Wives tales you tell yourself about weight loss
 

My friend and I were talking about the little beliefs we've come to on our own, that may or may not be true, but we tell ourselves, about diet and weight loss. What are yours? Here are some of mine:

Easy on, easy off: If you gain a lot of weight in a short amount of time (like 6 pounds in a week), it's not "really" on there hard, so you should be able to take it off equally quickly. (I tell myself that--I'm not sure if it's true!)

The way you lose the weight is the way you're going to have to keep it off: If you lose it by doing the treadmill for an hour a day, you're going to have to keep doing the treadmill an hour a day to keep it off. Likewise, if you lost the weight by cutting out alcohol, or whatever.

Free food doesn't have any calories. Saw this one on a Cathy comic strip, and realized it hits a little close to home! (Likewise, calories posted vs. calories not!)

I definitely suffer from the easy on, easy off myth. the "easy on" part of the equation holds true for me, ha

it must be my period: I have blamed my time of the month for almost every stall out I've had with weight loss. no matter what time of month it may be, yikes.

Now I don't think this is an old wives tale. Not by a long shot.

I and many of the Maintaners here do exactly the same thing to keep the weight off as we did to LOSE the weight. I'm still monitoring my calories, still planning ahead, still cooking almost 99% of my food, still packing up my food and taking it with me, still keeping my home fully stocked with healthy foods, still keeping the junk out, still resisting 90% of all the food out there in the world, still have some definite NO's, still eat real "clean" for the most part, still weigh myself often, still exercise frequently, still, still, still.... If you don't still do what you did to lose the weight to keep it off, if you STOP doing these things - how DOES one keep it off? :dunno:

I've been keeping it off for almost 2 years now by STILL doing these things, if there's a better way, I wish someone would inform me. Until then, I'm still gonna stick with those new healthy habits that I've incorporated into my life. ;)

Now about that free food one, that one used to get me all the time. ALL THE TIME. :ink:

1. It is OK to try to lose weight by eating less alone, without exercise. After all, calories in vs. calories out is all that matters.

2. Since calories in vs. calories out is all that matters, it doesn't matter what those calories look like; 200 calories of French fries is equal to 200 calories of vegetables.

3. Since calories in vs. calories out is all that matters, breakfast really is not that important. I can eat most of my calories at night if I want to.

And, the free food one was a MAJOR problem for me. I had to ban free food entirely. No exceptions!

And Robin is right, my maintenance looks almost exactly like losing did. My plan hasn't changed at all other than adding back a few more calories. They are still the same type of calories that I lost with. And, like Robin, I've found that I actually prefer those vegetables to French fries (and cookies, and donuts and ...)

:D

I was so on my soap box about maintenance, that I forgot to add in any of my own thoughts on old wives tales. But CountingDown took care of that for me. :smug:

Oooh wait, a couple more -

-Eating strictly healthy foods will result in weight loss. FALSE. I can overdo healthy foods as well and therefore not create that all important calorie deficit. I need to monitor my calories or this won't work.

-Cutting back on my portions will result in weight loss. FALSE. I need to monitor my calories or this won't work. I will stay take in too many calories.

Robin - GOOD ones!

I thought food journaling was for OTHER people, people that were obsessed with weight loss. I could NEVER do something like that! Of course, in hindsight, I could never have lost 95 lbs WITHOUT doing exactly that!

Another one:

Now that I am "older", I probably can't lose the weight anyway. The window for losing weight successfully has passed. Once you hit menopause it is impossible to lose weight, after all! (So WRONG!!!!!!)

Oh, and another one!
Fats are the enemy. Eating fat will make you fat. (WRONG! I needed to eat more healthy fats. They are a very important part of my plan).

And
I can't lose weight. I've wrecked my metabolism with all the yo-yo dieting I've done over the years. (Again, WRONG! While as a formerly obese person, I may not have the ability to consume as many calories as a naturally thin person, my metabolism is alive and kicking and just FINE!)

And (a favorite)
If I was meant to be a normal weight, I wouldn't have so much trouble losing and keeping it off. After all, I don't eat any differently than thin people do. So, I must just be meant to be fat. (I was fat because I ate too many calories and abhorred exercise - plain and simple)

Ms Rockinrobin -- you are SO entitled to your soapbox, so stand and speak the WORD, sister!!!! AMEN!!!

Anyways, the weight loss "wives' tales" I told myself were:
1. Fat makes you fat.
2. Carbs make you fat.
3. Carbs make you thin (remember Susan Powter, anyone???).
4. I can eat this DQ Blizzard/Bloomin Onion/Medium Pizza/Bag of Doritos because I did 20 minutes on the treadmill today.
5. Fruit doesn't "count" because it is healthy.
6. This new PILL is EXERCISE IN A BOTTLE.
7. This new PILL will get the pounds off and keep them off.
8. Do what it takes to get the pounds off NOW then worry about a healthy diet to maintain.
9. Since studies show that chocolate is good for you, this 1 lb white chocolate bunny is OK to eat. All at once. Except for the eyes. The eyes are pure sugar and MUST be discarded. Immediately.
10. I read about this diet/study/pill and it is the KEY to solving my problem. Because regular diets don't work for me. I'm just that special and unique.

Sigh...good times...

Kira

It's funny, but all the old Wives tales my Grandma used to tell me about weight loss way back when, have done a complete 180 over the years and have now been proven to be true after all...:)

One thing I read on 3FC and various other weight loss forums that I kind of view as a wives tale now that I have lost a lot of weight without doing either is the drinking tons of water myth and the "you MUST exercise daily" myth. Drinking loads of water and massive exercise might make some people feel better, and I guess it's not *bad* for you...but I am living proof that you don't need quarts of daily water and hours of weekly exercise to lose weight and feel great.

Lori, I am the SAME way about water. I DO drink water, don't get me wrong. But I am pretty sure I am not drinking the recommended 8-10 glasses per day. I probably drink 3 or MAYBE 4 on a good day. The real truth is I detest water. I am not exactly sure why. Because everyone says it is the thing to do, I have tried to force it down my throat. I have sometimes gotten a little sick to my stomach whenever I try to force myself to drink it.

But I'm still losing, so I guess I'm okay.

I don't drink a lot of water either! I mean, I drink it, but I don't try to get in so many glasses. I also probably drink just a few glasses a day of water.

Okay... I REALLY want this to be true. I just quit smoking and put on 6 pounds last week!!!!!! Haha. I finally started counting again and went on an exhaustive bike ride yesterday, and I lost one right away. I hope you're on to something!!!!

eating 30 minutess within waking up, burns 300 calories.

Well let me elaborate on the drinking tons of water myth. When I was doing LA Weight loss I was starving. In fact that's how I lost most of the weight. The food was awful because I couldn't put barbeque sauce on the chicken, couldn't eat certain foods on certain days with other food, etc. Really crazy eating plan. I would be crazy really any food but I loved my sweets. I would buy foods that were forbidden and eat the whole thing. My fav to do was I would bake those cookies already cut out and eat as much until I was about to explode. I would feel like crap so I would drink a bunch of water to make feel better and I saw it as a way to help make it leave my body faster. Just so happens in a day or two I had to go and weigh in and I wouldn't gain any weight! So whenever I had a craving I would eat it and just drink water on top of water and I never showed a weight gain. Not saying that it worked but it's what happened.

Eating good all week means I can eat 4 slices of this pan pizza...and breadsticks. It' just one *cheat meal* and I'm allowed one of those! :lol: