myths vs. facts?

salubriousliving

what's a workout/food myth that every MFP should know? for example: "if you're not sweating you're not doing enough"

wrbiii

situps and crunches=abs


You can do a million situps a week and if you are still a fatty then your abs will never be visible

DeathKitty23

I keep hearing that if you dont eat back your workout calories you wont loose weight - BS in my opinion
ANd before everyone gets on at me cos I've not lost anything can I just say that I used to be a uk size 6-8 and was a gym junkie so i know wtf im on about lol
xx

Greenrun99

The less food you eat the more weight you will lose.

Think about that good/bad combo

zaph0d

"I am different"

wymanic

"One more won't hurt"--my biggest failure in the past was portion size. On MFP, I haven't really changed my eating habits, I just eat more sensible portions now!

lambertj

Myth I believed for years was "eat low-fat"

auroranflash

I keep hearing that if you dont eat back your workout calories you wont loose weight - BS in my opinion
ANd before everyone gets on at me cos I've not lost anything can I just say that I used to be a uk size 6-8 and was a gym junkie so i know wtf im on about lol
xx

There is a point where you are already in a calorie deficit and that alone causes stress on your body. Increasing stress hormones by adding a lot of cardio will only cause your body to want to hold on to the body fat instead of release it. Moderate cardio 2-3 times a week and strength training 1-2 times a week along with a modest calorie deficit is a steady course for long-lasting fat loss. No need for extremes.

Silverkittycat

"I am different"

am too.

UsedToBeHusky

Myth I believed for years was "eat low-fat"

Seriously... I think it took me a year to realize how much of a mistake this one is.

How about the hatred for red meats? It's an excellent source of protein! Of course, you want to go as lean as possible, but STILL...

Ain't nuttin' wrong with a steak!!

wolfchild59

Myths
Carbs make you fat
Fat make you fat
Low carb is the way to go
Low fat is the way to go
Eating at night makes you fat
Intermittent fasting is best
You have to eat breakfast
You have to eat X number of times a day (3, 5, 6, etc)
You have to use protein supplements to get enough protein
You can only absorb 20g of protein at a time
You can never eat too much protein
Starvation mode doesn’t exist
If you don’t eat 1200 calories a day, you go into starvation mode
The promise of any diet pill
The promise of any fad diet (detoxes included)
Running is the best workout
Lower weight/higher reps is best
Higher weight/lower reps is best
Vegan is the way to go
Clean eating is the only way to lose weight
Processed foods are the devil
Fruit is evil
Fruit should be eaten as much as you want
If you don’t lose 2lbs every week, you are failing
If you don’t lose 1lbs every week, you are failing
If you don’t lose any weight every week, you are failing
You are in a plateau if you didn’t lose any weight or inches this week
A pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat

Truths
--Every single person is different and what works for one person isn’t what is going to work for another. Just because Person 1 loses 50 pounds on low carb doesn’t mean that’s the right course of action for Person 2. If Person A loves running, lost a bunch of weight running, and thinks that running is awesome, that doesn’t mean that Person B isn’t going to hate every single step of every single run they ever attempt and possibly not lose any weight from it.
--You will likely struggle with your journey at some point and need to re-evaluate what you are doing and mix things up.
--There is no easy answer and you may have to try three or four different ways of attacking your weight loss before you find what fits best for you.
--You didn’t gain the weight overnight/in a month/in a year, don’t expect to lose it quickly either.
--Any loss on your weigh-in day is a success, even if it’s only .2lbs.
--Take measurements because when you don’t see a loss on the scale for a period of time, you may see a loss of inches instead because muscle is denser than fat, so you if you have lost fat but increased lean muscle, you will be smaller, but might weigh the same, or more.
--Weight loss is hard. Really, really hard. It gets harder after you already start losing weight and then harder still once you have your goal almost in sight. If it weren’t, everyone would be skinny.

jillmarie125

Myths
Carbs make you fat
Fat make you fat
Low carb is the way to go
Low fat is the way to go
Eating at night makes you fat
Intermittent fasting is best
You have to eat breakfast
You have to eat X number of times a day (3, 5, 6, etc)
You have to use protein supplements to get enough protein
You can only absorb 20g of protein at a time
You can never eat too much protein
Starvation mode doesn’t exist
If you don’t eat 1200 calories a day, you go into starvation mode
The promise of any diet pill
The promise of any fad diet (detoxes included)
Running is the best workout
Lower weight/higher reps is best
Higher weight/lower reps is best
Vegan is the way to go
Clean eating is the only way to lose weight
Processed foods are the devil
Fruit is evil
Fruit should be eaten as much as you want
If you don’t lose 2lbs every week, you are failing
If you don’t lose 1lbs every week, you are failing
If you don’t lose any weight every week, you are failing
You are in a plateau if you didn’t lose any weight or inches this week
A pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat

Truths
--Every single person is different and what works for one person isn’t what is going to work for another. Just because Person 1 loses 50 pounds on low carb doesn’t mean that’s the right course of action for Person 2. If Person A loves running, lost a bunch of weight running, and thinks that running is awesome, that doesn’t mean that Person B isn’t going to hate every single step of every single run they ever attempt and possibly not lose any weight from it.
--You will likely struggle with your journey at some point and need to re-evaluate what you are doing and mix things up.
--There is no easy answer and you may have to try three or four different ways of attacking your weight loss before you find what fits best for you.
--You didn’t gain the weight overnight/in a month/in a year, don’t expect to lose it quickly either.
--Any loss on your weigh-in day is a success, even if it’s only .2lbs.
--Take measurements because when you don’t see a loss on the scale for a period of time, you may see a loss of inches instead because muscle is denser than fat, so you if you have lost fat but increased lean muscle, you will be smaller, but might weigh the same, or more.
--Weight loss is hard. Really, really hard. It gets harder after you already start losing weight and then harder still once you have your goal almost in sight. If it weren’t, everyone would be skinny.

Thank you for this! I really loved your truths. This is exactly what i needed to read right now. Thank you.

wolfchild59

I'm glad you appreciated it. Always feels nice when something posted resonates, even if with just one person.