Ignorant statements
SayRah
Posts: 104
One of the many great things about losing weight is the knowledge I've gained about the human body and healthy nutrition. I took a nutrition/fitness class a few semesters back and I can honestly say it changed my life. I even considered becoming a nutrition major for a little while, because there is an extreme amount of ignorance out there when it comes to eating...it's really quite sad what some people believe, even though it's an old wive's tale, or something a friend told them, or just something they heard. It irritates me to no end.
I know it doesn't really harm me in anyway, but it does irritate me, but I guess I should take this in a positive manner, to think of all the things I have learned! For example, my roommate's reasoning for eating only once a day because 'eating less = losing weight' ....if I didn't know any better, I would see her reasoning, but that can seriously mess up your metabolism. Said roommate also doesn't believe in counting calories, "because the French don't and they're skinny." I know much better than that, and I think everyone should count calories, even if they just want to maintain weight. Calories are very important.
So, what ignorant things have you heard -- AND, much more importantly, why do you know it was ignorant?
I know it doesn't really harm me in anyway, but it does irritate me, but I guess I should take this in a positive manner, to think of all the things I have learned! For example, my roommate's reasoning for eating only once a day because 'eating less = losing weight' ....if I didn't know any better, I would see her reasoning, but that can seriously mess up your metabolism. Said roommate also doesn't believe in counting calories, "because the French don't and they're skinny." I know much better than that, and I think everyone should count calories, even if they just want to maintain weight. Calories are very important.
So, what ignorant things have you heard -- AND, much more importantly, why do you know it was ignorant?
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Replies
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I majored in sports medicine/ nutrition for almost 3 years and I hear dumb things all the time, even on these boards.0
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I wish that nutrition was a required course in junior high and high school.0
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I can eat whatever I want because I exercise and I have a high metabolism...You may not be gaining weight but not eating a balanced diet is not providing the essential nutrients your body needs to function optimally and could cause low energy, lack of sex drive, mood swings etc etc depending on what you're deficient in.0
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The Weight Watchers theory that you can have all the vegetables you want everyday above those 'points' they count. Are you kidding??? Vegetables have calories too. I know one person that can't figure out why she's not losing weight on WW when she eats a bag of corn as her "free" food.0
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"I think the reason I'm not losing weight is that I don't eat enough calories" . Um, trust me, if you weren't eating enough calories you would lose weight. Ask people with anorexia.0
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I wish that nutrition was a required course in junior high and high school.
Nutrition and health were required when I was in 5th grade, 8th grade, and high school. It just depends where you went to school I guess. And then obviously you can take optional nutrition classes in college which I think I'll do just for fun... geek!:laugh:0 -
One of the many great things about losing weight is the knowledge I've gained about the human body and healthy nutrition. I took a nutrition/fitness class a few semesters back and I can honestly say it changed my life. I even considered becoming a nutrition major for a little while, because there is an extreme amount of ignorance out there when it comes to eating...it's really quite sad what some people believe, even though it's an old wive's tale, or something a friend told them, or just something they heard. It irritates me to no end.
I know it doesn't really harm me in anyway, but it does irritate me, but I guess I should take this in a positive manner, to think of all the things I have learned! For example, my roommate's reasoning for eating only once a day because 'eating less = losing weight' ....if I didn't know any better, I would see her reasoning, but that can seriously mess up your metabolism. Said roommate also doesn't believe in counting calories, "because the French don't and they're skinny." I know much better than that, and I think everyone should count calories, even if they just want to maintain weight. Calories are very important.
So, what ignorant things have you heard -- AND, much more importantly, why do you know it was ignorant?
You should post some tips! I would love to hear even obvious info0 -
The Weight Watchers theory that you can have all the vegetables you want everyday above those 'points' they count. Are you kidding??? Vegetables have calories too. I know one person that can't figure out why she's not losing weight on WW when she eats a bag of corn as her "free" food.
Corn is not one of the "free" vegetables. Its only vegies with very low calories and in single serving amounts. They tell you to count them if you eat multiple servings. That is someone using the system incoreectly, not WW giving incorrect information.0 -
I wish that nutrition was a required course in junior high and high school.
I know, right?! I raised my children with basically good nutrition. Not great, but old school balanced meals (protein, carb & veggie each meal) with nuts, fruits or veggies as snacks. My daughter is a teenager right now. She's very athletic and slender. She's become a fairly picky eater. She thinks all food should come conveniently pre-packaged and boxed so she can eat at her whim. She buys candybars, mac n cheese, ramen noodle cups, etc. Drives me cra-Z! I can lecture 'till I'm blue in the face, but she thinks it's all hokey pokey BS and, I quote, "If I'm so unhealthy, then why am I the skinniest one in the house?" Seriously, she needs to learn it somewhere else because she sure won't listen to me. End of rant :smokin:0 -
The Weight Watchers theory that you can have all the vegetables you want everyday above those 'points' they count. Are you kidding??? Vegetables have calories too. I know one person that can't figure out why she's not losing weight on WW when she eats a bag of corn as her "free" food.
Good grief! That is a doozy! ha. I definitely hear a lot of silly things. Chain emails that say that cold water causes cancer or that fruit rots in your stomach if you eat it with other foods. I get these emails from otherwise intelligent adults who obviously have no clue how their own bodies work. I mean. . it's WATER. You're full of it. How does it cause cancer because it's cold!?!
Other things bother me as well. A lot of times, people are just lazy all around. They don't exercise, they don't take the time to eat properly, why the heck do I expect them to take the time to research and educate themselves on nutrition when they can just spout whatever they pick up from tv or erroneous websites?
Blarg. Sorry. This gets me worked up a bit.0 -
The women being able to bulk like a man.... gets me every time! Why? Women don't have the testosterone levels baha. Let's be honest
Or the fruit sugar. It's all innocent ignorance. I feel as though people should easily be able to be educated on these things, and I wish that it was required also.
People worry about their cholesterol, but they're cool with sat fats.... hmmmmmmmmmm? Sat fats raise cholesterol more than cholesterol itself
I love them to death though! So great that people ask!0 -
The Weight Watchers theory that you can have all the vegetables you want everyday above those 'points' they count. Are you kidding??? Vegetables have calories too. I know one person that can't figure out why she's not losing weight on WW when she eats a bag of corn as her "free" food.
Corn is not one of the "free" vegetables. Its only vegies with very low calories and in single serving amounts. They tell you to count them if you eat multiple servings. That is someone using the system incoreectly, not WW giving incorrect information.
Corn is not a vegetable - it's a grain! That's why 0 -
The Weight Watchers theory that you can have all the vegetables you want everyday above those 'points' they count. Are you kidding??? Vegetables have calories too. I know one person that can't figure out why she's not losing weight on WW when she eats a bag of corn as her "free" food.
Worse than the "free" veggies is the free fruit. Sure, you should be encouraged to eat fruit, but just three apples a day is 300 calories. I'm sure that I could eat my daily allottment in just fruit if I knew it was "free".
Hmm, ignorant statements. Other than telling people that they're building muscle after a week on a diet which is why they haven't lost weight "because muscle weighs more than fat", I'd say the one that bugged me the most was someone saying that walking isn't enough of a workout to lose weight. Sure you need more than that once you get going, but it's a great jumping off point.0 -
"Eating before bedtime makes you fat." Totally false. It's how many calories you consume and how many you burn overall that causes you to gain or lose weight, not what time of day you eat them.0
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i cant help but think that weight watchers was made for really stupid people who dont actually care to learn anything about nutrition or there health.The Weight Watchers theory that you can have all the vegetables you want everyday above those 'points' they count. Are you kidding??? Vegetables have calories too. I know one person that can't figure out why she's not losing weight on WW when she eats a bag of corn as her "free" food.
this site helps me track everything, not just "points" and i now know that i dont get enough calcium in my day...and to much sugar, **** like that is important to understand0 -
Nutrition and health were required when I was in 5th grade, 8th grade, and high school. It just depends where you went to school I guess. And then obviously you can take optional nutrition classes in college which I think I'll do just for fun... geek!:laugh:
I'm taking one in college now... best class i've ever taken!0 -
"The Weight Watchers theory that you can have all the vegetables you want everyday above those 'points' they count. Are you kidding??? Vegetables have calories too. I know one person that can't figure out why she's not losing weight on WW when she eats a bag of corn as her "free" food. "
Weight watchers does NOT encourage eating "all you want" , it encourages eating until satisfied, not to you feel full. Also any fruit/veggies more than a serving size then begins to get a point value. So your friend is eating points, just not logging it. She is not following the plan. Besides corn is not one of the "free" vegetables.
"i cant help but think that weight watchers was made for really stupid people who dont actually care to learn anything about nutrition or there health. "
I think that statement is a blanket, ignorant statement!0 -
"I think the reason I'm not losing weight is that I don't eat enough calories" . Um, trust me, if you weren't eating enough calories you would lose weight. Ask people with anorexia.
Sometimes you don't lose weight if you don't eat enough. Most people don't starve themselves the way anorexic people do. They might happen to eat just enough to be under their own personal threshhold. That person's body might be in starvation mode and not letting them lose weight, even if they are eating what most would consider an ok amount of food. Sometimes eating more helps you lose weight.
Anorexic people eat so few calories that it's obvious to anyone who sees what they eat that they need to eat more. A healthy person going into starvation mode might just be falling a couple hundred short of 1200 due to exercise or some other factor.0 -
It drives me crazy when people complain that they are always under their calorie goal but are not having the results they expected. All calories are NOT created equal. You only get out what you put in. Crap in= crap out!0
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It drives me crazy when people complain that they are always under their calorie goal but are not having the results they expected. All calories are NOT createdl calories. You only get out what you put in. Crap in= crap out!
There's a thread up right now about that exact thing. "are all calories equal" or something like that. Boooo.0 -
"I think the reason I'm not losing weight is that I don't eat enough calories" . Um, trust me, if you weren't eating enough calories you would lose weight. Ask people with anorexia.
Plenty of people stop losing if they arent eating, especially if they are using MFP- not eating enough slows your metabolism and throws all of MFP's estimates off. It's also a case of people not using the system correctly.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing0 -
One of the many great things about losing weight is the knowledge I've gained about the human body and healthy nutrition. I took a nutrition/fitness class a few semesters back and I can honestly say it changed my life. I even considered becoming a nutrition major for a little while, because there is an extreme amount of ignorance out there when it comes to eating...it's really quite sad what some people believe, even though it's an old wive's tale, or something a friend told them, or just something they heard. It irritates me to no end.
I know it doesn't really harm me in anyway, but it does irritate me, but I guess I should take this in a positive manner, to think of all the things I have learned! For example, my roommate's reasoning for eating only once a day because 'eating less = losing weight' ....if I didn't know any better, I would see her reasoning, but that can seriously mess up your metabolism. Said roommate also doesn't believe in counting calories, "because the French don't and they're skinny." I know much better than that, and I think everyone should count calories, even if they just want to maintain weight. Calories are very important.
So, what ignorant things have you heard -- AND, much more importantly, why do you know it was ignorant?
She may have a point: more research is pointing to the 24 hour period of intake and usage of calories. Also, the French are skinny because they walk more and eat way smaller portions. A scoop of ice cream in France is the size of a golf ball. I wouldn't call those statements completely ignorant.0 -
The Weight Watchers theory that you can have all the vegetables you want everyday above those 'points' they count. Are you kidding??? Vegetables have calories too. I know one person that can't figure out why she's not losing weight on WW when she eats a bag of corn as her "free" food.
When looking at the big picture, a person weighing 270 plus pounds didn't get there by eating too many veggies unless they were dipped in batter and fried. If a huge person snacks on carrots, celery, and things like that without any salad dressing or dressings of any type, I bet they would lose weight. How many veggies are we talking about anyway? I cannot imagine somebody eating one thousand calories of carrots in one night. Let's say a person weighs 320 pounds, takes in 1,800 calories worth of food throughout the day, and then goes on a carrot binge before bed, how many carrots would he have to eat before he gained weight? A person weighing 320 pounds needs approximately 3,100 calories just to maintain their current weight if they exercised three times a week, and WW encourages exercise. This guy would have to eat over 1,300 calories worth of carrots to start gaining weight. Is that even possible? This means this guy would have to eat nearly 12 cups of carrots. He'll most likely fall asleep before he can eat that many calories worth of carrots. He can end all his suffering with a trip to Carl's Jr.0 -
Corn ISNT a vegetable its a grain so a starch or Carb so many people think that its a veggie.0
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Muscle weighs more than fat. Drives me nuts haha. Or "do drinks count?" ( as in alcoholic) They have calories don't they?! A little common sense now and then would be great. Then again I know many people who are very smart in certain fields but have no common sense.0
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I love learning new things and that is one of the reasons I think MFP works well for me. I do read things here that I don't agree with however if there is something that backed up the information that would be helpful. I would look into it and change my opinion if it seemed warranted. There are a number of group thinks on here I don't agree with such as weighing daily is bad or chocolate is responsible for someone gaining weight. If you take away all the sugar and fat and eat purer dark chocolate it is good for you and has some metabolic characteristics that may be helpful to weight loss. I refuse to eat egg beaters to lose weight. However if weighing once a week, eating only egg whites and staying away from all chocolate works for you fine you are different than me and you may have different health issues from me. However I am not convinced yet just because I read it here everyday. I need to see evidence to change these opinions. When I read here about the weight loss benefits of green tea it made me wonder about white tea that I had read had even greater benefits for other health reasons so I looked into it and the studies are behind those for green tea but those that have been done are similar to the results for green and maybe even better. I do not expect anyone to believe me and they shouldn't. I do not have the time to check all the science of the studies anyway but some might look into it for themselves. I just want people to be successful. It causes me concern when I hear people feeling they should apologize for weighing daily. So I guess I am less upset with ignorant statements than that we all feel like we are responsible for our own health and we need to check out what we read, hear and decide what works for us. If we are not having success at our goals this site gives us alot of tools to find out why.0
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Wow, the irony is INCREDIBLY strong with this one."I think the reason I'm not losing weight is that I don't eat enough calories" . Um, trust me, if you weren't eating enough calories you would lose weight. Ask people with anorexia.0 -
I've heard some people say...My body uses everything I eat, so I don't poop.
I don't know whether that can be considered ignorant or just flat out lying.0 -
thats a good idea actually! that would be wonderful if it could help even just a few students eat healthier.I wish that nutrition was a required course in junior high and high school.0
This discussion has been closed.
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