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Fitness and diet myths that just won't go away
Replies
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I always have to start my day with lemon water to detox my body and getting my metabolism going6
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I feel like I'm just restating something that's been said, but maybe in a slightly different way (yeah, I read the whole thread, just didn't re-read it all again today), but:
The idea that there's some specific food(s), to which the person holding the belief is not literally allergic/sensitive to or the like, that is either magic for weight loss/health ("superfoods", loosely) or doom for weight loss ("bad food" "junk food" whatever).
This myth is the root of the issue in posts we see on MFP semi-regularly: "I broke down and ate fast-food fries" or "I ate a cookie" or "I drank a beer" alongside ". . . but I stayed within my calorie goal. Will this stop my weight loss?" On the flip side, the FAQ is "What are the foods I need to eat in order to lose weight?".
A pet peeve of mine is cases where trying to follow whack-a-doodle rules (that are meaningless for weight loss or nutrition) is actually distracting people from the key goals of (1) eating reasonable calories for weight management (whether counting them or not), and (2) getting decent overall well-rounded nutrition for health.
The pop-culture diet/weight loss industry has a lot to answer for, when it comes to creating this kind of counter-productive confusion.9 -
Yes Ann -- for sure, but you won't make much money trying to sell sane ideas that conform to the laws of thermodynamics.
Pass the lemon water.
Hey wait! If I squeeze a lime into a Tecate, does the lime counteract the beer calories? Of course! If I squeeze a lemon into that big bowl of melted butter I was going to dip something in, that makes the butter calories disappear. Oh. Wait! Lemon ice cream!
One that I don't like is "No pain, no gain." Of course that depends what is meant by "pain." Surely some things that cause discomfort in the moment can provide a physical benefit. But if it hurts, you're doing it wrong or you're doing it too intensely. I say, "No pain, no PAIN."3 -
The "no proper level of stress, no gain" phrase just didn't catch on for some reason.9
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meal timing, number of meals a day, having protein with every meal.........etc.
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
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You MUST exercise for a certain minimum amount of time before you start to "burn fat." After a certain amount of time, additional exercise is a waste because it no longer "burns fat."8
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Carbs are bad. Avoid fruit because it has sugar. False!
Protein and fats are more filling. Not true for everyone.
Drinking water affects weight loss. Not true.5 -
Does anyone remember the phrases "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" and "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels?" These were probably popularized around the time women smoked or even took prescription pills to stay thin.
I actually said these to myself at times, but it (unsurprisingly) never worked.9 -
Speakeasy76 wrote: »Does anyone remember the phrases "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" and "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels?" These were probably popularized around the time women smoked or even took prescription pills to stay thin.
I actually said these to myself at times, but it (unsurprisingly) never worked.
Oh God, my mom indoctrinated me with that line. Her ideas about weight loss (especially the idea that it's hopeless) is probably one of the reasons I was obese for so long, convinced that weight could only be gained, never lost.
My blood pressure spikes every time she says that line now, because I'm living proof it's nonsense.8 -
Speakeasy76 wrote: »Does anyone remember the phrases "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" and "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels?" These were probably popularized around the time women smoked or even took prescription pills to stay thin.
I actually said these to myself at times, but it (unsurprisingly) never worked.
Heard both roughly a zillion times. Leaving aside that both are puerile, I think the second is arguable false, if both are put in the same time box: I think there are things that taste better (for the 5-15 minutes it takes to eat them) than thin feels (for that same 5-15 minutes).
Trouble is, excess calories can't be time-boxed (in any safe way). Which I guess is the point of the first saying? 😉
Generally, though, if you ask me, any pithy slogan is false. 😆
"A woman can never be too thin or too rich." 🙄
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Speakeasy76 wrote: »Does anyone remember the phrases "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" and "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels?" These were probably popularized around the time women smoked or even took prescription pills to stay thin.
I actually said these to myself at times, but it (unsurprisingly) never worked.
Oh God, my mom indoctrinated me with that line. Her ideas about weight loss (especially the idea that it's hopeless) is probably one of the reasons I was obese for so long, convinced that weight could only be gained, never lost.
My blood pressure spikes every time she says that line now, because I'm living proof it's nonsense.
I'm very fortunate, I now realize, that my mom was never into dieting or struggled with her weight, outwardly at least. Even though I was a kind of chubby kid, for the most part she didn't ever make me feel bad about it, or tell me I couldn't have something that my thin brothers could. Sure, there were a few missteps that made me feel kinda bad at the time (like "You'd be so pretty if you only lost weight
), but I now know that was her trying to help me. My dad, however, was the one I felt more shame from about my weight and food choices. He was also the one who struggled with his weight more (athough no one would ever call him "fat"). 4 -
- Sugar is the most evilest chemical compound to EVER grace the Earth - you must cut OUT every bit of sugar from your life. It's evil evil evil.
- Carbs is almost as evil as sugar, so cut that *kitten* out too
- Protein is the savour of everything**
- Don't you even think about food after 7pm! I still don't get this one. Like a switch in your system that will now process any food consumed after 7pm into fat only. Because my body understands the concept of "time"....
- You can only have THREE meals a day, and CANNOT eat ANYTHING between meals. Except for fruit because they have ZERO calories. Yeah nah....
- My sister actually tried to convince me celery had negative calories. I tried to explain to her that is actually physically impossible but nope....
- My friend: "You can only lose weight on 1200 calories a day"
Me: "errrrr....I can lose weight on 1600 calories a day too, maybe not as quick if I was doing 1200..."
My friend: "No! 1200 is the MAXIMUM calorie intake. I read it on the internet from a person who managed to lose heaps of weight in like 6 months!"
Me: "😲 Please tell me you're kidding?! That's MINIMUM net calories, not maximum!"
** Like others have stated, MFP showed me how little protein I was consuming. When I balanced it out and increased my protein to the recommended daily intake, I found I could control my appetite far better. That was an eye-opener for me.12 -
The one that I like is the myth that salt is bad for you. I've even heard people insist that humans don't need salt, try telling that to those of us that live in the tropics. Salt is only a problem if you have high blood pressure, otherwise there is no point in restricting it, and studies show that too little salt is just as dangerous as too much. In Australia doctors have a real problem convincing people that they are dehydrated and need more salt in their diet.8
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Calories are *everything*.
(Yes, calorie balance absolutely is the foundation of weight management, whether one counts the calories or not. But some things calories *aren't* that I swear I've seen people argue on threads here that they are:
* The main or only reason to exercise.
* The only important, or always most important, thing about food choice.
* Calories are the center of the universe. OK, no one literally said that one, but jeesh.)
The exercises that burn the most calories (or that "boost your metabolism" for the future calorie burn, or higher EPOC, or whatever ) are the best exercises: That's a corollary to "Calories are everything."
ETA one corollary I forgot: The purpose of fitness trackers is to track calories.6 -
Calories are *everything*.
(Yes, calorie balance absolutely is the foundation of weight management, whether one counts the calories or not. But some things calories *aren't* that I swear I've seen people argue on threads here that they are:
* The main or only reason to exercise.
* The only important, or always most important, thing about food choice.
* Calories are the center of the universe. OK, no one literally said that one, but jeesh.)
The exercises that burn the most calories (or that "boost your metabolism" for the future calorie burn, or higher EPOC, or whatever ) are the best exercises: That's a corollary to "Calories are everything."
ETA one corollary I forgot: The purpose of fitness trackers is to track calories.
The bolded is actually hilarious because those are pretty much exactly me. I exercise so I can eat more, I eat mostly what I want...just within my calorie goal, and I only really care about my tdee from the fitness tracker.
But I try to remember other people care about being healthy and having tight abs and can intuitively eat.
6 -
Calories are *everything*.
(Yes, calorie balance absolutely is the foundation of weight management, whether one counts the calories or not. But some things calories *aren't* that I swear I've seen people argue on threads here that they are:
* The main or only reason to exercise.
* The only important, or always most important, thing about food choice.
* Calories are the center of the universe. OK, no one literally said that one, but jeesh.)
The exercises that burn the most calories (or that "boost your metabolism" for the future calorie burn, or higher EPOC, or whatever ) are the best exercises: That's a corollary to "Calories are everything."
ETA one corollary I forgot: The purpose of fitness trackers is to track calories.
The bolded is actually hilarious because those are pretty much exactly me. I exercise so I can eat more, I eat mostly what I want...just within my calorie goal, and I only really care about my tdee from the fitness tracker.
But I try to remember other people care about being healthy and having tight abs and can intuitively eat.
I can't even begin to intuitively eat: I intuitively get fat. 😆 (That was true even when I after I adopted a pretty aggressive exercise load: I stayed obese despite it. I mostly exercise for fun, and continued independence.)
My fitness tracker estimates all-day calories *extraordinarily* poorly for me, but I've long used various electronic & mechanical devices (even before fitness trackers were a thing) to get data about exercise performance. Now, even I use mine for exercise calorie estimates for exercises for which I don't have a better alternative, but that's more of a side benefit to me than the main point.
Don't get me wrong, I don't look down on people for using or liking trackers predominantly or only for calorie estimating, but sometimes there are discussions here that seem to imply that that that's the only thing they could *possibly* be good for, and if they can't be exactly exact at that, what possible use could they be at all? *That* seems bizarre, from my perspective as someone who sees them as potentially multi-function devices, including as potentially useful to others for things I don't really care about.
(I admit, they also have a lot of popularity here for step counts, too, but that tends to be about calories at root, too - upping the step count to burn more calories. But in some posts/threads, the implication's that devices' only point is calories, calories, calories.)
Y'know, the product category is actually called "fitness trackers", not "calorie trackers" - why do folks suppose that is?!?
If calories are what's important to a person about food or exercise, and that works for them, great. But I still think it's a myth that (generically) those are the only things that are important about exercise or food. Taste? Social connection? Nutrition? Energy level? Health? . . . etc.5 -
Hmmm, surely it's the memory going and it's already been mentioned but I forgot.
"If you want an accurate calorie burn for that workout you'll need to get a HRM, or if you can't trust the wrist version you'll need a chest strap for accuracy on that."
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Ara_the_halfelven wrote: »The one that I like is the myth that salt is bad for you. I've even heard people insist that humans don't need salt, try telling that to those of us that live in the tropics. Salt is only a problem if you have high blood pressure, otherwise there is no point in restricting it, and studies show that too little salt is just as dangerous as too much. In Australia doctors have a real problem convincing people that they are dehydrated and need more salt in their diet.
Even most hypertensive people can eat salt. Only a small portion of them are sensitive to dietary salt.1 -
Hmmm, surely it's the memory going and it's already been mentioned but I forgot.
"If you want an accurate calorie burn for that workout you'll need to get a HRM, or if you can't trust the wrist version you'll need a chest strap for accuracy on that."
Yeah, for many, heart rate monitors dramatically overestimate calorie burn.2 -
Muscle soreness (DOMS) is an indicator of how good a workout was. Not sore, no benefits.5
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Since this just popped up in another thread (again) - insulin is the boogyman and is evil!!!1
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Oh, here's one I've seen a few times: that if you experience amenhorrea due to intense exercise, you can go on birth control to "get your cycle back."1
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you have to be hungry all the time to any loose weight.
hunger and self denial establish success.
(insert eye roll)2 -
Muscle soreness (DOMS) is an indicator of how good a workout was. Not sore, no benefits.
Yeah, that drives me crazy. Some people treat extreme soreness after workouts like some badge of honor, but what they don't realize feeling like that after EVERY workout is most likely inhibiting their progress.3 -
Corollary to that myth: The amount of sweat is an indicator of the amount of calorie burn.
Further down the same thought path: Whatever it is, if it feels subjectively *really hard*, it burns more calories.2 -
Corollary to that myth: The amount of sweat is an indicator of the amount of calorie burn.
Further down the same thought path: Whatever it is, if it feels subjectively *really hard*, it burns more calories.
100%1 -
Drinking ice cold water will increase your metabolic rate.
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 2 -
Drinking ice cold water will increase your metabolic rate.
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
I have an aunt who is really into this. She also thinks drinking her Pepsi very cold will cancel out some of the calories. Whenever she sees me drink room temperature water (my preference), she'll remind me that I'm not taking advantage of the true power of water.
(Yes, she is overweight).4
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