Stupidest diet myths/tips you have ever heard.

It's one thing to say it weighs more BY VOLUME. But if it's not qualified with that statement it is flat wrong. Most people say it without including the 'by volume' part, which IS wrong.

IMHO, that statement is itself a myth.

1) When someone says "muscle weighs more than fat", the units are undefined. I don't know of any scientific or linguistic principle which implies that "muscle weighs more than fat" should be interpreted as "a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat." To the contrary, the "principle of charity" would suggest that we should interpret an undefined term in the way that we know the speaker intended it.

2) It would be preferable if people defined their units more often, but it's not actually grammatically required.

3) As an example, Google the joke "Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?" Now google "Which weighs more, feathers or bricks?" Ask yourself why the second joke never comes up.

4) Lastly, if undefined terms are really literally wrong, then it's incorrect to say that "a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat." You haven't defined whether you mean a force-pound or a mass-pound, or whether they are being weighed under the same conditions. If I choose to interpret the statement perversely rather than charitably, a pound of muscle can weigh less, more, or the same as a pound of fat.

ETA: If you wanted to argue that your statement is neither true nor false because it's undefined, I guess I could see that, but I don't see any basis to argue that it's "flat wrong."

Head is hurting from the muscles and fat...............

Back to the myths please! They are truly funny :laugh:

If you eat whilst standing up, you will harm your body and it will be harder to burn the calories.

You can't build muscle on a calorie deficit.. Really? I've been eating at a calorie deficit for most of this year and I can sure as sh** lift heavier weights.. I've also lost 18 pounds.

Totally agree with this... I've lost 117 lbs (on a 1200 calorie diet). I had almost no muscle tone when I started, and have MUCH larger and stronger muscles now... I get that it's probably because I had so little muscle to begin with, but some people CAN build muscle on a deficit!!

Nope, you can just actually see the muscle after losing the fat

Yeah i dont think you can build muscle at a dificit, although thats my opinion. Im simply thinking about it in this way: Muscle burns more calories than fat and therefore needs more calories to stay intact..? any opinions?

By that logic everyone would lose all their muscle before fat? I don't care what people think I know what I've experienced. I can lift weights that are twice what I could in January. I have been weight training. I can do squats and lunges until I'm bored (without weights - they're in some of my videos).. so IMO this is just false. I'm also a science major and I've taken various biochemistry courses.. very little is set in stone.. this probably has a lot to do with genetics and diet

I am currently on a cut, and I'm gaining strength but not building muscle. The strength gains are minimal, but they are still gains. Building new muscle tissue comes from:

1. Calorie surplus
2. Being morbidly obese and using fat stores as energy (calories) to build minimal tissue.
3. Beginner lifting (newbie gains) or returning to weight training after a long break. (Also minimal gains)
4. Steroids

Period.

^^ THIS... 100%

Of course your body can operate at a deficit and build muscle at the same time. You do need some fat to burn, but kids in Boot camp do it all the time, and they aren't morbidly obese. If you give your body an imperative to build muscle, It will burn fat to build muscle. The body is smart and adaptable.

I remember watching some PBS show about people pretending to be settlers from the 1800's, actually farming by hand and building cabins and stuff. This one guy was ordinary-American-plump-and-wimpy at the start of the show. By the end of the show (12 weeks?) he was RIPPED with muscle, skinny, and actually starting to worry about starving to death because he was a lousy farmer. But he sure built muscle in a deficit.

1. You cannot compare kids to an adult. Kids grow new tissue.

2. Once again, you don't know the details of what he ate, what he did as a wanna-be farmer, and his body stats. Also being ripped doesn't mean he built muscle. He might have had minimal gains but he burned the fat off his body so it appeared he had built alot of mass.

Please just stop.

Sigh. You are unable to process multiple examples of factual data that are contrary to your position. So I will stop, for you. *sadface*

Remembered on. It's a myth that drinking a gallon of cold water burns significant Calories. It burns about 8, but because of a math error, some people will estimate the burn at about 8,000.

You can't build muscle on a calorie deficit.. Really? I've been eating at a calorie deficit for most of this year and I can sure as sh** lift heavier weights.. I've also lost 18 pounds.

Totally agree with this... I've lost 117 lbs (on a 1200 calorie diet). I had almost no muscle tone when I started, and have MUCH larger and stronger muscles now... I get that it's probably because I had so little muscle to begin with, but some people CAN build muscle on a deficit!!

