Weight loss myths

I believe they are all correct

Only got through the first 7 and find most of them are off base!! Some are spot on, like the one on no fat or low fat, but she is definetly wrong about the calorie is a calorie. However we really don't need to get into another discussion on that.

Cheers :drinker:

In my eyes, eating real food in its most natural possible state is what is important. I do agree with not straying from fat (you need it to absorb vitamins... it acts as a spark plug in our bodies so that we can utilize the nutrients). I stopped drinking diet soft drinks and using artificial sweetener and swapped it with raw turbinado sugar and just keeping an eye on how much I use. That has made a huge difference. Not only that, but there really is no tried and true particular time of day to eat or how often. It's how your body feels. Obviously don't go eating a lot all day but if you have hypoglycemia like myself, you'll want to keep healthy snacks nearby to avoid getting shaky and irritable. You have to remember, it is a lifelong commitment, and not a spurt of health. And yes, moderation is key. One piece of delicious, rich, dark chocolate is not going to harm your diet for the rest of your life.

I think that too much science and thought is put into weight loss when it truly is not something you can make one rule that applies to everyone. There are too many variables and each person requires different nutrients. Not to mention, we are not given credit for knowing ourselves better than anyone else. You know what you need to do to start feeling better and losing weight. That's what is most important.

Like the article. Calorie from parsley and candy are different- thinking all minerals and nutrients. Quality of food might not be the key to weight loss on first glance- but on long run health- 100% agree with point about soy. Good article!

1. Slow and steady wins the race.

To become lean and healthy you need to slowly lose weight, right? Well, a few recent studies turned that theory on its head. One 18-month study that found folks who lost fat quickly kept it off better and weren’t as likely to rebound.

Getting results quickly keeps you motivated and stay the course. You can lose fat fast and safely combining lean, clean protein, healthy fats, loads of leafy and cruciferous veggies, and slow-release high-fiber starches.

This was based on one 18 month? How, if the study was so short, did they even look at people that lost it slowly? Mine has been lost over the course of almost 3 years. Doesn't that leave a huge portion of the population they are talking about completely out of the study.

2. Grazing all the time helps you lose weight.

Every time you eat, you raise your insulin levels. Snacking and mini-meals keep insulin levels elevated and the fat-burning doors locked.

Taking a food break between meals encourages your body to reach into those fat stores to burn what you’ve already got. Plus, be honest, you’re not snacking or mini-mealing on wild salmon or spinach. You’re reaching for the 100-calorie snack packs and low-calorie frozen entrees that are often loaded with sugar and empty carbs, leaving you hungry a few hours later.

I want you to space your meal four to six hours apart. Adding fiber, fat, and protein to your meals will help keep you full longer, as will having more water between meals.

I don't agree. Meal timing and numbers is purely personal preference (baring medical conditions).

3. Low-fat dairy keeps you lean.

Experts agree dietary fat isn’t the villain they once made it, yet you’d never know visiting your grocery store shelves filled with low-fat yogurt, fat-free ice cream, and skim milk. Most low-fat and fat-free dairy foods contain added sugar to make up for the horrendous taste. (I'm looking at you, fat-free fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt.)

A calorie deficit gets you lean and then an appropriate number of calories to maintain will keep you lean.

4. Everything in moderation.

This ridiculous cliché refuses to stop! Over time, moderation makes people overweight. It gives them license to eat things that they
 shouldn’t eat. Moderation creates a slippery slope, sets you up for cravings, creates or exacerbates food intolerances, and fails to account for the potential long-term damage certain foods can do.

Really? Moderation is a myth and creates and exacerbates food intolerances? It isn't a license to eat what we shouldn't because there's no food that is inherently bad. Moderation teaches portion control.

5. Soy is a health food.

Visit your local health food store and you’ll find a wide array of soy burgers, soy ice cream, and all sorts of other soy-based foods touted as healthy. Most soy is genetically modified (GMO), sprayed with pesticides, and spun in aluminum casks.

Soy has been linked to impaired thyroid function, reproductive disorders, cognitive decline, digestive problems, and lower sperm count. In evolutionary terms, it’s relatively new to our food supply, so many people respond to it as an allergen. Some “health” food, eh?

GMO hate... yeah.
Sprayed with pesticides... um, yeah
Every food on the planet can be 'linked' to a thousand different ailments. Correlation =/= causation
This was the dumbest one.

6. Agave is a healthy sweetener.

Most agave is simply fructose syrup with anywhere from 55% to 90% fructose. That actually makes agave higher — sometimes way higher — in fructose than high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Among its countless problems, excessive fructose creates insulin resistance, significantly raises triglycerides, contributes to non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease, raises blood pressure, elevates uric acid (leading to gout), and triggers gut problems.

It can be perfectly healthy as long as the rest of the diet is nutritious and it doesn't cause an excess of calories. There's nothing wrong with fructose.

7. A calorie is a calorie.

To see food merely as calories vastly under-simplifies it. Food is information, and different nutrients have different physiological effects and distinct roles within your body. Let’s say I give you 500 calories of wild-caught salmon and spinach or 500 calories of fettuccine Alfredo. Which do you think will satiate you and help you burn fat? Everyone’s going to put their bet on the salmon and spinach.

A calorie is a calorie where weight loss is concerned. From the example, neither the salmon/spinach nor the alfredo will help you burn fat.

In closing, this was a stupid article that only promoted myths, not debunk them.

Like the article. Calorie from parsley and candy are different- thinking all minerals and nutrients. Quality of food might not be the key to weight loss on first glance- but on long run health- 100% agree with point about soy. Good article!

The point is a calorie, a unit of energy is the same as a calorie, a unit of energy.

Pointing out vitamins and minerals still does not discredit that a calorie is a calorie.

Precisely. And no one who uses that line is saying "It's okay to eat nothing but candy corn all day because a calorie is a calorie". What they are saying is that it's okay to eat a serving or two of candy corn as long as it fits into your calorie budget and your macros.

I don't think I agree with this article at all. The sentiment behind it makes sense, but most of it just.. no.

No moderation? So that slice of cake I had last night is going to lead me to gain all my weight back?

I think the bit saying it's a "myth" that slow and steady wins the race is crazy! I completely disagree that losing weight quickly helps you keep it off! There is some truth in that because you've seen results it will probably motivate you to carry on but in order to lose weight quickly it normally means a drastic change to your diet and excercise regimes which is why, I believe, many people become unwell and very unhappy crash dieting because it's very difficult to maintain long term! I totally believe that making small steps towards portion control, and better quality composition of your food I.e more veg and less processed rubbish and trying to get more active is a lifestyle change as opposed to a diet. Because you've intruduced it slowly you're more likely to be able to keep it up and build on it to become a healthier and fitter person! Am I crazy?

It has never been proven that losing weight slower leads to a greater chance at maintaining loss. Never. It is a weight loss myth that "slow and steady wins the race".

Sounds good, but has no actual proof backing up the assertion. The overwhelming majority of people regain their weight, no matter how fast they lost it, whether they called it a "diet" or a "lifestyle change". Doesn't matter. The odds are abysmal across the board.