Silliest weight loss/fitness myth you've ever heard?

stevencloser wrote: »

bwogilvie wrote: »

Folks, instead of arguing about whether the statement that "muscle weighs more than fat" is obviously true or obviously false, how about we all just agree to say this:

"Muscle is denser than fat."

However, it is true to say that an ounce of silver weighs more than an ounce of lead!

Ah, but it is only necessarily denser under the same conditions, too! Muscle on earth would not be as dense as fat inside a black hole.

augustremulous wrote: »

I've gotta say, this thread has a whole lot of judgment in it.

I think as long as someone isn't doing something that's actually harmful, we should be supportive of the efforts they're making. They'll tinker around and figure it out eventually. Maybe it's useful in these situations not to tell someone else how to lose weight, but instead relate your own experiences of how you lost weight and what worked best for you.

Also, it's pretty normal for people to conflate weight loss with fitness and health, or group it all in together. I know the board mantra is that a calorie is a calorie, but I think in the big scheme of things, thinking about fitness and longevity and wellness will make it easier to reach your goals.

A lot of these so called myths are myths, but they might work if they're targeted to someone's individual weaknesses.

For example, I know objectively that white rice isn't a killer to weight loss. But why do I avoid white rice? - because when it comes to white rice I'm a bottomless insatiable pit. Maybe there is something psychological about it, maybe it's a callback to my childhood. I mean I literally have a physical, biological reaction when I smell white rice that can only be compared to some sort of food boner. For that reason, I avoid it. I don't think it's inherently bad, but avoiding it is personally beneficial to me.

A lot of people have the same experience with carbs in general (so many of the people I know who are doing "low carb" are actually doing regular carb.) Or gluten in general. Or meat. Or processed foods. Or whatever.

And by the way, it's true that gluten isn't evil. But it isn't a necessary nutrient, either. People aren't doing any harm to themselves by replacing gluten with oats or almond flour or quinoa or whatever. I for one have never had something gluten free that wasn't also delicious and equally or more healthy than the gluten version. A good friend of mine cut out gluten and lost a ton of weight - probably because gluten rich products were a source of calories for her.