Nope, you can just actually see the muscle after losing the fat

Yeah i dont think you can build muscle at a dificit, although thats my opinion. Im simply thinking about it in this way: Muscle burns more calories than fat and therefore needs more calories to stay intact..? any opinions?

By that logic everyone would lose all their muscle before fat? I don't care what people think I know what I've experienced. I can lift weights that are twice what I could in January. I have been weight training. I can do squats and lunges until I'm bored (without weights - they're in some of my videos).. so IMO this is just false. I'm also a science major and I've taken various biochemistry courses.. very little is set in stone.. this probably has a lot to do with genetics and diet

I am currently on a cut, and I'm gaining strength but not building muscle. The strength gains are minimal, but they are still gains. Building new muscle tissue comes from:

1. Calorie surplus
2. Being morbidly obese and using fat stores as energy (calories) to build minimal tissue.
3. Beginner lifting (newbie gains) or returning to weight training after a long break. (Also minimal gains)
4. Steroids

Period.

^^ THIS... 100%

Of course your body can operate at a deficit and build muscle at the same time. You do need some fat to burn, but kids in Boot camp do it all the time, and they aren't morbidly obese. If you give your body an imperative to build muscle, It will burn fat to build muscle. The body is smart and adaptable.

I remember watching some PBS show about people pretending to be settlers from the 1800's, actually farming by hand and building cabins and stuff. This one guy was ordinary-American-plump-and-wimpy at the start of the show. By the end of the show (12 weeks?) he was RIPPED with muscle, skinny, and actually starting to worry about starving to death because he was a lousy farmer. But he sure built muscle in a deficit.

1. You cannot compare kids to an adult. Kids grow new tissue.

2. Once again, you don't know the details of what he ate, what he did as a wanna-be farmer, and his body stats. Also being ripped doesn't mean he built muscle. He might have had minimal gains but he burned the fat off his body so it appeared he had built alot of mass.

Please just stop.

Sigh. You are unable to process multiple examples of factual data that are contrary to your position. So I will stop, for you. *sadface*

A show on PBS about pretend settlers is factual data?

Sigh. You are unable to process multiple examples of factual data that are contrary to your position. So I will stop, for you. *sadface*

Sigh. You are using examples that don't actually disprove his point.

Being able to lift more doesn't mean you have gained muscle, it just means you're stronger.

Using someone being 'ripped' as proof they gained muscle is also incorrect. I am very overweight, but have a lot of muscle mass. If I lose a bunch of weight, chances are EXTREMELY high that I didn't gain much if any muscle, folks can just see it better.

And then there are the agreement that people new to lifting or who are very overweight can gain muscle in a deficit, just not as much as if they were in a surplus.

Sigh. You are unable to process multiple examples of factual data that are contrary to your position. So I will stop, for you. *sadface*

Sigh, you are unable to differentiate anecdotal claims based on a TV show from actual data. So please stop talking.

You know, that is a good point. So, how about my personal experience of gaining muscle and strength while losing weight? And the experiences of several others who have offered data in this thread?

You guys have a very limited view of how the body works. .It is a very adaptable machine. It's like you think muscle is some magic substance that you can only get by working out while overeating. By that logic, we should be unable to heal injuries while dieting.

Sigh. You are unable to process multiple examples of factual data that are contrary to your position. So I will stop, for you. *sadface*

Sigh, you are unable to differentiate anecdotal claims based on a TV show from actual data. So please stop talking.

You know, that is a good point. So, how about my personal experience of gaining muscle and strength while losing weight? And the experiences of several others who have offered data in this thread?

You guys have a very limited view of how the body works. .It is a very adaptable machine. It's like you think muscle is some magic substance that you can only get by working out while overeating. By that logic, we should be unable to heal injuries while dieting.

Hey biochemist, the plural of anecdote is not statistic.

You just made my day

Sigh. You are unable to process multiple examples of factual data that are contrary to your position. So I will stop, for you. *sadface*

Sigh, you are unable to differentiate anecdotal claims based on a TV show from actual data. So please stop talking.

You know, that is a good point. So, how about my personal experience of gaining muscle and strength while losing weight? And the experiences of several others who have offered data in this thread?

You guys have a very limited view of how the body works. .It is a very adaptable machine. It's like you think muscle is some magic substance that you can only get by working out while overeating. By that logic, we should be unable to heal injuries while dieting.

Hey biochemist, the plural of anecdote is not statistic.

