Things I wish I knew then (likely to offend most)

summalovaable

Before people read this and get too upset, in some cases where I am being offensive it's in a joking way. I spent my fair share of time on this site, so I've basically seen it all when it comes to MFP.

I started my fitness pal when I was 16 (4 years ago). I suffered with an eating disorder, tried basically every fad diet in the book. I managed to lose 30 lbs in one summer... and successfully gained it all back within a 3 year span (In my defense I'm Canadian, I turned 19...that should be enough explanation.) Now here I am, a nutrition and dietetics student (yes, I'm studying to become a dietitian) and I want to clarify some things that this website just gave COMPLETELY wrong information about. I'm also going to write very simply (i.e. no official terms) because I'm not here to show off, but merely to make sure everyone reading can understand.

1. I was browsing through the forums and I couldn't believe this one was still floating around but, it is. And people are still very misinformed about its meaning. The infamous "Starvation Mode Myth" is not really a myth, it's just not properly understood by many people here.

Having excess food is really only something that has been around for a few hundred years (virtually nothing from an evolutionary perspective). Our bodies do this thing, where they really want to stay the same. Losing weight is healthy for our bodies, but our bodies don't quite understand that. As far as they're concerned, we NEED fat to protect us in case there are times when food supplies are low. It's something that's kept us alive as long as it has.. so don't bash it just because now we live in a society where overweight and obese are the norm.

When you start to eat less, your body doesn't want that weight to go. Once it "catches on" to whats happening, it starts to slow your metabolism. What does that mean? It means, you start losing weight less quickly and start posting "Help me, I'm in a plateau". Now there are always the people who say "well, anorexics are skinny.. why aren't they fat" and in my mind this is the worst type of person. Not only are they ignorant as to what they're defending, but they're obnoxiously opinionated on it too. Have you ever seen someone who was anorexic who looked lively and healthy? Probably not (at least I haven't). Their metabolism is slowing to the point where its getting nutrients and energy from anywhere it can. This includes hair, bones, teeth etc.. Their bodies have such little energy coming in that it has to focus on keeping itself alive, before it can focus on gaining weight. Notice, anorexics who start eating more gain FAT more quickly. This is because your metabolism will store fat at a higher than average ratio once it finally gets some extra energy. It's going to prepare itself for times when food is scarce again.

Now I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but many of you will probably be in starvation mode at some point in your dieting life. Remember, "starvation mode" as its called, really just means a slowing of metabolism. You're not necessarily "starving" your body. Our bodies have a natural mechanism that wants it to stay the same. Losing weight is a life long struggle if you yo-yo diet... this is why the term "life style change" is so important. If you diet, "starvation mode" will be an issue. If you do a life-style change, it will never REALLY be an issue.... Now that I've gotten that one off my chest, I'll continue.

2. The "we don't need milk" debate. If there's one thing I wish I had never read online, its this one. I'm from a farming community, all my friends were dairy farmers that drank homo milk.. and not a single one of them was overweight. There have been countless studies to show the benefit of adding milk to the diet for weight loss. In one controlled study, people who added two servings of milk products lost an additional 5kg compared to the ones who just added calcium supplements to their diet. The study basically summed up to say: drink milk. My favourite part about these studies is that people actually ADDED calories onto their diet and lost weight. Which I believe nicely emphasizes that it is more than just "calories in calories out". Quality of food does matter folks. Take that however you want, if you want to lose weight by having your cake and eating it too, then all I ask is you add a glass of milk to it.

And if you know any teen girls PLEASE encourage they drink enough milk. As I'm now 20, the majority of my bone mass has formed. And unfortunately we don't really gain any more bone mass from here, we just lose it. As a teenager who didn't focus on getting enough calcium, I'm basically going to be spending the rest of my life maintaining whatever formed when I really knew nothing about the human body. (again, why I wish i never read that we don't need milk)

I'd write more but this has really gone on much too long. If you're going to get one thing from this: don't believe everything you read online. While I know I'm educated, it would be just as simple for someone who isn't to come, tell you all the wrong information and claim to be educated. The internet is full of terrible information, and while the truth is buried somewhere in there you have to believe that you will be misinformed on some things no matter HOW believable and reputable it sounds.

Just a side note for anyone who did not know this either, the term nutritionist has no educational requirements. ANYONE can call themselves a nutritionist. If every single person on this site wanted to call themselves a nutritionist, they could. A dietitian is a qualified source, and I would certainly recommended that THAT is who you speak with when you need nutritional advice.

Eat more fruits and veggies, choose whole grain over white bread more often, drink more water,eat less "junk" food and move more. We all know what it means to be healthy, its just a matter of doing it.