I think the author made a couple big mistakes in the fifth point.

Firstly, I think that "at some point, weight must becomes almost meaningless" is an overstatement. I thing a better point would be that "at some point, it becomes less about the "number" on the scale, and more about other health indicators. Which still is not to say that the scale becomes completely useless as a tool (which the the author does not claim).

I think the author makes an error in assuming that a person who weighs daily cannot be at a state where the weight (specific number) is not the only or primary focus. I would argue that it's a sixth myth (and one the author falls for) that weighing daily is "obsessive" and cannot be healthy.

Weighing daily has become like brushing my teeth. Just as brushing my teeth daily is not obsessive, neither is stepping on the scale - but the key is in how much emphasis and significance I place on the morning weigh in. If seeing a small gain on the scale "ruins my day," then I think that isn't a very mature attitude towards the scale. Especially if I know that the weight gain is due to, say for example, TOM - is it very mature to get depressed over a normal weight fluctuation?

I agree that letting weight control be your entire existence, is counter-productive. And it IS a common approach to weight loss, which is why I think it's often temporary. If weight loss or control becomes your entire existence, there's a good chance that you're going to wake up one day and want more to life, and abandon the "project."

That, I believe, was my biggest mistake every single time I tried to lose weight in the past. 35 years of making weight loss my life, until I couldn't stand it any more and wanted some life in my life, and would abandon the attempt. Incorporating weight loss/maintence into my life has become much more successful. That I think is the real point of Myth 5 - that it can't become only about the number on the scale. It has to be about a lot of other things, and in the scheme of things the number isn't the most important.

We all know people who are happy with a number, and very unhappy with any other number. If you're ecstatic with 130, and deeply depressed at 131, you're going to have a lot of unneccesary stress and drama in your life.

My problem with this philosophy of "the scale stays the same even if you blah blah" is that we do look at our bodies, how our clothes fit, what kind of exercise we are doing, etc. I mean to say the scale is misleading, well yeah it is, but it is a tool with a use that IS essential, but that depends on where you are in your journey. I mean I'm 280 pounds right now, knowing how much I weigh is important. Getting the fat off is equally, if not more, important. Yeah I want to tone and you know build up that lean muscle mass, but to me right now getting the fat off is key so right now I put more emphasis on cardio and am working in toning/weight whatever.

If I'm 140 pounds and I know that I want to tone more and build up my muscles then I'm using the scale differently as I did before. I'm assuming based on what I know about my body and what i know about lean muscle mass that the number blinking on the scale isn't the absolute key. It is a guide for me. If I find my clothes getting tighter and looking at my body I know it isn't muscle mass, well then the scale can confirm my suspicions.

I think someone who is loosing weight versus a person who is maintaining weight loss uses that scale differently. It is a tool and nothing more and nothing less, I think another member said that even.

I mean...I guess my point is that if you're fixating on a number and/or a pant size, then that is a different issue. For me my clothing size is important to me, but I really and honestly care about how my clothes fit so I have no problem getting a size bigger to get my huge hips to be comfortable. I just think there is more going on with people than just standing on a scale and focusing on a number and when we do obsess, and I do at times, then that is when you have to turn away from it and focus on you as a person. However, saying that, I'm still going to use a tool that I find useful in order to gauge where I'm at on my journey. Furthering that, I'll have a scale when I do reach my goal weight as I can weigh myself weekly to see where I'm at. I mean so what if I gain a pound or two? It will happen, my body will fluctuate, but if I'm nearing that 10 pound weight gain and I know that isn't muscle mass because I've been eating fatty foods or something, well that is a red alert and then I can evaluate what is going on and what I need to do to maintain. That is what I think anyhow...

If the number on the scale goes up or down, that is an indicator of something. It's up to me to figure out what that is.

I have never detoxed and have no plans to detox; however, I immediately picked up on the apparent contradiction in the article that said your body does not need help detoxing but then said if you eat healthily and don't jog near traffic, your body will detox just fine. Okay, and what if you haven't always eaten healthily and/or you do jog near traffic?

I disagree that it's a bad idea to weigh every day. I think for anyone who has struggled with their weight and who is trying to maintain, it could be a useful tool in making sure their weight doesn't creep back up on them.

As for all calories being equal, I agree that they are not. Anyone with insulin problems (diabetes, hypoglycemia, insulin resistance) has trouble with carbs, so in their case especially, it is not just a matter of calories in, calories out.

I think that if someone is working out hard enough to put on lean muscle mass, they know it. I do my usual cardio and have restarted some lifting, but I have no delusions that my steady gain as of late is due anything other than fat. And I don't think that I'm in the minority when it comes to people who are trying to maintain a weight loss. I think that in the long run, for the vast majority of people out there, the numbers on the scale are about fat loss/gain.