Correct. But it only takes one contrary example to disprove a scientific hypothesis.

Hypothesis: You cannot gain muscle in a calorie deficit.

Data: I did. She did. So did all those people over there.

Hypothesis: Dis-proven.

You can't build muscle on a calorie deficit.. Really? I've been eating at a calorie deficit for most of this year and I can sure as sh** lift heavier weights.. I've also lost 18 pounds.

Totally agree with this... I've lost 117 lbs (on a 1200 calorie diet). I had almost no muscle tone when I started, and have MUCH larger and stronger muscles now... I get that it's probably because I had so little muscle to begin with, but some people CAN build muscle on a deficit!!

Nope, you can just actually see the muscle after losing the fat

Yeah i dont think you can build muscle at a dificit, although thats my opinion. Im simply thinking about it in this way: Muscle burns more calories than fat and therefore needs more calories to stay intact..? any opinions?

By that logic everyone would lose all their muscle before fat? I don't care what people think I know what I've experienced. I can lift weights that are twice what I could in January. I have been weight training. I can do squats and lunges until I'm bored (without weights - they're in some of my videos).. so IMO this is just false. I'm also a science major and I've taken various biochemistry courses.. very little is set in stone.. this probably has a lot to do with genetics and diet

I am currently on a cut, and I'm gaining strength but not building muscle. The strength gains are minimal, but they are still gains. Building new muscle tissue comes from:

1. Calorie surplus
2. Being morbidly obese and using fat stores as energy (calories) to build minimal tissue.
3. Beginner lifting (newbie gains) or returning to weight training after a long break. (Also minimal gains)
4. Steroids

Period.

^^ THIS... 100%

Of course your body can operate at a deficit and build muscle at the same time. You do need some fat to burn, but kids in Boot camp do it all the time, and they aren't morbidly obese. If you give your body an imperative to build muscle, It will burn fat to build muscle. The body is smart and adaptable.

I remember watching some PBS show about people pretending to be settlers from the 1800's, actually farming by hand and building cabins and stuff. This one guy was ordinary-American-plump-and-wimpy at the start of the show. By the end of the show (12 weeks?) he was RIPPED with muscle, skinny, and actually starting to worry about starving to death because he was a lousy farmer. But he sure built muscle in a deficit.

1. You cannot compare kids to an adult. Kids grow new tissue.

2. Once again, you don't know the details of what he ate, what he did as a wanna-be farmer, and his body stats. Also being ripped doesn't mean he built muscle. He might have had minimal gains but he burned the fat off his body so it appeared he had built alot of mass.

Please just stop.

Sigh. You are unable to process multiple examples of factual data that are contrary to your position. So I will stop, for you. *sadface*

A show on PBS about pretend settlers is factual data?

Also: this is somewhat true, muscle hypertrophy (size) will occur with strength training, as well as weight loss = a perfect combination! losing fat while increasing muscle size! its not that you are making the muscle more "dense" aka gaining muscle weight, its that you are breaking apart muscle fibers and rebuilding them slowly -> also, you are improving the nerves to your muscles (what scientists call motor neuron pathways) so the more you lift, the higher activation of these nerves that will help you to recruit more muscles to lift! basically your brain and muscles are getting together to recruit more muscle fibers to lift a heavier weight! its not only in muscle building, but nerve pathway activation. However, do note that since you are breaking apart all of the muscle you do need more protein in your diet to build the tissue back.

Another note -> don't discredit overweight peoples strength -> carrying that much weight on your body will build strength (i.e. who will be stronger between 2 - 150Ib people; person walking around with only their 150 Ibs. or the other person walking around with the 150Ibs plus their 50Ibs backpack)

Sigh. You are unable to process multiple examples of factual data that are contrary to your position. So I will stop, for you. *sadface*

Sigh, you are unable to differentiate anecdotal claims based on a TV show from actual data. So please stop talking.

You know, that is a good point. So, how about my personal experience of gaining muscle and strength while losing weight? And the experiences of several others who have offered data in this thread?

You guys have a very limited view of how the body works. .It is a very adaptable machine. It's like you think muscle is some magic substance that you can only get by working out while overeating. By that logic, we should be unable to heal injuries while dieting.

Hey biochemist, the plural of anecdote is not statistic.

Correct. But it only takes one contrary example to disprove a scientific hypothesis.

Hypothesis: You cannot gain muscle in a calorie deficit.

Data: I did. She did. So did all those people over there.

Hypothesis: Dis-proven.

Once again I'll spell it out for you so it's clear because you seem to be thoroughly confused.

Building new muscle tissue: (one, two, three, FOUR ways)

1. Steroids
2. Calorie Surplus
3. Morbidly obese humans (minimal gains)
4. New or returning weight trainers (minimal gains)

Sigh. You are unable to process multiple examples of factual data that are contrary to your position. So I will stop, for you. *sadface*

Sigh, you are unable to differentiate anecdotal claims based on a TV show from actual data. So please stop talking.

You know, that is a good point. So, how about my personal experience of gaining muscle and strength while losing weight? And the experiences of several others who have offered data in this thread?

You guys have a very limited view of how the body works. .It is a very adaptable machine. It's like you think muscle is some magic substance that you can only get by working out while overeating. By that logic, we should be unable to heal injuries while dieting.

Hey biochemist, the plural of anecdote is not statistic.

Correct. But it only takes one contrary example to disprove a scientific hypothesis.

Hypothesis: You cannot gain muscle in a calorie deficit.

Data: I did. She did. So did all those people over there.

Hypothesis: Dis-proven.

Once again I'll spell it out for you so it's clear because you seem to be thoroughly confused.

Building new muscle tissue: (one, two, three, FOUR ways)

1. Steroids
2. Calorie Surplus
3. Morbidly obese humans (minimal gains)
4. New or returning weight trainers (minimal gains)

There seem to be your restated opinions.

Prove it.

My favourite was a friend who while doing weightwatchers, if she went over her allocated points for the day, would then 'give up' on that day and eat loads more, saying she'd start again tomorrow. She also used to save points for the weekend so she could go out drinking. Net effect - at best no weight loss.

Another friend decided to only eat fruit (not sure why) then complained to me after about 3 days of a stomach ache (she got a stiff talking to - which obviously worked as she now eats right and runs marathons!)

I love psuedo science, which is why I have read many 'diet' books like the Atkins book - best comic work I have read in a long time :laugh:

Sigh. You are unable to process multiple examples of factual data that are contrary to your position. So I will stop, for you. *sadface*

Sigh, you are unable to differentiate anecdotal claims based on a TV show from actual data. So please stop talking.

You know, that is a good point. So, how about my personal experience of gaining muscle and strength while losing weight? And the experiences of several others who have offered data in this thread?

You guys have a very limited view of how the body works. .It is a very adaptable machine. It's like you think muscle is some magic substance that you can only get by working out while overeating. By that logic, we should be unable to heal injuries while dieting.

Hey biochemist, the plural of anecdote is not statistic.

Correct. But it only takes one contrary example to disprove a scientific hypothesis.

Hypothesis: You cannot gain muscle in a calorie deficit.

Data: I did. She did. So did all those people over there.

Hypothesis: Dis-proven.

Once again I'll spell it out for you so it's clear because you seem to be thoroughly confused.

Building new muscle tissue: (one, two, three, FOUR ways)

1. Steroids
2. Calorie Surplus
3. Morbidly obese humans (minimal gains)
4. New or returning weight trainers (minimal gains)

There seem to be your restated opinions.

Prove it.

She must have ate a calorie deficit.

Sigh. You are unable to process multiple examples of factual data that are contrary to your position. So I will stop, for you. *sadface*

Sigh, you are unable to differentiate anecdotal claims based on a TV show from actual data. So please stop talking.

You know, that is a good point. So, how about my personal experience of gaining muscle and strength while losing weight? And the experiences of several others who have offered data in this thread?

You guys have a very limited view of how the body works. .It is a very adaptable machine. It's like you think muscle is some magic substance that you can only get by working out while overeating. By that logic, we should be unable to heal injuries while dieting.

Hey biochemist, the plural of anecdote is not statistic.

Correct. But it only takes one contrary example to disprove a scientific hypothesis.

Hypothesis: You cannot gain muscle in a calorie deficit.

Data: I did. She did. So did all those people over there.

Hypothesis: Dis-proven.

Once again I'll spell it out for you so it's clear because you seem to be thoroughly confused.

Building new muscle tissue: (one, two, three, FOUR ways)

1. Steroids
2. Calorie Surplus
3. Morbidly obese humans (minimal gains)
4. New or returning weight trainers (minimal gains)

Be careful spelling things out, apparently that's a very punishable offense in these parts.