Diet tips that don't work

I was more addressing the "muscle weighs more than fat" part, because that's untrue, a pound is a pound (like I said in the part you cut off), and the "IF you gain weight, it's JUST muscle" because that's untrue too. If you gain weight, it's not just muscle. It could be water retention, a small fluctuation, or a million things. This statement implies that I shouldn't ever worry if I gain weight while dieting because I'm just gaining muscle, although I could be gaining weight because of inaccurate measurements, bad logging, eating above my calorie goal, etc. Those all-or-nothing statements are just bad ideas.

A pound is irrelevant in the discussion of whether muscle weighs more than fat, since we don't know what weight we have of each. Obviously we are talking same volume since the discussion would be how one can gain weight while getting smaller. Volume is the issue. The fact that muscle is heavier (i.e. weighs more per volume) is the answer. Saying one pound of X weighs the same as one pound of Y is just stating the obvious without providign an answer.

It is possible to gain only muscle. That's how/why one's BF% decreases while their weight increases.

I have coworkers that believe they can eat whatever they want and lose weight without working out as long as they don't eat after 6 pm.

The total calories isnt important, it's whether you're eating healthy. This came from a person who gorges on healthy food and is still 20lbs overweight.
I've lost 50lbs and im skinny now, do what I did! (They were nowhere near thin, and the weightloss was 30lbs. That was awesome in itself, this person just saw a greater loss in the mirror, I suppose. Still didn't change the fact that no one we knew wanted to copy her)
Starvation mode. Kudos if you believe in it and going over 1200 works for you....it does jack for me.
You shouldn't let yourself go hungry. I only eat when my stomach growls, and I have more energy now.

Any tip about "boosting," "jump-starting," or "stoking" your metabolic fire. Blehhhhhhhh.

Don't eat past 8, the food just sits there.

...and don't eat carbs, 'cause carbs are bad. Mmm kay?

If you don't eat breakfast, everything you eat the rest of the day will turn directly into fat because your body is confused and has gone into starvation mode because it doesn't know if it will ever be fed again and has to preserve everything you give it.

Having sex burns like 300 calories.

My husband keeps trying to convince me sex is the best cardio exercise. Do you think he'll be offended if I wear my heart rate monitor and see how many calories I actually burn?

Haha! Depends what you do, I guess. He might take it as a challenge, and he might have to work very hard to prove his assumptions correct.

Um, I overheard something really stupid at the gym the other day, it went something like this: I eat really fast, I have a fast metabolism therefore. Those who eat slowly have slow metabolisms and tend to be fat.

WTF?!

That one really made me laugh. I've heard lots of crazy things, but that's a new one! Thanks. (and at a gym!)

The ones that don't work for me:

1. No processed foods.

Define processed, because every food is processed in some form.

2. Only shop from the edges of the grocery store.

Does that include the dumpsters? There's plenty of "horrible" foods on the edge of the grocery store.

3. Don't eat <insert food of the moment considered evil> (re: breads, pasta, rice, anything white)

I'm already limited on what I can eat with a sodium restriction. Most of the "evil" foods are pretty damn low sodium (I'm looking at you pasta and rice). My life is crap enough now that I can't eat beef jerky anymore, so don't even try to take away my potatoes.

4a. Eat slowly. Put down your fork/spoon after each bite.

I can eat a slow as anything and still be hungry. Taking an hour to eat a meal isn't going to make my hunger go away.

4b. Drink a big glass of water before you eat.

I don't know about yours, but my stomach can tell the difference between water and food.

^^^^ I love you

.

UGH...So hubby is trying to get healthy too. He works on a military base and has a buddy he's been working out with for a few weeks. He also has another buddy who is like apparently "Mr. Organic". I'm glad that he has motivation to workout and someone to workout with but the advice they are giving him is seriously pissing me off. Here are a few things they told him:

1. Don't eat so much meat. (see #2)
2. Eat a steak for dinner every night. (wait...what about ....NO just do it....)
3. Eat a piece of toast with jelly on it for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and vegetables in between - that's all you need, no more than that.
4. Stop eating so many "snacks". (Hubby's snacks so far have been something like 6 triscuit crackers, a piece of string cheese, and a cup of greek yogurt. They said "that's easily 500 calories, you're eating way too much")

He's been drained and exhausted EVERY DAY and comes home extremely hungry. :frown:

Oh and apparently Mr. Organic said he's going to give him a list to give to me of what he should be eating. I guess so I can pack his lunches and send him off to kindergart- I mean work. :huh:

Any tip about "boosting," "jump-starting," or "stoking" your metabolic fire. Blehhhhhhhh.

Don't eat past 8, the food just sits there.

...and don't eat carbs, 'cause carbs are bad. Mmm kay?

If you don't eat breakfast, everything you eat the rest of the day will turn directly into fat because your body is confused and has gone into starvation mode because it doesn't know if it will ever be fed again and has to preserve everything you give it.

Having sex burns like 300 calories. HA HA!!

My husband keeps trying to convince me sex is the best cardio exercise. Do you think he'll be offended if I wear my heart rate monitor and see how many calories I actually burn?

What I find funny is I've heard most of these before and some of them (negative calorie foods, muscle weighs more than fat) in my nutrition classes from professors who have a PhD in nutrition, on the road to get my Bachelors degree.

I hate when people recommend diets that aliminate (can't spell today sorry), diets that cut out food groups completely (atkins, paleo). I refuse to cut something out of my diet especially if I want it. If it fits in my macros why not.

Well, a cubic inch of muscle DOES weigh more than a cubic inch of fat.

And there ARE calorie negative foods - except that the calories you burn get accounted for in your NEAT figure when MFP or you figure out your base calories. So you need to account for the calories you're putting in when you eat.

http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/celery.asp