common weight loss misconceptions (warning - looong post)
zebasschick
Posts: 1,067 Member
there are some misconceptions about losing weight that i see on new posts here very frequently. i'm no health professional or fitness expert, but i'd like to address some of them.
* eating healthier helps you lose weight.
eating healthier foods doesn't automatically lead to weight loss. it can lead to no weight loss at all. changing to organic foods lower cholesterol foods, eating less meat or less fast food are no doubt good for your body, but they won't affect weight loss or gain unless you're also cutting calories. none of those healthier changes mean you're eating less calories. years ago, i had a bf who lived on candy bars, brownies, cookies and big gulps (here in the U.S., that's a HUGE soda). he was very thin, and never took a healthy bite of food for the over-3 years i knew him. eating less calories will help you lose weight. eating healthier foods won't unless they have less calories.
* going from sedentary to working out really hard will help you lose lots of weight.
well, sort of, but mostly not. for one thing, going from sedentary to working out really hard can lead to injuries that will stop you from working out at all. also if you're working your muscles but not feeding them, your body will "eat" your muscles to keep it fueled. the results? muscle loss, fatigue to complete exhaustion, weakness. and lack of motivation caused by fatigue, which people blame on themselves. start out reasonable, and you'll be healthier in the long run.
* "i lost 5 pounds my first week - why can't i keep losing as fast?"
your first few days of cutting calories you lose some water retention, but also the larger amounts of food your body stores until it excretes are still... ahem... being excreted. someone starting out can lose 2 to 5 pounds in a few days, but once you regularly eat less, including less carbs and less salt, you won't retain as much water. your losses after that honeymoon period are more legit losses.
* you can't lose weight if you're sedentary.
that's so wrong. when i started at 242 pounds (i'm a 5' 3" woman), i lost 71 pounds with food substitutions and light walking. i didn't eat less food and i didn't work out. and people on this board lose weight without doing anything but lowering their calorie intake.
* dieting means giving up all my favorite yummy foods.
luckily this isn't true. it IS true that you'll either have to find a lower calorie version of foods (like switching from full fat fruity yogurt to a light yogurt or switching from full fat ice cream to light ice cream) or eating less per serving of those foods. you can eat an entire plain blaze pizza for 600 calories or you can eat half or a third, and put away the rest for later. you'll eat less at that meal PLUS you get to enjoy more of that pizza later. when i first started on MFP, i enjoyed potato chips - just a single serving at a time.
* i binge, so i can't lose weight.
the reason i was a 242 pound 5' 3" woman in 2006 is mostly due to injury and binging. i binged because i was tired or frustrated or unsatisfied, and at a certain point, it became a habit. i started out finding lighter (but tasty) versions of many foods. they're out there, you may have to try some light versions that suck, but there are many that turned into my daily drivers. finding lower calorie versions that tasted good cut a lot of calories for me - so much that with 3 daily 10 to 15 minute walks - not speed walking, just walking - i lost 71 pounds.
* "it's just too much for me. i can't do it".
or
my blood sugar/blood pressure is high, and i can't cope
sometimes losing weight can seem like an enormous task, too big to handle. the thing is, you don't have to handle it all at any given time. this is a two-parter. first, if you have 100 pounds to lose, concentrate on 5 or 10 pound losses at a time. they will help your health, and losing 5 pounds is a manageable goal that won't make you feel hopeless or overwhelmed. being hopeless or overwhelmed makes you feel bad, it makes you give up, it causes depression. just focus on a bit at a time. if you have a week where you don't lose or put on a pound, don't worry about it. just go back to your small goal.
the second part - change one thing at a time. just one. start walking every day - not speedy, not for many hours, not up hills, not carrying weights. just start walking (or slowly riding an exercise bike if there are no walks or you have physical issues). cut some calories by food substitutions. start logging what you eat. create a couple times a day where you don't snack. but don't do it all at once. do one thing at a time. when you're comfortable, add a second.
* do a little at a time
are you looking to be able to run a marathon but have been sedentary? start with walking. if your walks don't hurt you or exhaust you, you can either speed them up or walk for longer. eventually you'll work your way up to running with much less risk of injury or exhaustion. this applies to just about anything in weight loss. not overdoing allows you to continue long-term.
* i'm logging my food, but i'm not losing weight
if you weigh all your food and log it on MFP and aren't losing weight, there's a decent change you're either more calories than you think or you're over-counting your exercise calories (see below). if you're logging by weight, be aware that there are LOTS of wrong database entries here. the first time i log a new food, i either bring the container to my desk and literally check the database entries till i find one that matches or i do that using the USDA website. also i avoid entries that simply say 1 serving or 1 piece. my husband's bread slices all have different weights as does my favorite cheddar cheese. the smallest piece is at least 25% less calories than the largest, and sometimes the difference is greater.
a story everyone here has probably heard me tell is about someone on MFP who logged the first listing he found for 1 serving of potato salad as he ate the local deli's potato salad every day. the thing is, he ate a cup or more per day, and the database entry he chose was for 4 ounces and was ludicrously low, so he logged too few calories every single day for 1200 or higher less calories every week.
