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What commonly given MFP Forum advice do you personally disagree with?
Replies
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I don't think I need to answer to you ABOUT WHAT ADVICE I PERSONALLY DONT AGREE WITH - GO EAT A BOWL OF CARROTS OR A BOWL OF ICE CREAM - YOUR CHOICE.
Do you somehow imagine that the bowl of carrots vs. the bowl of ice cream comparison has something to do with the claim that a calorie is not a calorie? If so, how?
Anyway, I would not choose to eat a bowl of carrots, boring. I prefer many other raw veg (raw carrots are fine, but I'd put them on a salad, not eat them plain). Exception is that a carrot can be an okay way of eating baba ganoush, although celery is better.
Roasted carrots as part of dinner on a plate? Sure, maybe.
Bowl of ice cream? Sure, maybe, but clearly not as my main nutritional source for the day (I mean, it's about 200-300 cal). B&J is overrated, my current obsession is Jeni's.11 -
I don't think I need to answer to you ABOUT WHAT ADVICE I PERSONALLY DONT AGREE WITH - GO EAT A BOWL OF CARROTS OR A BOWL OF ICE CREAM - YOUR CHOICE.
I'm going to have a bowl of ice cream tonight since it's Wednesday. I had my usual coach's oats with almonds and blue berries this morning...a large garden salad with some leftover broccoli beef stir-fry for lunch...an apple and peanut butter for a snack later and a baked salmon and roasted asparagus this evening...I'm sure I'll be fine...a little bowl of ice cream doesn't magically make all of my other nutrition disappear.
You seem to not understand context.21 -
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Anyway, I would not choose to eat a bowl of carrots, boring. I prefer many other raw veg (raw carrots are fine, but I'd put them on a salad, not eat them plain).
Roasted carrots as part of dinner on a plate? Sure, maybe.
Nah. You have to be like me and eat raw carrots pretty much everyday and turn your nose up at cooked ones.
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i'll eat carrots if you give me some ranch dip or hummus4
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bobsanders1 wrote: »
I eat what i want on the weekends, no need for a diet brake, that's for the weak minded.
You're new here, tell us your story?11 -
bobsanders1 wrote: »
I eat what i want on the weekends, no need for a diet brake, that's for the weak minded.
How is eating what you want every weekend not a break?25 -
bobsanders1 wrote: »
I eat what i want on the weekends, no need for a diet brake, that's for the weak minded.
I eat what I want all the time. Sensible calories, good nutrition, and regular fun physical activity are among the things I want (plus scope for creativity, friends, intellectual stimulation, gustatory and other pleasures, and more). I'm in year 3 of maintenance at a healthy weight, after decades of obesity, if that matters.
I don't really understand considering people with different preferences or approaches "weak minded", though. Can you explain that?20 -
bobsanders1 wrote: »
I eat what i want on the weekends, no need for a diet brake, that's for the weak minded.
I highly recommend you educate yourself on the benefits of diet breaks. When you in a deficit for a long time and get to very lean levels (such as I do) they really make a huge difference.15 -
I highly recommend you educate yourself on the benefits of diet breaks. When you in a deficit for a long time and get to very lean levels (such as I do) they really make a huge difference.
Good advice. Here's a good place to start:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p17 -
bobsanders1 wrote: »
I eat what i want on the weekends, no need for a diet brake, that's for the weak minded.
Love this--a diet brake. It describes it so much better than diet break.
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nutmegoreo wrote: »
Have you met Bob?
Is Bob "Shouty guy"? I miss him, maybe someone will take his place. 4 -
maureenkhilde wrote: »
I can truly understand why to someone who is new to posting on the forum, that some replies or statements come across as very harsh or disbelieving. Some but not all of the seasoned posters come across pretty heavy handed, which can turn people off. Their answers still can be rock solid, but it is often how something may come across.
But some of the questions about certain diets or way to do things are asked over and over just by different people.
What I see the most is people who are not willing to consider other peoples ideas may have value.
This is totally what bugs me. I don't see bad advice specifically but there seem to be a few select individuals who seem to go through the boards looking for something to jump on and argue with. I come here to be encouraged and to encourage others if at all possible. I have gotten so much good from many on these boards and will be forever grateful to those who helped me attain my goals. I just want to pass it on where I can. Those who come across hard and heavy may possibly scare away the newbies who might have been helped. Having said all that I will say that I understand the longer you are on here the more frustrating it is to see the same silly ideas quoted so I do understand to a point why there are those that get frustrated.
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I took a 10 day diet break over Thanksgiving and after about 5 days I really had to push myself to continue to the end. At first it was nice to eat a bunch of extra calories but I got sick of it really quick. I am a routine-oriented person and after 10ish months of losing weight I prefer the lifestyle now. I eat maintenance (or near it) each Sunday so some of the mental aspects of the break were not as strong for me either.
In other words, it was not only *not* weak-minded, it actually required willpower to finish.9 -
I don't personally believe "anyone" can lose weight by counting their calories alone. That's my unpopular opinion.19
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Well, no. You also need to be in a deficit. I maintain around 1600 before exercise. If I eat 2,000, count them and log them, I won't lose weight.
But I've gone from
To
Counting calories and eating at a deficit.
30 -
chrisahubbard wrote: »I don't personally believe "anyone" can lose weight by counting their calories alone. That's my unpopular opinion.
Right. The forum is full of liars, myself included. Good luck with that belief. smh14 -
chrisahubbard wrote: »I don't personally believe "anyone" can lose weight by counting their calories alone. That's my unpopular opinion.
But many people do.
There seems to be an assumption that everyone who wants to lose weight eats a nutritionally poor or unsatisfying diet or will struggle with hunger or doesn't cook or I'm not sure -- what changes do you think EVERYONE needs to make?
I lost weight twice in my life, the first time I maintained for around 6 years and then gradually regained because I became less active (and then struggled with depression and overate some when I quit drinking). The second time was 4 years ago on MFP.
The first time I didn't count calories, but I wrote down what I was eating, quickly understood that I was eating more calories than I realized and why, and went through a process of learning what foods were higher cal and how to cook meals that didn't seem much different than what I'd been eating but in fact were much lower cal. At the time I had a job where I worked all the time and very late, and we commonly ordered in dinner (although food that wasn't especially non nutritious -- we weren't doing fast food burgers or what not), and that plus being sedentary led to a calorie imbalance. I decided to change my priorities and figure out a way to get active again and to cook, and did, but other than really learning to be a better cook (cooking before had always seemed like a difficult, time consuming process, since I had never really done it much), I didn't have to work on my diet or anything. What seemed normal to me to eat (basic dinner of meat, starch, vegetables; basic breakfast of omelet with veg or oats; lunch I'd take dinner leftovers or buy something that seemed reasonable and had sensible calories) was fine, and I was never hungry. Indeed, what surprised me from this experience was that I'd assumed dieting = deprivation and hunger and I never felt either way and never let anyone know I was trying to lose.
When I realized I'd gained a bunch and needed to lose again, having this past experience made me realize it wouldn't be so hard once I just decided to do it. By that point I knew there were sites like MFP and thought looking at the details of what I ate might be fun, so decided to try it. Once again a motivator for me to get in shape was training for some running and triathlon events and getting back into riding my bike (but that wasn't HOW I lost, it was why I wanted to lose, a motivator, as well as burning some cals). I didn't change my diet beyond again looking at how I was overeating and making small changes. I already ate quite healthfully, cooked most meals, etc., but had fallen into some bad habits and would often eat food just because it was there and I had had a bad or exhausting day at work (this is at work, not at home).
So if you asked me how I lost, I'd say from counting calories. Obviously, I did other things too -- I became mindful of how I was overeating and why -- but those things were things I did kind of naturally, they just felt obvious and expected. I would assume others would understand to do those kinds of things too, but what specifically they need to do is going to vary.
I certainly did not need to follow any specific kind of diet or cut out foods or whatever else people claim is needed besides calories counting. I needed to be aware and mindful of what I was eating and have a reason to stop it that I was conscious of, and calorie counting gave me that, initially.
I'd actually be interested in your response to this, @chrisahubbard10 -
cheryldumais wrote: »
This is totally what bugs me. I don't see bad advice specifically but there seem to be a few select individuals who seem to go through the boards looking for something to jump on and argue with. I come here to be encouraged and to encourage others if at all possible. I have gotten so much good from many on these boards and will be forever grateful to those who helped me attain my goals. I just want to pass it on where I can. Those who come across hard and heavy may possibly scare away the newbies who might have been helped. Having said all that I will say that I understand the longer you are on here the more frustrating it is to see the same silly ideas quoted so I do understand to a point why there are those that get frustrated.
I just have to say, @cheryldumais , I appreciate the kindness and graciousness you bring to these boards.
You're also a wonderful example of being open to learning and your continued success is a testimony to that. 8 -
chrisahubbard wrote: »I don't personally believe "anyone" can lose weight by counting their calories alone. That's my unpopular opinion.
I don't get the underlying assumption that people aren't smart enough to make wise choices to avoid hunger while counting calories nor do I get the underlying assumption that people don't already know anything about nutrition.
Granted, some may not, but they're not in the majority.
When I started on here, I was eating a whole foods vegetarian diet. I made choices about which foods to keep eating based on which delivered maximum nutrition for the least calories. I paid particular attention to meeting protein and fiber goals, because I realized those two things filled me up.
As I started losing weight and reading the boards, I realized I didn't need to be as strict with what I was eating as I had been because no one went around giving gold stars for eating extra servings of fruit and vegetables. And I was eating plenty. So I started having a little treat at the end of the day. Maybe a fun-sized candy bar. Maybe 2 cookies.
Counting calories taught me about balance in my approach to diet.
Focusing solely on "eating healthy" didn't solve anything for me. I reached my highest weight ever just focusing on eating healthy.12 -
chrisahubbard wrote: »I don't personally believe "anyone" can lose weight by counting their calories alone. That's my unpopular opinion.
Counting calories by itself, without making any adjustments to how many you're consuming, isn't going to do anything besides make you aware of how many you're eating. I'm not sure why you'd think this is an unpopular opinion?8 -
chrisahubbard wrote: »I don't personally believe "anyone" can lose weight by counting their calories alone. That's my unpopular opinion.
If the calories counted are greater than the calories burned, then you're right. You can't just count calories, a deficit is required.12 -
There seems to be an assumption that everyone who wants to lose weight eats a nutritionally poor or unsatisfying diet or will struggle with hunger or doesn't cook or I'm not sure -- what changes do you think EVERYONE needs to make?
I'm wondering if he meant to say "everyone" instead of "anyone"?1 -
chrisahubbard wrote: »I don't personally believe "anyone" can lose weight by counting their calories alone. That's my unpopular opinion.
You're absolutely right. I count my calories and I'm maintaining my weight because I'm eating as many calories as my body is using.
Just counting calories does nothing for weight loss.
Counting calories is simply a tool that some people use to reach a calorie deficit, which is what creates weight loss.6 -
You know I don't disagree with this. Weight loss, gain or maintenance is always CICO. Calorie counting is but one of many tools in the tool bag to facilitate the process. That said, not everyone has the straight up willpower to do it. Some need other tools like IF, Keto, Low fat to get in and maintain a deficit...chrisahubbard wrote: »I don't personally believe "anyone" can lose weight by counting their calories alone. That's my unpopular opinion.6 -
You know I don't disagree with this. Weight loss, gain or maintenance is always CICO. Calorie counting is but one of many tools in the tool bag to facilitate the process. That said, not everyone has the straight up willpower to do it. Some need other tools like IF, Keto, Low fat to get in and maintain a deficit...
Finally someone got what I was saying. Not everyone has the ability to lose weight by counting calories, logging, and continually maintaining a deficit.
Everyone else just took offense that they and many others have done it.14 -
chrisahubbard wrote: »
Finally someone got what I was saying. Not everyone has the ability to lose weight by counting calories, logging, and continually maintaining a deficit.
Everyone else just took offense that they and many others have done it.
But the weight loss still occurs because of the calorie deficit, whether a person counts calories or not. Eating plans like IF and keto are just different tools to accomplish that. I don't think I've ever seen anyone say you can't lose weight if you don't count calories.8 -
chrisahubbard wrote: »
Finally someone got what I was saying. Not everyone has the ability to lose weight by counting calories, logging, and continually maintaining a deficit.
Everyone else just took offense that they and many others have done it.
Unfortunately, your first post was incredibly vague and left much open to interpretation. I read it a couple of times and thought you could have meant that no one can lose by just counting calories, that some people can lose by just counting calories but some can't, that counting calories has to be accompanied by diet changes, that some people can't lose even if they are in a calorie deficit, and I could keep going.
I'm still not really sure what you meant.16
This discussion has been closed.
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