The stupidest thing you used to think...

ahamm002

That a giant bowl of pasta was fine because it was "low fat" (Damn you Susan Powter!)

^^yep!

I also used to think that eating tons of bread with the old spray on margarine was super healthy (hardly any saturated fat!).

chocl8girl

I used to think I'd never be able to lose weight, because I never had the willpower to cut out all of the food I believed I could never have again in order to do so.

*takes another bite of chocolate cake*

mmmmmmm........

sassafrascas

As I child I thought a Hamburger with lettuce, Tomatoes, and cheese was a healthy balanced meal because it had all the major food groups. Thank you food pyramid.

dcglobalgirl

That if I "broke" my diet with something "naughty" then the day was a write off and I could just eat what I wanted and get back on it the next day.

So many misconceptions in one sentence!

THIS!

Roni_M

That I wasn't "that big"... turns out I was but didn't really see it until I got a lot smaller. I was living in denial I guess! :laugh:

csuhar

As I child I thought a Hamburger with lettuce, Tomatoes, and cheese was a healthy balanced meal because it had all the major food groups. Thank you food pyramid.

I STILL think chocolate cake is healthy, because it contains most of the food groups: milk for "dairy", eggs for "protein", wheat for "grains", and the chocolate and sugar, which came from plants, for "vegetables". Throw in a layer of preserves between cake layers, and now you've got "fruit" covered.


In all honesty, the biggest thing I used to think is that there were foods that had to be avoided at all costs, like ice cream, red meat, sweets, fat of any kind, etc. Now I realize I just need to be careful about how much of them I eat.

NCchar130

That I actually required 15+ cups of coffee (or equivalent) loaded with flavored cream to feel "normal." smh. I was drinking around 1200 calories a day that way!

julesxo

Cardio was the only way to lose weight.

allaboutthecake

Stupidest thing I used to think? That there was no Jesus (I'm a new Christian)

Welcome :-)

tjl2329

That I was healthy. And that losing Wright eating healthy and exercising wasn't for me.

tjl2329

You are so right. I look at my old clothes they are so big.

cmeiron

That my body was incapable of being slender or showing muscle definition.

That some foods were "bad" or "only for treats" or "off-limits" and I was weak or bad for eating any of them.

That the only proper "diet" food consisted of teensy portion of bland, beige food.

That fat was bad.

That carbs were bad.

That you had to eat at a really large deficit to lose weight.

That I couldn't run.

That I wasn't athletic.

That I didn't like lifting weights.

That exercise was a chore, not something enjoyable.

....


Gad.

.....

No wonder I never succeeded or stuck to any "weight loss" efforts before!

janahcarter

That you have to go to a gym to lose weight. That the weight would just magically fall off because I wanted it to.

whitecapwendy

I still hear the stupidest thing ever thought at the ballpark every summer when parents hand their kids a hot dog and tell them they need to "eat something good for them" before they can have their popcorn or cotton candy. hotdog? good for you?

slroggemann

I used to think that you HAD to only eat salads & vegetables all the time to get skinny. I learned that you don't have to starve yourself to lose weight. Portion control & lots of exercise is what does it for me.

^ this. I do eat salads now because I like them, but I used to think that I couldn't lose weight if I wasn't eating salads all the time and that's just not true. I also used to think I was eating reasonably healthy - NOPE.

jessykab74

I used to think pizza was healthy for you.......well geez it has veg, protein, dairy and carbs. Gives the kids apple sauce (ofcoarse with the sugar added) and the kids and I had a healthy meal haha

zillah73

Oh gosh, the long list of silly notions I had are running through my mind. There was a fast, there was sever calorie limiting (tuna on a rice cake was all I would eat in any given day). I think maybe the stupidest, though, was that one of those gigantic chocolate chocolate chip muffins from Costco were heathy, cause they're muffins, ya know? Haha!

MissHolidayGolightly

Oh, while we're branching away from fitness:

I used to believe in the "five second rule", and would eat anything off of any surface so long as I snatched it up quick enough. I shudder to think of what I ingested as a teenager...!

Same. Now I use the 30 second rule.

BarbaraCarr1981

That you were supposed to throw a punch with your thumb tucked inside your fist.

kenj13

The stupidest thing that I used to believe: that a low fat diet would make me slim and healthy.
The second stupidest thing that I used to believe: that calories alone were the ONLY factor in weight loss or weight gain.

Yes and YES!! I too use to think this and it would torture me when I wasn't losing any weight.

1shauna1

Happy hour starts at 3pm/

This is not stupid.

K_Serz

I am from New Jersey.

I used to think that the Dukes of Hazzard show on TV was fake, then I joined the USMC and met people from Arkansas, Alabama and Georgia.

LoraF83

I have asthma so I can't run.

I thought this. Turns out, it's just that my parents were smokers.....huh, funny how that works.

I also thought that I was fat because I had a couple rounds of steroid treatments as a child. I was convinced that there was a holdover of the dosages in my system that made it impossible for me to lose weight. Turns out, I just liked to stuff my face with too much food and sit on my couch.

eloisemonteiro

I used to avoid avocado because it was "too fat and full of calories", didn't realize about the good fats in it (and honestly it's not that caloric)

SarahBeth0625

Long ago, when I was in college, I used to power walk around the track. I would watch the girls on the ellipticals and thought I could never do that as I wasn't athletic. I have proven that wrong and now I'm an elliptical queen. :happy:

bluefrog_2001

I used to think that you HAD to only eat salads & vegetables all the time to get skinny. I learned that you don't have to starve yourself to lose weight. Portion control & lots of exercise is what does it for me.

This was me.

EmilyOfTheSun

I used to think I could not eat past 7pm.
I used to think that cardio was the best way to get in shape/look good.
I used to think that I could eat whatever and as much as I wanted as long as I worked out.
I used to think that "sweets" would make me gain weight even if I stayed within my calorie goal.

Thank god MFP has opened my eyes.
And I still have a TON to learn.

nomayo

That there a 3 men living in the traffic lights that choose when they change.

THIS! I believe it for many many years when I was in elementary. Nice times

redredy9

1. That all fat is bad fat and I should avoid it at all cost. (Now I choose Fage 2 over Fage 0 because I know not everything has to be fat free!)

2. If its fat free or labled as "lite" or "diet" its healthy - even if its full of chemicals, refined carbs and sugar (I am looking at you 100 calorie packs and snackwells!)

3. That I was big boned and would never get into a 6 without looking frail. I am still working towards that 6 but I know loose 8s look great!

4. I am not a "real runner" because I don't run fast. Guess what. I discovered I can run faaaaaaaaaaaar! Marathon far! We arent all built for speed and thats OK!

CristinaL1983

That as long as I just kept going to the gym, the weight would eventually just go away on its own.