Top 10 MFP community falsehoods

Allow me to horn in on these questions.

Joshdann - so how do you measure your fat mass by 31 kg? I'd like to know pls.

Calipers are the most cost-effective way to measure; a hydrostatic test is more accurate, but a lot more money.

Also were you saying that it is possible that we cant really trust the calculators which could include the MFP calculator, and that it is possible to adjust the MFP calorie calculations by maybe 100 calories more or less than it recommends if what MFP calculates is showing results in weight loss or not?

The calculators for BMR, TDEE, exercise, and so on are similar to BMI - they're accurate across populations, but only an average for n=1 cases. They provide a good starting point, but they're not enscribed on stone tablets.

Let's say due to metabolic and other factors your TDEE is 10% off from the calculators, a caloric change of 200 - that's a difference of a half pound a week of weight changes.

Leave it to the engineer to come up with this stuff... (btw, I are one too). Good info.

Love it all, well said, except

Plateaus are not "just a part of weight loss", they are usually either a failure in diet and exercise plan adherence or failure to properly adjust one's diet and exercise plan. Blaming that plateau on something else, or even accepting it as normal, will only slow your progress.

Plateaus do happen, all of the guys in the Minnesota Starvation Experiments hit one in the final 4weeks of the starvation period, and could not be made to lose more weight even though it was tried and they were put on less and less calories.

The biggest falsehoods are "I'm experiencing X, therefore X is the truth for everyone" followed closely by "that doesn't apply to me, we are all different".

The balance is not in either statement.

Yes, plateaus are a phenomenon mostly generated by improper adherence and inconsistency in diet and/or exercise. But they are very much a real experience - people do see weight loss plateau and stop and the reasons vary. It seems that you make the assumption that one just "needs to stick to the plan" and everything will be resolved. Except this clearly ignores the simple fact the adherence (you have problems with "discipline"?) is a multi-faceted element that touches on emotional and physiological interactions. Why do binges occur? Why is adherence hard? Why do most diets fail?
"You have no discipline" is not only patently false but not helpful. Inconsistent discipline in most things is a fact of life as priorities change or get impacted by external influences - how well one adjusts to them matters.

Eat more to lose weight actually works for many people if it reduces cravings and increases adherence and provides sufficient energy to perform. Your rapid loss project is not the way everyone needs or wants to go. I'm quite comfortable at my very slow recomp as I eat food I enjoy. And that enjoyment is part of the lifestyle I want to life. I would not stick to it long term if I was eating 1200. Adherence and satisfaction can be key long term elements for many.

The same goes for people who swear that even for obese people, a specific number of lbs per week is the maximum "healthy" rate of loss. There is no science to support that exact number. There *is* science to support the limit of roughly 6% of your body's fat mass per week as an upper limit on the rate of fat loss.

Actually not true. There are a lot of possible complications due to rapid weight loss - from pituitary damage to gall stones. Nutritional needs are a lot harder to meet at larger cuts. When we see people on the boards complaining of hair loss or other medical issues due to hard cuts, it is incorrect to tell then there isn't medical reasons to increase calories.

As to the 6% number, that science is based on a weak interpretation of studies from the 50s. Would suggest you review the source of that one.

Another good example is the "your problem is that you are addicted to the scale" argument. Preposterous. There is nothing wrong with weighing yourself every 5 minutes if you want to. All data is good data.

Misses out on the psychological aspect of weighing oneself all the time. Obsessing over weight can result in adherence problems. That you don't doesn't mean others don't.

Your metabolism is not by default faster or slower than everyone else's. It just isn't. Your level of physical activity, your diet, your current state of and/or history of obesity, and your overall size and frame do affect your metabolism. But yours is going to be pretty much the same as someone else with the same background and stats. As with all things, there is some variation within those groups, but it's not a significant amount.

Metabolic variation exist and are significant. We are just beginning to understand this.
Suggested start ... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2581785/
Variations can be well above/below 20% estimated although LBM weight remains the largest indicator of change.

footnote - Adaptive Thermogenesis

AT itself is not a falsehood. I already have 10 of those on my list, but AT deserves a mention on this list because it *is* a real thing that gets manipulated and otherwise falsified quite often. People will see the effects of AT and call it something else. Or, they will think that they have done irreparable damage to their bodies because of the effects of AT. Adaptive Thermogenesis is, when simplified, a reduction in overall body temperature.

Already dealt with this in an entire thread - AT has a variety of other elements which you are chosing to ignore.

Overall you have some great info but I suggest temperance in that your experience or method might not suit everyone.

Cliffs?

Tl;dr I'm going to simplify this whole diet and fitness thing by writing an entire freaking essay that's got some truths but just about as many flaws.

^this

Excellent post - nicely done!

Also - can we have the references listed in the Harvard style, if you don't mind...

Interesting and though-provoking.

nice work

Fantastic post. There is a lot of good information here.

I hope that in some small way I can help push the group back in that direction and away from the "I know better than everyone, listen to me!!!" theme that we currently seem to have. And yes, I do recognize the irony in that statement, as I'm about to list out a bunch of things that I know to be correct in spite of the trends.

It's good that you see the irony because that was my very first thought...

I have far too many references to list.

That's too bad.

The keys to success are applying the knowledge you gain to your own plan, and adjusting based on your personal results.

Wait... I agree with this statement of yours, but it sounds completely contrary to your list of "falsehoods". What I've learned and done and what has worked for me in my weight loss is contrary to many of the "truths" on your list. I strongly agree with some of the statements you've made and strongly disagree with others. But to make 10 blanket statements, as if they apply to everyone, and then tell everyone to apply and adjust based on THEIR knowledge and THEIR personal results, is, yet again, pretty ironic.

Interesting read, though.

References please. :flowerforyou: