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Fitness and diet myths that just won't go away
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chris_in_cal wrote: »The truth boils down to what my Primary Care physician says.
Yet also "never listen to a doctor because they're all under the sway of Big Pharma".
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I've been eating an apple every day, haven't seen my doctor in years, feel great, I must be fine.4
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"Taking an anti inflammatory before working out will lessen soreness"
If you workout consistently, then this is something you especially shouldn't do because daily use of some NSAIDS can cause kidney and stomach issues.
Also, you're making the muscle work with exercise and inflamming it a little to do it, so an anti inflammatory can inhibit this.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I didn't go through all 36 pages but I hate the myth that eating only 1200 calories a day is healthy. The 1200 calorie number was created in 1918 and we've gathered so much information since then but it's what is continued to be taught to be the standard.2
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I didn't go through all 36 pages but I hate the myth that eating only 1200 calories a day is healthy. The 1200 calorie number was created in 1918 and we've gathered so much information since then but it's what is continued to be taught to be the standard.
On MFP, the 1200 calorie "goal" is just an amount that you aren't allowed to go under as a goal. Everyone's calorie needs are based on their size and activity level. Reasonable deficits will lead to losing fat. On MFP, there is no "standard" of 1200 being a healthy calorie goal. It's just the opposite - if you're a smaller person and tell MFP you want to lose two pounds a day during the guided set-up, even if that would generate a calorie intake of less than 1200, MFP will never assign a goal lower than that. Even more than that, the goal on MFP increases with activity. I lost weight on 1661 calories plus extra calories to feed my activities.
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"Spot reducing" such as doing crunches to reduce the size of your gut.2
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SuzySunshine99 wrote: »The ones that annoy me the most are "rules" that make no sense...
-Don't eat any ingredients that you can't pronounce.
-Only shop the perimeter of the grocery store, not the middle.
-Don't eat after 7pm.
-Don't eat white foods.
So much wrong...
I agree, these should not be rules! But as suggestions to help educate, I think they can be helpful. They are simplified, generalizations to be sure, and there are no absolutes. But I do think they are helpful signposts for those who have never paid attention to nutrition before.
Grocery stores are typically layed out with the fresh whole foods on the perimeter. The junk food is often in the middle. (So are canned beans, chicken broth, tuna and all the spices!) So for people who have been eating processed foods consistently, it can open up a whole new world.
I really struggle with the "don't eat after 7pm" suggestion. I know plenty of people who dine later in the evening but do just fine with their health and weight. But as I've aged (I'm 66) I find my body is happiest when it doesn't eat after 6:30 or so. I rarely make a healthy food choice at 8pm because my body is tired not hungry. So not snacking at night after 6:30 usually means avoiding poor choices for me. But honestly this was the toughest change for me to make. I did it when I started doing intermittent fasting. It was a game changer for me.
Anyhow, if you can look at these as suggestions for the uninitiated, they can be helpful. But I hate the one size fits all rule approach to just about anything!
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I dont think they are useful tips even as a suggestion.
Suggestions need to have some sense to them - if they aim is to eat less processed foods, say so - it is a simple enough instruction, it doesnt need 'simplifying' into a cryptic message about shopping perimeters
and the 'ingredients you cant pronounce' isnt a simplification of anything - it is just out and out nonsense.2 -
In addition, a person could do every one of these things faithfully for years:-Don't eat any ingredients that you can't pronounce.
-Only shop the perimeter of the grocery store, not the middle.
-Don't eat after 7pm.
-Don't eat white foods.
. . . and never lose an ounce, or even get adequate nutrition. They're indirect and tangential.
Many people hate "move more, eat less" (and I can understand why), but if someone does that (interpreting "less" in calorie terms) and keeps going, they'll at least eventually lose weight, maybe even get a little fitter. (They still could get sub-par nutrition, of course.)
On the eating side of it, I could make up glittering generalities that I think are more direct and specific, such as:
- Choose mostly foods that grow, vegetable or animal, and eat them in forms reasonably close to nature.
- Don't overdo sweet treats or fried/oily foods.
Maybe even pithier, Michael Pollan's famous "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
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To me, the first one, "Don't eat anything you can't pronounce. " is a challenge.
If you can't pronounce pomegranate, look it up. Then eat it, knowing all the nutrients you're getting. Same with artichoke, etc.2 -
And if I have a lisp and can't pronounce spinach,I shouldn't eat it??
And if I have a stroke or suchlike and can't pronounce anything,I should eat nothing?
Of all the diet advice I think ' don't eat anything you can't pronounce' is the silliest of the lot.2 -
I’m passable in 3 languages and studied tons of Greek and Latin in school. I can pronounce a LOT of things. That means I can eat whatever I want, right?
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Mouse_Potato wrote: »
Plus at my store the beer and wine are along the south perimeter wall, so that’s free too in my neighborhood!
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Since the ice cream truck is outside the grocery store, by definition it's even more perimeter than the perimeter stuff, so it's fair game, too, right?9
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If apple cider vinegar is that good for you, imagine what wine can do!
My latest peeve is everyone being on “detox” again. It must be an end-of-year thing.2 -
Just for some insight, people in Europe don't usually have dinner till well after 7pm. Many don't have the overweight/obesity issue like the US due to HOW MUCH they eat overall and of course being more physically active throughout the day (lots of Europeans bike or walk to the majorty of their destinations).SuzySunshine99 wrote: »The ones that annoy me the most are "rules" that make no sense...
-Don't eat any ingredients that you can't pronounce.
-Only shop the perimeter of the grocery store, not the middle.
-Don't eat after 7pm.
-Don't eat white foods.
So much wrong...
I agree, these should not be rules! But as suggestions to help educate, I think they can be helpful. They are simplified, generalizations to be sure, and there are no absolutes. But I do think they are helpful signposts for those who have never paid attention to nutrition before.
Grocery stores are typically layed out with the fresh whole foods on the perimeter. The junk food is often in the middle. (So are canned beans, chicken broth, tuna and all the spices!) So for people who have been eating processed foods consistently, it can open up a whole new world.
I really struggle with the "don't eat after 7pm" suggestion. I know plenty of people who dine later in the evening but do just fine with their health and weight. But as I've aged (I'm 66) I find my body is happiest when it doesn't eat after 6:30 or so. I rarely make a healthy food choice at 8pm because my body is tired not hungry. So not snacking at night after 6:30 usually means avoiding poor choices for me. But honestly this was the toughest change for me to make. I did it when I started doing intermittent fasting. It was a game changer for me.
Anyhow, if you can look at these as suggestions for the uninitiated, they can be helpful. But I hate the one size fits all rule approach to just about anything!
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I’m passable in 3 languages and studied tons of Greek and Latin in school. I can pronounce a LOT of things. That means I can eat whatever I want, right?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
0
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