"Lose" Weight or "Loose" Weight? The 5 WORST Weight Loss Myths
June 19, 2009
You see it all the time - the stats on dieting and weight loss: Each year, 45 million people spend $30 billion on dieting and weight loss products. With all these resources being devoted to weight loss, you would think that the general level of knowledge would be getting better all the time. Nope.
People don't even know how to spell it - even though they want it so bad that they can almost taste it.
Many times per day I see people writing that they want to "loose" weight, and I've even seen people typing "Biggest Looser" when referring to the TV show. With widespread confusion over how to properly spell "lose" weight, it's only natural that many insidious weight loss myths that only serve to confuse and frustrate millions of people continue to persist - and that some people and companies continue to shamelessly profit from promoting and selling products based on these myths. 40%20Fat%20Grams%20is%20the%20new%2030
I've put together a list of the 5 Worst Weight Loss Myths and some of them are things you might even hear from reputable experts. Here's the list with details to follow:
1. A Calorie is a Calorie (aka All Calories Are Created Equal)
2. Detox Diets Can Help You Lose Weight and Be Healthy
3. There is No Such Thing as a Bad Food
4. What You Put ON You Will Get Results
5. You Should Weigh Yourself Every Day
The detox one is right on IMO- I spent some time the other day convincing my friend she doesn't need to waste money on a detox juice- that her body is the best detoxer there is!
oh the detox thing kills me! My mom habitually goes on a detox kick once a year and eats only plain brown rice and steamed veggies with no seasonings for 1-2 weeks. She claims it gets rid of all the "bad stuff" in her body.
If you need daily weigh-ins for life, you're stuck in 1st grade of health school.
Feeling fit, capable, and comfortable in your own skin is the end result of a successful journey to health. A lifetime of daily weigh-ins shows an immaturity/lack of evolution of thought about health and weight that will make long-term progress difficult. Always looking over your shoulder in fear of the weight sneaking back up on you will prevent you from living.
Suppose you had a choice between two meals, each consisting of 500 calories. Those who believe this myth would have you believe that there is no difference in the response of the human body to 500 calories of table sugar as opposed to 500 calories of fruits, veggies, and lean proteins. You'd really have to be a simple-minded person to truly believe this. Intuitively, anyone with even a grade-school understanding of human biology knows this can't be true. But many people want a simple answer to life even when having one isn't appropriate or possible so this myth persists.
Although I like the article in general, more studies have shown that controlling calorie intake (no matter what you eat) is how you lose weight. Don't get me wrong, I eat the fruits, veggies, and lean proteins.... however... the concept that you can eat more of certain foods and lose weight is false.
I know, in this case the author is comparing 500 cals of sugar to 500 cals of real food. I've just seen way too many people pushing the concept of 'if you don't eat this very specific way' kinds of eating. I'm a firm believer that if you want to work in a little something that you miss, go for it. If you don't there's a good chance you'll find yourself gorging on it in the near future.
A lot of people (myself included) have success with higher protein, moderate fat, moderate (even low depending on who defines low) carb. However, there are plenty of cultures and individuals who maintain a healthy weight eating higher carb/fat combos and considerably lower protein. My mother eats more calories than me (primarily the extra comes from chocolate and candy) and maintains her ~120lb weight. She simply moves around enough to compensate for it.
ETA - oops, I meant to add that I have found in the past that daily weighing was a good exercise. It showed me how my body responded to alcohol (dehydrate - lower weight), weight lifting (sore muscles - higher weight), etc. I've gotten away from it lately, doing weekly weigh-ins, but I would never tell people that they shouldn't do it. Having said that there are a lot of people who can't handle the daily weight, and up/down will define how their day goes.
I disagree at least in part with three of those five points. The weighing every day one FOR SURE.
The "bad food" one and the "calories are different" points for similar reasons.
There are no bad foods. Being "bad" is a moral judgment that can't apply to food. There may be foods that are healthier than others, but if there is a food that you like and that you can work into your eating plan in moderation there is no need to pass a moral judgment on a food. If eating a small order of french fries every other week makes a person happy why shouldn't they do it?!
And the calories are different point is vastly oversimplified and non-specific. The "response of the human body" isn't what people are worried about, it's weight loss. A person couldn't live on 1200 calories of table sugar and feel very well. However, a person can't live on 1200 calories of carrots or 1200 calories of lean chicken or 1200 calories of apples, either. And saying that "Intuitively, anyone with even a grade-school understanding of human biology knows this can't be true" is a pretty ridiculous statement in a scientific-fallacy sort of way.
I ditto this! I think weighing yourself daily is fine.. especially if you're had a long, tough battle with your weight! It's a 'tool' to be used... and I see nothing wrong with daily weighing.
I must disagree with the "Weigh Yourself Every Day" one...clearly, the author has missed the studies from the National Weight Control Registry about people who successfully maintain weight weighing themselves regularly. It's one of the top habits successful maintainers have. So I have to say, that one doesn't seem right.
I also have to disagree with the idea that there are "bad" foods. When did we start putting moral judgments on foods??? There are foods that contribute very little nutritionally to our day. There are foods that are nutritional powerhouses. There are foods that fall somewhere in the middle. There are foods that make some people crave lots of other foods, there are foods that eliminate or reduce those cravings. Foods are ITEMS. They can have varied effects. But to call them "bad" puts a moral judgment on an inanimate object. Makes me batty. Plus, eating -one- of a "bad" food didn't ever hurt anyone (unless they choked on it). So when eaten once, a "bad" food is more a "neutral" food. I'd really like to see us abandon the whole discussion of "good" vs. "bad" foods and move away from value-laden words into words that express what the food does...ie "Good nutritional bargain" or "has a significant raising effect on blood sugar".