* make weighing your foods easier for yourself.
when i started weighing my food, i put a digital scale on my countertop and kept it there. i turn it on, put a bowl, plate or cup on it, tare it to zero, then add a food till i hit the amount i'm going for. keeping the scale easy to use, taring between adding foods, makes it easier. by now, i don't even think about it.
* i've started exercising but i'm not losing weight.
almost every app or piece of fitness equipment i've used gives much higher calories burned than one actually burns. i suspect they may do this as a motivation. and a couple give much less. MFP gives less calories for my exercise bike rides than MapMyFitness - a lot less, but the MapMyFitness calories are way high despite the fact i'm using it with a heart rate monitor. so while i do eat back some exercise calories, unless i'm losing over 2 pounds a week, i don't eat them all back UNLESS i'm hungry - not munchy. and i often deal with that by eating lots of protein and changing the timing i'm eating. a mid-afternoon protein snack - yogurt, protein drink, quest bar, egg whites - helps feed your muscles without adding lots of calories. if you're losing 1 to 2 pounds a week, you're most likely doing fine and don't need to eat less calories.
* it's so much harder to lose weight when you're over 40/50/60.
that first 71 pounds i lost by light walking and food substitutions? i was in my 50s. it wasn't any harder. you may see CICO here - it stands for Calories in, Calories out. it means if you burn 3500 calories without eating more or you eat 3500ish calories less, you'll lose a pound, and that's true whether you're 20 or 60 unless you have a health issue that affects this specifically.
* the most important thing!
everyone is different.
read that again. internalize it. EVERYONE. IS. DIFFERENT. we burn different amounts of calories for the approximately same walk. we lose fat in different parts of our bodies in different orders. we build muscle at different speeds. we have different body shapes. two people who consider themselves sedentary (or active) are in reality more or less sedentary (or active) than each other. not only can you not compare yourself to others, but anything is a generalization - how many calories you need to maintain, how many calories you burn at a certain heart rate, everything is a generalization only because no 2 people are alike.
* eating healthier helps you lose weight.
eating healthier foods doesn't automatically lead to weight loss. it can lead to no weight loss at all. changing to organic foods lower cholesterol foods, eating less meat or less fast food are no doubt good for your body, but they won't affect weight loss or gain unless you're also cutting calories. none of those healthier changes mean you're eating less calories. years ago, i had a bf who lived on candy bars, brownies, cookies and big gulps (here in the U.S., that's a HUGE soda). he was very thin, and never took a healthy bite of food for the over-3 years i knew him. eating less calories will help you lose weight. eating healthier foods won't unless they have less calories.
* going from sedentary to working out really hard will help you lose lots of weight.
well, sort of, but mostly not. for one thing, going from sedentary to working out really hard can lead to injuries that will stop you from working out at all. also if you're working your muscles but not feeding them, your body will "eat" your muscles to keep it fueled. the results? muscle loss, fatigue to complete exhaustion, weakness. and lack of motivation caused by fatigue, which people blame on themselves. start out reasonable, and you'll be healthier in the long run.
* "i lost 5 pounds my first week - why can't i keep losing as fast?"
your first few days of cutting calories you lose some water retention, but also the larger amounts of food your body stores until it excretes are still... ahem... being excreted. someone starting out can lose 2 to 5 pounds in a few days, but once you regularly eat less, including less carbs and less salt, you won't retain as much water. your losses after that honeymoon period are more legit losses.
* you can't lose weight if you're sedentary.
that's so wrong. when i started at 242 pounds (i'm a 5' 3" woman), i lost 71 pounds with food substitutions and light walking. i didn't eat less food and i didn't work out. and people on this board lose weight without doing anything but lowering their calorie intake.
* dieting means giving up all my favorite yummy foods.
luckily this isn't true. it IS true that you'll either have to find a lower calorie version of foods (like switching from full fat fruity yogurt to a light yogurt or switching from full fat ice cream to light ice cream) or eating less per serving of those foods. you can eat an entire plain blaze pizza for 600 calories or you can eat half or a third, and put away the rest for later. you'll eat less at that meal PLUS you get to enjoy more of that pizza later. when i first started on MFP, i enjoyed potato chips - just a single serving at a time.
* i binge, so i can't lose weight.
the reason i was a 242 pound 5' 3" woman in 2006 is mostly due to injury and binging. i binged because i was tired or frustrated or unsatisfied, and at a certain point, it became a habit. i started out finding lighter (but tasty) versions of many foods. they're out there, you may have to try some light versions that suck, but there are many that turned into my daily drivers. finding lower calorie versions that tasted good cut a lot of calories for me - so much that with 3 daily 10 to 15 minute walks - not speed walking, just walking - i lost 71 pounds.
