Dumb advice people have given you...

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Replies

  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    Most of our stores have the beer and wine on the perimeter.

    Shop the perimeter! :smile:

    Agreed!

    But to go back to the original advice: "shop the perimeter" is a great rule of thumb (with judgment applied) in the typical US supermarket, because the perimeter is where fresh food that requires refrigeration is usually kept, whereas (except for frozen foods), the middle is where shelf-stable food, often processed, is kept. Supermarkets elsewhere don't necessarily use the same layout. In one of the suburban French supermarkets where I used to shop, the fresh foods tended to be in the middle. In some of the Parisian and Oxfordian markets where I shopped, the store was so small that it seemed like everything was the perimeter!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    bwogilvie wrote: »
    Most of our stores have the beer and wine on the perimeter.

    Shop the perimeter! :smile:

    Agreed!

    But to go back to the original advice: "shop the perimeter" is a great rule of thumb (with judgment applied) in the typical US supermarket, because the perimeter is where fresh food that requires refrigeration is usually kept, whereas (except for frozen foods), the middle is where shelf-stable food, often processed, is kept. Supermarkets elsewhere don't necessarily use the same layout. In one of the suburban French supermarkets where I used to shop, the fresh foods tended to be in the middle. In some of the Parisian and Oxfordian markets where I shopped, the store was so small that it seemed like everything was the perimeter!

    Excellent point.
  • determined24girl
    determined24girl Posts: 382 Member
    "Life is too short, you shouldn't waste it counting calories."
    I don't know about you guys, but shame-eating a pizza doesn't really feel like living.

    I used to be that person! Now I'm just like.. wow I was stupid. I'm so much happier now that I count and have actually lost weight.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    edited February 2016
    "Life is too short, you shouldn't waste it counting calories."
    I don't know about you guys, but shame-eating a pizza doesn't really feel like living.



    I give into that one from time to time,even though I know better. It's probably why my weight yo-yos 10 pounds constantly... :|
  • ForeverSunshine09
    ForeverSunshine09 Posts: 966 Member
    Cynsonya wrote: »
    "You don't really have to be fat. You could wear Spanx and train your fat to compact itself."

    I win :|

    I wish that was the winner but, another person was advised to smoke while pregnant to negate most of the weight gain and to have a smaller baby making it easier to birth. That is by far the most horrible advice for a million reasons.
  • samanthachen
    samanthachen Posts: 360 Member
    ^That's true. I forgot about that one. Wow! Just... wow!
  • tracie_minus100
    tracie_minus100 Posts: 465 Member
    "You don't have to eat less. You just have to eat clean."
    "Just don't eat anything that has its own television commercial."
    Same person.
  • chunky_pinup
    chunky_pinup Posts: 758 Member
    Cynsonya wrote: »
    "You don't really have to be fat. You could wear Spanx and train your fat to compact itself."

    I win :|

    I wish that was the winner but, another person was advised to smoke while pregnant to negate most of the weight gain and to have a smaller baby making it easier to birth. That is by far the most horrible advice for a million reasons.


    Lol...yeah...that was pretty bad advice and I had enough brain cells not to take it. What's funny is the same person who told me to smoke gave me VERY similar advice to the spanx poster after birth. Apparently I just needed to waist train and my fat would magically disappear. Yeah. You can't pick your family, folks!! Lol.
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  • "don't eat bananas because they make you gain abdominal fat"... what. The physical therapist at my grandmother's senior center said this and I am so angry! Bananas also help with gout, she should be telling people TO eat bananas and other fruits, not stay away from them.
  • Mondoweft
    Mondoweft Posts: 49 Member
    That if I lost weight I would stop grinding my teeth (and the only way to do this is to eat an all green diet). I found treating my anxiety a more effective option.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    Duchy82 wrote: »
    Just cut down on the cakes and desserts, this was from a gp! I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism a few months later.......

    Needless to say I don't see that gp anymore

    I should also point out I wasn't eating dessert ever and cake only on special occasions at the time.

    Mine told me I must eat too much fried food. No, he never asked what I was eating. He just knew that fatties eat a lot of fried food.

    He's technically still my gp, but I haven't actually seen him in ages. The walk-in doc and the APRN at that practice are great, so I stay.

  • lizwrites1313
    lizwrites1313 Posts: 160 Member
    My favourite: "Apple's are full of sugar, why are you eating that if you're 'dieting'?"

    Does is count as cardio if I viciously beat you round the head with it?
  • positivepowers
    positivepowers Posts: 902 Member
    Another piece of crappy advice "Avoid fat - but low fat products".

    Nope - They tried that for a couple of decades in the UK and people still got fatter. Now the advice is "Fat's not so bad, but for heavens sake cut on back sugar" - I'll give it 10 years and there will be a new food group or type to demonize.

    The UK study was replicated by the Food and Brand lab and reported by Cornell University. They found that people consuming foods labelled "low fat" ended up miscalculating portion sizes and eating up to 50% more, leading to weight gain, not loss.

    http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/discoveries/low–fat-foods-can-make-you-fatter
  • positivepowers
    positivepowers Posts: 902 Member
    "You can have that - it's 'all natural!'"

    So is hemlock but I'm not going to drink it.
  • Kalici
    Kalici Posts: 685 Member
    "Don't lift weights. You'll end up huge like Madonna." Huge like Madonna... :|
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    atkins-cartoon.jpeg

    I've heard this one, in various forms, a few times.

    "Now that you've lost 40lbs, have your insulin resistance under control, improved your arthritis and autoimmune issues, and feel better, isn't it time you ate normal again?"

    Are you kidding me?

    My other favourites are:

    Eat 5-7 servings of whole grains per day.

    Calories are the only thing that matters because the type of foods you eat do not affect weight loss.

    Fat will make you fat.

    You need to eat carbs for energy.

    Trans fats should replace saturated fats.

    Saturated fats are bad for you.

    But what about fibre?

    Skipping meals will slow your metabolism.

    Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

    You need to eat every 2-3 hours.

    Avoid foods high in cholesterol.

  • lauracups
    lauracups Posts: 533 Member
    My mother told me with my first pregnancy "stop exercising! You're depriving the baby of oxygen! ". Wish I knew better at the time, put on 57 lbs :/
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    lauracups wrote: »
    My mother told me with my first pregnancy "stop exercising! You're depriving the baby of oxygen! ". Wish I knew better at the time, put on 57 lbs :/

    I was told that one too.
  • Lisa1971
    Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
    Don't do any weights at all. Cardio is the way to go if you want to lose weight. That was from my husband. Smh!
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  • Nanogg55
    Nanogg55 Posts: 275 Member
    Conversation I had in January with a doctor I saw for a back injury:

    Doctor: You should lose weight.
    Me: I've lost 50 lbs over the last 8 months.
    Doctor: OK but to lose more weight you shouldn't drink coffee with creamer in it.
    Me: I don't drink coffee with creamer. I drink unsweetened herbal tea.
    Doctor: Then don't eat dairy.
    Me: I love cheese and eat small amounts of it on a daily basis; doesn't seem to have hindered my weight loss.
    Doctor: No, avoid dairy and don't eat bread either. Carbs will make you gain weight!!!
    Me: Ahhh, OK. So concerning my back injury is it Ok that I put heat on it?
    Doctor: Hard boil an egg and roll it around on your back while it's still hot. (Seriously, she said this).
    Me: I have an electric heating pad; I think I'd prefer to use that.
    Doctor: Try the egg! Then you can eat it.
    Me: I think I'd prefer a referral to a back specialist.

    Yikes. Fortunately I escaped and she did refer me to another doc. Moving to Oregon and finding a new doctor has been an interesting experience.
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
    I know people who cut out huge amounts of high sodium foods due to high blood pressure and lost weight. Of course when you cut out any huge food group you lose weight, but they credit their weight loss to avoiding salt. Salt is calorie free and has no affect on CICO I've explained multiple times, which explains why they've gained all their weight back as soon as they discovered low sodium or no salt substitutes for these foods. They never learned portion or calorie control, but they still get really self-righteous when I check calories on labels but ignore the sodium.

    I also deal with juice detoxers, detox/weight loss tea and coffee sales women, friends who do Master Cleanse multiple times per year, Atkins devotees, and some who swear exercise makes you hungrier and you binge. I've gotten really good at smiling and nodding.
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
    "You're short, so you only have to eat 700-800 calories a day!"

    B!tch, I'm hungry and freakin' active so gimme that 1500-1700 and I'll still lose weight!
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    The list is too long, but here are the most repeated:

    - don't eat carbs
    - don't eat desserts
    - don't eat white foods
    - shop the perimeter of the store
    - can you eat that?

    I think shop the perimeter is GREAT advice.

    Here's what's at the perimeter (only foods touching outer walls of the building) of the store I most frequent:

    - flowers
    - bakery cakes and breads
    - name brand breads/crumpets/English muffins
    - gluten-free foods
    - milk
    - other dairy products (cheese, butter, margarine, yogurt)
    - salt meat, pickled eggs, blood sausages (black and white, oh the choices!)
    - frozen RTE meals, pizza, ice cream, frozen fruit, fish etc.
    - organic dog and cat food
    - ice
    - log bundles
    - ice melt products

    It's not a bad selection, but taking into account 5 of those listed aren't for human consumption and that it's a very narrow list of allowed foods, I'll stick with keeping the centre of the store on my shopping list.

    okay great. My market has the vegetables, fruits, the butcher, and dairy around the perimeter.

    This is the problem with rules of thumb! The perimeter of ours also has the ice cream and bakery, bacon (yea, this processed meat thing is killing me), sodas and flowers, in addition to the expected items. It would also miss the tomato sauce, olive oil, canned tuna, all pasta, and frozen veggies.

    I've never taken the "shop the perimeter" motto to mean you can't get what you need from the middle.
    Mine also has the cigarettes, I assume the motto doesn't include those either.

    Good point. I forgot the cigarettes! I know what you mean though and agree.

    Yep. And I'm in Las Vegas, so there's slot machines and booze in the perimeter of the local grocery, too. I'm on the whiskey, smokes, and pissing away the grocery money diet. Who's in?

    Seriously, yeah I like to focus on produce, fresh meats, grains, etc. Whole foods mostly, and a few convenient and indulgent treats for funzies.
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
    Had a physiotherapist tell me last week, after having told him I lost 50 lbs with MFP and lifting weights, that lifting weights won't help me lose weight. I should only do cardio
  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
    My boyfriend seriously suggested that I should eat the same food every day for a year. FOR A YEAR! He said I would lose more consistently if I always ate the same food within the same calories... Sure, I probably would, but I would also be gagging at the dinner table and hating my life.

    Also, my mom believes that if I work out too much I will get bulky. I'm not quite sure I'll ever reach that elite muscular type of physique......
  • SarahxApple
    SarahxApple Posts: 166 Member
    edited February 2016
    "don't eat bananas because they make you gain abdominal fat"... what. The physical therapist at my grandmother's senior center said this and I am so angry! Bananas also help with gout, she should be telling people TO eat bananas and other fruits, not stay away from them.

    That's always the advice in those terrible ads on pages about losing belly fat, the 5 foods you should avoid or whatever.
    lauracups wrote: »
    My mother told me with my first pregnancy "stop exercising! You're depriving the baby of oxygen! ". Wish I knew better at the time, put on 57 lbs :/

    Not weight related but my sisters MIL when she was pregnant with my niece 10/11years ago told her not to sit with her legs crossed as she was hurting the baby??????

    Weight loss related: one of my best friends, who models no weight issues, told our other best friend, overweight struggles to lose that she shouldn't have Muller Light Yoghurt for breakfast because of the sugar, she shouldn't eat carbs in the morning and fruit after 3pm - this comes from the girl who drinks Coca-Cola for breakfast. We love her very much but jeez she can be stupid.

  • LiftRunRepeat22
    LiftRunRepeat22 Posts: 25 Member
    edited February 2016
    I was told that a diet of protein, fruits, veggies and nuts, was really unhealthy