Feeling fit, capable, and comfortable in your own skin is the end result of a successful journey to health. A lifetime of daily weigh-ins shows an immaturity/lack of evolution of thought about health and weight that will make long-term progress difficult. Always looking over your shoulder in fear of the weight sneaking back up on you will prevent you from living.
I'm with Tyler. This is absolutely ridiculous.
It's all ridiculous. And horribly, horribly worded. Just awful But this line in particular has gotten to me the most: "Always looking over your shoulder in fear of the weight sneaking back up on you will prevent you from living."
I think many, many people think that they're cured, ease up and then quickly fall back into old habits and THAT'S when the weight starts to creep back on and before you know it, you've gained back all the weight plus more. Therefore I will ALWAYS be looking over my shoulder. ALWAYS.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 07-07-2009 at 12:25 PM.
I have to further expound on my "Bad" foods discussion. Now we get into the issue of...bad for WHO??
What is "bad" for a Type II Diabetic whose blood sugar is a big high might be lifesaving for a Type I Diabetic whose blood sugar is dangerously low.
What is "bad" for an adult may be good or recommended for a younger child (like whole milk)
What is "bad" for someone attempting to lose weight may be good or recommended as part of the therapy for someone with an eating disorder (Once, after I got really caught up in "good" vs "bad" foods, my therapist prescribed me a guilt-free cheeseburger and fries, to convince me that eating wasn't bad and wasn't going to hurt me. It was absolutely a "good" food for me at that time, because I needed the message that I could have one, enjoy it, and control my reaction with little impact on my weight).
I disagree with the weighing everyday simply because I DO weigh everyday but I avg my weights for the week. Which is why my ticker says 185 but the scale read 181 today. too many fluctuations. It would be BAD for someone that does not understand the biology of water weight, muscle weight and fat weight in response to diet and circumstances but just fine for an avid dieter and exerciser--especially somebody at goal and maintaining.
I also don't believe your body does NOT need help with detoxing. If that was true so many people would not have drastic improvements in diseases such as liver disease, and certain cancers. The colon is the place most often in need of detox. If we used our bodies the way they were designed--we would not need to detox. But a low fiber/ high sugar/ high protein diet causes a rancid colon. meat goes rancid in the gut because there is not enough fiber to push the excess material out. Candida growth goes unchecked because of the use of antibiotics and not replacing good intestinal flora with probiotics as well as the constant sugar feeding (yeast make YOU crave sugar) Your body builds up levels of pesticides, metals, and hormones that are contained in your food (that naturally wouldn't be there). Therefore your chemical signals can go haywire because of unnatural hormones competing for receptors of natural hormones.
A simple colon cleanse can remove years of built up gunk that is causing poor absorption of nutrients and a fast can give your body the break it needs to clean up cellular debris that is clogging other pathways. If you look at a person eating healthy and clean food compared to someone on a diet of coke, fast food, and cigarettes--there is a MAJOR difference in skin tone, wrinkles, eye brightness, etc. To name a few things.
I may be the only one and while I agree that our bodies do detox naturally and personally I feel that any time someone does start adopting a healthy lifestyle, they do go through a "detox" phase where they get all that sugar, caffeine, and whatever out of their body.
I remember when I did the master cleanse, that sucked and I quickly realized how bad it is for me. Now that part, I DO agree with. However, when I went out and purchased my juicer and produce and then juiced for 30 days I didn't starve, I went through a **** of a "detox" and came out of it lighter and without a handful of old habits like sugar addiction, caffeine, dairy (that was a big one for me, dairy hurts my body, lactose intolerant among other things). Did I gain all my weight back? No, I gained back 8 pounds because when you go from drinking juice to eating solid food your body makes an adjustment and you're carrying around solid foods.
I didn't and WON'T do enemas, but the juicer I bought left plenty of pulp left behind so I didn't have any problems in that department. I lost 30 pounds of weight, I came out of it and I struggled, but I continued to loose until now where I'm stuck, but I'm stuck for emotional reasons really.
A juice feast/fast is considered a detox/weight loss/cleansing diet, but if you're doing it right you're still getting your calories and you're not hungry, you're still getting your nutrients even if you use supplements yadda yadda. Some people would think that is crazy, but I don't eat meat, I don't eat dairy, and I want to merge comfortably into a raw food lifestyle. For me drinking my salads isn't that much of a leap. For other people it certainly would be.
I don't agree that all "detox diets" are a sham as I find that too generalizing for me personally. I do think that things like the Master Cleanse are a scam and should be avoided because you are only drinking spicy sugar water for 10-? days.
I do think you can take a day or two, meditate, drink smoothies or juice or tea and cleanse yourself inside and out. That to me isn't a sham, but it probably would be more of an emotional detox than anything hehe.
Last edited by Jacquie668; 07-07-2009 at 01:06 PM.
I am talking about a little more depth than what you get with fiber one. It takes a little more than that to get rid of years of junk. I like pp idea of the juice fast. Yes the juices have fiber that help your body get rid of gunk. So that is a good cleanse. Although I don't agree with things like the Hollywood Diet or such--they can have some benefits.
The 5 WORST Weight Loss Myths