* "it's just too much for me. i can't do it".
or
my blood sugar/blood pressure is high, and i can't cope
sometimes losing weight can seem like an enormous task, too big to handle. the thing is, you don't have to handle it all at any given time. this is a two-parter. first, if you have 100 pounds to lose, concentrate on 5 or 10 pound losses at a time. they will help your health, and losing 5 pounds is a manageable goal that won't make you feel hopeless or overwhelmed. being hopeless or overwhelmed makes you feel bad, it makes you give up, it causes depression. just focus on a bit at a time. if you have a week where you don't lose or put on a pound, don't worry about it. just go back to your small goal.
the second part - change one thing at a time. just one. start walking every day - not speedy, not for many hours, not up hills, not carrying weights. just start walking (or slowly riding an exercise bike if there are no walks or you have physical issues). cut some calories by food substitutions. start logging what you eat. create a couple times a day where you don't snack. but don't do it all at once. do one thing at a time. when you're comfortable, add a second.
* do a little at a time
are you looking to be able to run a marathon but have been sedentary? start with walking. if your walks don't hurt you or exhaust you, you can either speed them up or walk for longer. eventually you'll work your way up to running with much less risk of injury or exhaustion. this applies to just about anything in weight loss. not overdoing allows you to continue long-term.
* i'm logging my food, but i'm not losing weight
if you weigh all your food and log it on MFP and aren't losing weight, there's a decent change you're either more calories than you think or you're over-counting your exercise calories (see below). if you're logging by weight, be aware that there are LOTS of wrong database entries here. the first time i log a new food, i either bring the container to my desk and literally check the database entries till i find one that matches or i do that using the USDA website. also i avoid entries that simply say 1 serving or 1 piece. my husband's bread slices all have different weights as does my favorite cheddar cheese. the smallest piece is at least 25% less calories than the largest, and sometimes the difference is greater.
a story everyone here has probably heard me tell is about someone on MFP who logged the first listing he found for 1 serving of potato salad as he ate the local deli's potato salad every day. the thing is, he ate a cup or more per day, and the database entry he chose was for 4 ounces and was ludicrously low, so he logged too few calories every single day for 1200 or higher less calories every week.
* make weighing your foods easier for yourself.
when i started weighing my food, i put a digital scale on my countertop and kept it there. i turn it on, put a bowl, plate or cup on it, tare it to zero, then add a food till i hit the amount i'm going for. keeping the scale easy to use, taring between adding foods, makes it easier. by now, i don't even think about it.
* i've started exercising but i'm not losing weight.
almost every app or piece of fitness equipment i've used gives much higher calories burned than one actually burns. i suspect they may do this as a motivation. and a couple give much less. MFP gives less calories for my exercise bike rides than MapMyFitness - a lot less, but the MapMyFitness calories are way high despite the fact i'm using it with a heart rate monitor. so while i do eat back some exercise calories, unless i'm losing over 2 pounds a week, i don't eat them all back UNLESS i'm hungry - not munchy. and i often deal with that by eating lots of protein and changing the timing i'm eating. a mid-afternoon protein snack - yogurt, protein drink, quest bar, egg whites - helps feed your muscles without adding lots of calories. if you're losing 1 to 2 pounds a week, you're most likely doing fine and don't need to eat less calories.
* it's so much harder to lose weight when you're over 40/50/60.
that first 71 pounds i lost by light walking and food substitutions? i was in my 50s. it wasn't any harder. you may see CICO here - it stands for Calories in, Calories out. it means if you burn 3500 calories without eating more or you eat 3500ish calories less, you'll lose a pound, and that's true whether you're 20 or 60 unless you have a health issue that affects this specifically.
* the most important thing!
everyone is different.
read that again. internalize it. EVERYONE. IS. DIFFERENT. we burn different amounts of calories for the approximately same walk. we lose fat in different parts of our bodies in different orders. we build muscle at different speeds. we have different body shapes. two people who consider themselves sedentary (or active) are in reality more or less sedentary (or active) than each other. not only can you not compare yourself to others, but anything is a generalization - how many calories you need to maintain, how many calories you burn at a certain heart rate, everything is a generalization only because no 2 people are alike.
21
Replies
-
This should be stickied and everyone required to read it before posting their first thread.2
-
nice summary
2 -
Love this post!! Thank you for this, I hope this reaches lots of people. So much common sense and truth here, and is very inspiring and insightful!
1 -
cosmiccurves wrote: »Love this post!! Thank you for this, I hope this reaches lots of people. So much common sense and truth here, and is very inspiring and insightful!
i realize a lot of people will see how long the post is and hit back, but so many people need information they don't have, i thought i'd put it up there.0 -
I like this post!
I didn't see this addition but maybe I missed it. "I drink 6 gallons of water a day and still am not losing weight ".
And
" I gave up soda, caffeine, or smoking and I'm not losing weight "
1 -
Love this post! So very true!1
-
Seasonal_One wrote: »I like this post!
I didn't see this addition but maybe I missed it. "I drink 6 gallons of water a day and still am not losing weight ".
And
" I gave up soda, caffeine, or smoking and I'm not losing weight "
those are good ones. i wish i could edit my original post and add them?0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions