Don't always believe what you read on the internet............

Options
ninerbuff
ninerbuff Posts: 48,663 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Especially when it comes to weight loss. It's a billion dollar industry and many a company will purport having the best diet/product out there to help you attain it backing it by testimonials, "clinical" study and pseudoscience.
It's so easy to be enticed by promises of fast weight loss, trim waistlines, losses of 10lbs or more in a week (which is possible with just calorie deficit alone) and experiences from friends and relatives.
Use MFP to help you research information from lots of members who not only have great knowledge from actual research, but use those applications to weight loss themselves. Many have backgrounds in medical and scientific method, so they aren't just passing on information that's not unsupported by actual science.
Be wary of programs that are exorbitant in cost and method (restrictive) because while they may help achieve weight loss, it's usually not going to be a program that one can adhere to and that money you spent could have been used more efficiently.
Overall realize that weight loss is DIRECTLY dependent on sustaining a calorie deficit on a consistent basis and that ALL diet and weight loss programs have to apply it or they won't work.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
9285851.png
«134567

Replies

  • tracie_minus100
    tracie_minus100 Posts: 465 Member
    Options
    Agree 100%.
    And I wasn't successful with my weight loss (currently down 86lbs) until I accepted all that as true.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
    Options
    Overall realize that weight loss is DIRECTLY dependent on sustaining a calorie deficit on a consistent basis and that ALL diet and weight loss programs have to apply it or they won't work.

    I try to tell people this all the time and they just don't believe it's that simple or even true. Why even ask how I lost weight and then think I'm lying to you when I say "eating less than I burn"?!?!?
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Options
    While I agree with the subject line and most of your post, I think using MFP as a "resource" for knowledge is dangerous. There is a lot of nonsense on here. I'd suggest people take everything read on MFP with a grain of salt. It would be wise to verify everything through a reliable referenced source.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
    Options
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    While I agree with the subject line and most of your post, I think using MFP as a "resource" for knowledge is dangerous. There is a lot of nonsense on here. I'd suggest people take everything read on MFP with a grain of salt. It would be wise to verify everything through a reliable referenced source.

    I use MFP to understand the concepts but I always validate those concepts with additional research.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    Options
    Well I'm not listening to the OP as I read it on the interweb.

    So there.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    Options
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    While I agree with the subject line and most of your post, I think using MFP as a "resource" for knowledge is dangerous. There is a lot of nonsense on here. I'd suggest people take everything read on MFP with a grain of salt. It would be wise to verify everything through a reliable referenced source.

    Agree. There are a lot of people on here spreading bad information and spouting long-debunked myths as if they were fact. For anybody who's done a bit of research on nutrition and training (I mean actual 'research', not reading the fiction in health/fitness magazines and watching Dr. Oz), it doesn't take long to figure out who's worth listening to and who should be ignored entirely.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    Options
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    While I agree with the subject line and most of your post, I think using MFP as a "resource" for knowledge is dangerous. There is a lot of nonsense on here. I'd suggest people take everything read on MFP with a grain of salt. It would be wise to verify everything through a reliable referenced source.

    I would agree with this as well. We are fortunate to have some users who do research topics thoroughly and share information, however many things in diet, fitness, and nutrition come down to personal preference of one concept supported by science vs. another concept also supported by science.

    It's important to figure out what your goals are and what is feasible for your lifestyle, not just doing what someone else suggests because "science!" It doesn't matter how much science is behind a concept, if it's not something you can reasonably and consistently integrate into your life, it's not going to do you a lick of good.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    Options
    kgeyser wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    While I agree with the subject line and most of your post, I think using MFP as a "resource" for knowledge is dangerous. There is a lot of nonsense on here. I'd suggest people take everything read on MFP with a grain of salt. It would be wise to verify everything through a reliable referenced source.

    I would agree with this as well. We are fortunate to have some users who do research topics thoroughly and share information, however many things in diet, fitness, and nutrition come down to personal preference of one concept supported by science vs. another concept also supported by science.

    It's important to figure out what your goals are and what is feasible for your lifestyle, not just doing what someone else suggests because "science!" It doesn't matter how much science is behind a concept, if it's not something you can reasonably and consistently integrate into your life, it's not going to do you a lick of good.

    I agree with this.

    There is, quite rightly, a high focus on physiology. However what often seems to be forgotten is that there is a significant interplay between physiology and psychology and both usually need to be addressed to come up with a meaningful strategy.

    Behavioural change takes some finess.
  • prettysoul1908
    prettysoul1908 Posts: 200 Member
    Options
    It's a shame that the weight loss industry has succeeded in confusing almost everyone

    While I understood health... Weight loss was this evasive thing that I just happened to stumble upon sometimes. Reading articles on weight loss provided me with no concept of sustainable weight loss (and oftentimes these articles shunned the idea of counting calories as laborious).

    Coming to MFP has helped me gain clarity and realize... I don't need witches brew or some restrictive diet plan to lose the weight.

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Options
    kgeyser wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    While I agree with the subject line and most of your post, I think using MFP as a "resource" for knowledge is dangerous. There is a lot of nonsense on here. I'd suggest people take everything read on MFP with a grain of salt. It would be wise to verify everything through a reliable referenced source.

    I would agree with this as well. We are fortunate to have some users who do research topics thoroughly and share information, however many things in diet, fitness, and nutrition come down to personal preference of one concept supported by science vs. another concept also supported by science.

    It's important to figure out what your goals are and what is feasible for your lifestyle, not just doing what someone else suggests because "science!" It doesn't matter how much science is behind a concept, if it's not something you can reasonably and consistently integrate into your life, it's not going to do you a lick of good.
    Conversely, it doesn't matter how much you can reasonably and consistently integrate into your life, it's not going to do you a lick of good if the science doesn't support it. Doing something because you can manage to do it isn't enough.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    Options
    kgeyser wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    While I agree with the subject line and most of your post, I think using MFP as a "resource" for knowledge is dangerous. There is a lot of nonsense on here. I'd suggest people take everything read on MFP with a grain of salt. It would be wise to verify everything through a reliable referenced source.

    I would agree with this as well. We are fortunate to have some users who do research topics thoroughly and share information, however many things in diet, fitness, and nutrition come down to personal preference of one concept supported by science vs. another concept also supported by science.

    It's important to figure out what your goals are and what is feasible for your lifestyle, not just doing what someone else suggests because "science!" It doesn't matter how much science is behind a concept, if it's not something you can reasonably and consistently integrate into your life, it's not going to do you a lick of good.

    I'd generally agree with everything but the last (bolded) sentence.

    It absolutely matters how much science is behind a concept. Integrating concepts into your life that have no science behind them aren't going to do you a lick of good either.

  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    Options
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    Conversely, it doesn't matter how much you can reasonably and consistently integrate into your life, it's not going to do you a lick of good if the science doesn't support it. Doing something because you can manage to do it isn't enough.

    Good point. There's no right way to do a wrong thing.
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
    Options
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    Conversely, it doesn't matter how much you can reasonably and consistently integrate into your life, it's not going to do you a lick of good if the science doesn't support it. Doing something because you can manage to do it isn't enough.

    Good point. There's no right way to do a wrong thing.

    yjbmm.gif

    Seriously, though, that's a great way to put it.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    Options
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    Conversely, it doesn't matter how much you can reasonably and consistently integrate into your life, it's not going to do you a lick of good if the science doesn't support it. Doing something because you can manage to do it isn't enough.

    Good point. There's no right way to do a wrong thing.

    That's not entirely true. There's no science that supports stopping eating at a particular time, or eating meals at certain times, as directly impacting weight loss, i.e. your body does not shut down when you go to sleep or stop burning calories if you don't eat every few hours to keep your metabolism going, which are the typical supposedly science-based explanations for doing that.

    But both strategies can be helpful to an individual for dietary adherence, which can help keep a calorie deficit. So not directly supported by science, but not exactly wrong either. Wrong is pretty much in the eye of the beholder when it comes to weight loss and exercise. For some people, the learning process is more important than the scale number, so while you might find something to be a waste of time, someone else might gain a skill that will help them later on. There's no "right" way to go about this process.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    Options
    What people need to realize is that there are many people here on MFP who have years of experience in successful weight loss and maintenance. There are also many people here on MFP who have medical experience and expertise. There are people who have fitness training and expertise. all of these people are here and willing to share that information. When new people come along, and lurkers are reading along as well, of course there are people who give bad advice and bad information. But the people with the good information and advice are there too, and stepping forward to speak out.
    It's not that hard to look at advice and do a little research finding reputable websites to back up that advice. There are plenty of 'stickies' right here on MFP also that give out more information, and people sharing those links as well.
    But when naysayers jump in constantly saying things like "take everything with a grain of salt" and argue with every piece of advice given, it leaves those looking for information not knowing what to believe.
    There's good information here. It would be nice to allow people to take the information in and use it for themselves without constantly having someone try to argue about it, day in and day out, just for argument's sake.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    edited November 2015
    Options
    kgeyser wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    Conversely, it doesn't matter how much you can reasonably and consistently integrate into your life, it's not going to do you a lick of good if the science doesn't support it. Doing something because you can manage to do it isn't enough.

    Good point. There's no right way to do a wrong thing.

    That's not entirely true. There's no science that supports stopping eating at a particular time, or eating meals at certain times, as directly impacting weight loss, i.e. your body does not shut down when you go to sleep or stop burning calories if you don't eat every few hours to keep your metabolism going, which are the typical supposedly science-based explanations for doing that.

    But both strategies can be helpful to an individual for dietary adherence, which can help keep a calorie deficit. So not directly supported by science, but not exactly wrong either. Wrong is pretty much in the eye of the beholder when it comes to weight loss and exercise. For some people, the learning process is more important than the scale number, so while you might find something to be a waste of time, someone else might gain a skill that will help them later on. There's no "right" way to go about this process.

    Well....yeah. No duh (if I may be so blunt)

    The science in your example is behind the concept of a calorie deficit. Science isn't needed to 'bless' every method of achieving the calorie deficit...just the fact that one maintains the deficit.

    However, if one stops eating at a certain time of day (because one has bought into derp about metabolism shutting down) but doesn't maintain a deficit, it won't do them a lick of good.

    So using your example, the science is extremely important and pertinent.
  • mattyc772014
    mattyc772014 Posts: 3,543 Member
    Options
    Well said! To add I see many ads on Instagram for tea that will make you lose 10-20 lbs in 2 weeks. lol smh
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    Options
    kgeyser wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    Conversely, it doesn't matter how much you can reasonably and consistently integrate into your life, it's not going to do you a lick of good if the science doesn't support it. Doing something because you can manage to do it isn't enough.

    Good point. There's no right way to do a wrong thing.

    That's not entirely true. There's no science that supports stopping eating at a particular time, or eating meals at certain times, as directly impacting weight loss, i.e. your body does not shut down when you go to sleep or stop burning calories if you don't eat every few hours to keep your metabolism going, which are the typical supposedly science-based explanations for doing that.

    But both strategies can be helpful to an individual for dietary adherence, which can help keep a calorie deficit. So not directly supported by science, but not exactly wrong either. Wrong is pretty much in the eye of the beholder when it comes to weight loss and exercise. For some people, the learning process is more important than the scale number, so while you might find something to be a waste of time, someone else might gain a skill that will help them later on. There's no "right" way to go about this process.

    Your post might be accurate, but it certainly doesn't pertain to the statement, "There's no right way to do a wrong thing." Wrong things would be dietary modes like VLCD, or Juice cleanses, or detoxes.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited November 2015
    Options
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    kgeyser wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    While I agree with the subject line and most of your post, I think using MFP as a "resource" for knowledge is dangerous. There is a lot of nonsense on here. I'd suggest people take everything read on MFP with a grain of salt. It would be wise to verify everything through a reliable referenced source.

    I would agree with this as well. We are fortunate to have some users who do research topics thoroughly and share information, however many things in diet, fitness, and nutrition come down to personal preference of one concept supported by science vs. another concept also supported by science.

    It's important to figure out what your goals are and what is feasible for your lifestyle, not just doing what someone else suggests because "science!" It doesn't matter how much science is behind a concept, if it's not something you can reasonably and consistently integrate into your life, it's not going to do you a lick of good.
    Conversely, it doesn't matter how much you can reasonably and consistently integrate into your life, it's not going to do you a lick of good if the science doesn't support it. Doing something because you can manage to do it isn't enough.

    Yep. If I'm not losing it's easy enough to decide I must be eating the wrong combination of foods or at the wrong time or might be eating too little (starvation mode!), but none of that will help me lose weight. Nor will replacing one fad diet with another.

    I happen to believe that psychology is an important part of this, but that requires that people do some figuring out about what will work for them. The dieting myths don't help with that at all; I think they are counterproductive.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Options
    juggernaut1974 wrote: »
    kgeyser wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    While I agree with the subject line and most of your post, I think using MFP as a "resource" for knowledge is dangerous. There is a lot of nonsense on here. I'd suggest people take everything read on MFP with a grain of salt. It would be wise to verify everything through a reliable referenced source.

    I would agree with this as well. We are fortunate to have some users who do research topics thoroughly and share information, however many things in diet, fitness, and nutrition come down to personal preference of one concept supported by science vs. another concept also supported by science.

    It's important to figure out what your goals are and what is feasible for your lifestyle, not just doing what someone else suggests because "science!" It doesn't matter how much science is behind a concept, if it's not something you can reasonably and consistently integrate into your life, it's not going to do you a lick of good.

    I'd generally agree with everything but the last (bolded) sentence.

    It absolutely matters how much science is behind a concept. Integrating concepts into your life that have no science behind them aren't going to do you a lick of good either.

    That last sentence is not always true. There are a number of things that can do good that have not been studied or studied fully enough to say "this is good". Science can prove/suggest something is good, but it doesn't make it good.

Categories