar spike.

there is as @Anvil_Head posted in another thread a while back, minimal difference between white potatos and sweet potatos - like 2-3g difference carbs and a couple grams fiber

but the USDA website....combined both yellow and purple potatos together in the same food listing

tyediri

LKArgh wrote: »

There was a hilarious discussion in the office a while ago, about a guy on a "fitness" diet prescribed by his "trainer" where breakfast consists of a smoothie every morning, containing a combination of fresh fruit and a boiled egg. His "trainer" had somehow convinced him there are some magical special properties in adding the boiled egg in the smoothie instead of just eating the egg separately or adding an uncooked egg in his smoothie.

Pregnant lady in first trimester here and that smoothie of fresh fruit and boiled egg nearly made me throw up!! 🤢

Gisel2015

deannalfisher wrote: »

i was just reading a recipe blog and in her recipe for roasted potato/butternut squash...she recommends using purple potatoes because "Besides being loaded with more nutrients, carbohydrates in purple potatoes are digested and absorbed into the blood stream much slower than white potatoes. This helps keep our bodies out of fat making mode. "

Color is important; red and purple potatoes have more flavanoids than white ones, and purple potatoes are lower in sugar (lower GI?), although protein, carbs and calories are not much different.
So in reality the blogger was not incorrect. She probably didn't clarify things well enough.
https://www.healthsomeness.com/healthiest-potatoes/

deannalfisher

Gisel2015 wrote: »

deannalfisher wrote: »

i was just reading a recipe blog and in her recipe for roasted potato/butternut squash...she recommends using purple potatoes because "Besides being loaded with more nutrients, carbohydrates in purple potatoes are digested and absorbed into the blood stream much slower than white potatoes. This helps keep our bodies out of fat making mode. "

Color is important; red and purple potatoes have more flavanoids than white ones, and purple potatoes are lower in sugar (lower GI?), although protein, carbs and calories are not much different.
So in reality the blogger was not incorrect. She probably didn't clarify things well enough.
https://www.healthsomeness.com/healthiest-potatoes/

i question the digesting and keeping bodies out of fat making mode...not debating the more nutrients although the differences are minor:
purple/yellow potato - 148g serving - 1g sugar
russet potato - 170g serving - 1g sugar

kimny72

Gisel2015 wrote: »

deannalfisher wrote: »

i was just reading a recipe blog and in her recipe for roasted potato/butternut squash...she recommends using purple potatoes because "Besides being loaded with more nutrients, carbohydrates in purple potatoes are digested and absorbed into the blood stream much slower than white potatoes. This helps keep our bodies out of fat making mode. "

Color is important; red and purple potatoes have more flavanoids than white ones, and purple potatoes are lower in sugar (lower GI?), although protein, carbs and calories are not much different.
So in reality the blogger was not incorrect. She probably didn't clarify things well enough.
https://www.healthsomeness.com/healthiest-potatoes/

According to your link though, 100g of white potato has 1.2g sugar, 100g of purple has 0.5g sugar. So in a 200g serving, you are talking about 1g less of sugar. And the white potato would have around 1g more of fiber.

I'm not running around looking for purple potatoes to save 1g of sugar, and I'll get my flavenoids from red wine and red cabbage instead They aren't "loaded" with more nutrients nor are they digested differently. It's like the difference between white rice and brown rice. Unless you're eating your weight in the food every day, it's not going to make a difference in your overall nutrition.