What's the Craziest Diet Myth You've Heard?

Anything promoted by Dr. Oz.

An ex-coworker once told me (while eating a large McDonalds fries) that there is nothing wrong with fries, they are potatoes, and potatoes are a vegetable, and vegetables are good for you.

We tried to explain the whole concept of "deep fried" but it was beyond her comprehension... :noway:

So there you have it.... fries are a vegetable!.
Now who's coming to McD's with me? :laugh:

That's nothing, an ex co-worker once told me Fruit Pastilles were one of your five a day.

For the non Brits fruit Pastilles are sugar coated chewy sweets.

From mfp boards as well,

Your bones shrink as you lose weight to support your new body, so that's why you can have period between losing weight on the scales :L so you lose weight, then wait, then weigh :L

Annnnnd drinking cold water makes you pee, drinking warm water makes you poo

Eating too few calories will make you gain weight! That's not a myth! Don't you read the bottom of your log if you haven't eaten enough? If you eat too few calories you body goes into starvation mode and keeps everything. It doesn't think you are going to feed it again, therefore weight gain. Do the research, it's true.

I have done the research, and it isn't true.

I could cite you numerous studies with people on sub 1000 calories and they lose weight, and the lower the calories the more they lose. Yes there are sustainability issues as with most diet regimes. But fundamentally you can't gain weight by eating less than you are expending - where does the weight come from ? Mars ?

There is a metabolic slow down in response to losing weight, not least because you lose mass, and there may also be a slow down in response to calorie restriction (studies come out both for and against this).

But "starvation mode" is a myth if you extrapolate it to "body goes into starvation mode and keeps everything". Just sit down and think about that. What would be the purpose of the body "keeping everything" if it were capable of doing so ? If you need 1000 calories of energy to stay alive in "starvation mode" then those calories will be taken from food, body fat and ultimately muscle. When all the fat is gone you'll look like a concentration camp survivor or an Ethiopian famine refugee. There's no way the body can "keep everything" and it would in any case be self defeating. In a 3 day fast you would die were it to be the case, whereas in practice it takes about 70 days for a hunger striker to die.

Not really a myth, but a funny story nonetheless.

I used to work at the college cafeteria, and we had daily regulars come through. There was a pair of girls who would get a huge salad, drown it in ranch, cheese, and bacon bits, have 2 slices of bread with butter and full calorie soda with many refills. And afterwards, a huge soft serve cone on their way out.

One day, they asked me if we added anything to the lettuce to make it fattier. I said,"No, it's just plain lettuce." And they scoffed at me, and retorted, "Then why are we gaining weight eating nothing but salads?" I smiled, shrugged, and said, "Dunno."

I went back in the kitchen and we had a good laugh about it. Everyone knew who these girls were, we saw them practically everyday.

They were the same people that asked us if the eggs we made to order were real eggs.

drinking ice cold water after eating milk chocolate makes your body metabolise it too fast to store it.

I wish that were so!

Years ago when I was young and naive I was joining a gym and the "personal trainer" told me that it didn't matter if I ate chocolate and crap everyday before coming to the gym because I would burn those calories first. 0_0.

I think detoxes sound crazy at least the extreme ones i'm sorry i need to be able to control what and when things come out of my body and i heard some detoxes inhibit that ability.No thanks i'll pass

hcg