Whats the biggest weight loss myth you have ever heard?

[Longhorn 1]

Longhorn you are such the math teacher!!! Your graph is the first graph I have ever seen on these boards.

Too funny.

Actually, I saw another poster with a similar graph and the label said it was from one of the ticker sites but I couldn't find any way to create one there. So I remembered that another board had one that I could copy and paste.

I love how this one predicts when I'll reach goal (based on the average rate of change, I think.)

[Jessizzle 9]

"you can eat what ever you want! All you have to do is exercise and have proportion control!"

haha if it were that easy, i wouldnt be getting the sugery done

[babygrl1234 6]

This thread makes me wonder because so many doctors and scientists insist that there is more to weight loss than "calories in, calories out." They talk about how other things matter like intake of refined carbohydrate, various triggers of metabolism, etc. I certainly don't have any answers but I am reluctant to dismiss all of this learned commentary simply because "calories in, calories out" sort of makes sense to me as a lay person.

I also note that many people have an experience with weight loss that does not support "calories in, calories out." People on this thread have mentioned such experiences where they excercise a lot, control their diet, but do not lose weight.

Our good friend Jack on this forum just started a thread discussing his weight loss experience. He went months eating under 1400 calories a day with no weight loss, and then finally lost some weight. This does not seem consistent with the concept of "calories in, calories out."

I have no answers, of course. But the evidence I see before my eyes just does not fit with "calories in, calories out." Obviously calories make a difference. But are calories the whole answer? It just seems to me like there must be something more as well.

I personally do think it boils into calories in vs calories out but it works in a complicated way. Metabolism definitely plays a part also. For example let's say you eat 800 calories per day, and let's assume that this puts your body in a "starvation" situtation. This slows down your metabolism so as you are only burning 1 calorie per minute for a total of 1440 calories per day. That is a 640 calorie deficit. Now let's assume you eat twice as much for a total of 1600 calories per day. You body is getting all the caloires it needs and your metabolism is fuctioning optimally. Now you are burning 2 calories per hour for a total of 2880 calories for the day. That is a deficit of 1280 calories. You are actually burning more calories and you are eating twice as much.

Now I am certainly not a doctor or nutritionist or anything like that but this is the only way it makes sense to me that I lose more weight when I eat more calories.

[phowell 0]

I think metabolism is at the base of everything. I also think that eating throughout the day makes more sense than trying to starve yourself--kind of like a fire....keep it fueled and it will burn. It is a lot easier to keep it going than to stop and start it! I think that is why it is so important to eat Breakfast even if it is something small. A glass of milk or juice or anything like that. If you starve yourself for long enough and don't give yourself any food, obviously you will lose weight--but when you do eat your body will store it. As far as breakfast making you more hungry, it takes a little while for your body to adjust to it. I know that if I don't eat breakfast and then I eat lunch, I am VERY hungry by dinner. So kind of the same as being really hungry by lunch if I eat breakfast. Makes sense to me--no one has to agree:nervous

[InTheCityGirl 0]

Metobolism has to be key. I think I just don't understand it too much. The bodybugg everyone is raving about is really expensive so I don't know if I can get one. Do talk about metobolism with a nutritionist or your dr? Any good sites to educate yourself about this?

Love ya guys. Good stuff all the way around.

P.S. I would die to have some tool that could tell me my metabolism at any given part of the day to test what eating a small breakfast, or small portions all day long versus 3 squares, etc.

[InTheCityGirl 0]

Forgive the typos - too hard to edit after the fact with all the HTML, etc.

[babygrl1234 6]

Forgive the typos - too hard to edit after the fact with all the HTML, etc.

FYI if you copy your original post and paste it over the smileys it makes editing much easier =)

[Longhorn 1]

FYI if you copy your original post and paste it over the smileys it makes editing much easier =)

Actually, you can just go to "Advanced" when you're editing a post. If it adds any symbols that aren't supposed to be there, just delete them but many times, it works normally.

[babygrl1234 6]

Actually, you can just go to "Advanced" when you're editing a post. If it adds any symbols that aren't supposed to be there, just delete them but many times, it works normally.

You are very tricky, oh wise one.

Thanks for the tidbit of info! That certainly makes things easier.

[Longhorn 1]

You are very tricky, oh wise one.

Thanks for the tidbit of info! That certainly makes things easier.

I think the "copy-and-paste" idea is the tricky suggestion -- it never occurred to me and it's so easy!

[babygrl1234 6]

I would like to take credit for that but someone else posted it awhile back. I am just a follower lol.

[Pattypoo1 0]

The breathing diet??? You mean there's a diet out there that I haven't tried? I remember in college doing some diet (Scarsdale maybe?) where you had to eat fruit for 3 days, and then move on to something else. Well I didn't make it past day 3. I Passed out...

Calories in/out doesn't work for me. When I consume less than 600 cals/day I don't lose. Has to be 800-1200/day to lose for me.

So why does Atkins work for me??? It always did. My cholesterol dropped 40 points on it. I ate lean meats...not a lot of really greasy stuff as my stomach couldn't take it. But I ate constantly, many many calories and still lost. The minute I added a green salad, I stood still for days.

I think there are so many myths out there. That thing you put around your waist and hook up with batteries and it is supposed to burn calories for you! That's in the garbage.

Another myth, anyone try ZetaCaps!. The gastic bypass pill. After 2 days of Shi**ing my brains out, I read the label. SENNA. No wonder.

Then there was husband #2..."Why don't you just quit eating so damn much?" Gee, why didn't I think of that 30 years ago, I think you are on to something.

The only real truth out there for me is to divorce chocolate. (It worked for husband #2) If I get rid of everything chocolate out there life is good.

Anyway, the portion contol thing works well, hence the band for me. When I finally get some restriction, the portionn sizes will be controlled, and there you have it.

I think every fad diet is a myth. There's something to this thing called sensible eating and sensible Portion Control. Thank GOD the band will help me do that.

[make33 2]

I have just spent the better part of this morning (company time!) laughing out loud at this entire thread! You guys are just too hilarious!

My insurance company wanted to see what I had done over the years to try to lose weight myself--and I almost laughed out loud! So I comprised a list, which I provided to every doctor I saw also--the list began with pills and shots in the early 80's (I KNOW you can see my age!) but what you might not know is that the shots were from the urine of pregnant women!!! When I began losing my hair in clumps, the doctor's office said "Oh, we need to change your thyroid pill!" That was the END of that two-year effort (even though I went from 177 down to 121)!!

Here's some others I tried but haven't seen yet:

The Formu-3 Diet Centers (you buy their dry tasteless food),

Herbal-Life powder,

Redux (ended up with some $ from that class action lawsuit!),

Susan Powder (who I truly believed in--look at her, she was so thin!)

Hypnosis at our local Holiday Inn (with a gazillion other people in the room)

Now, I fully believe in what Longhorn says--after Thanksgiving I had actually gained two pounds and decided to start my food Log again (like I did for the six months prior to surgery for my nutritionist) and discovered that I am taking in between 600 - 750 calories a day (which includes my two Protein Shakes @ 100 calories each), am working out at Curves twice a week and the YMCA twice a week--and yet I am losing at a very slow (although consistent) pace!! Wouldn't you think a person with a normal metabolism would be losing weight like crazy??

Well, believe me I'm not complaining! Like Longhorn, I had very clear doubts about the Band actually working for ME--I had been eating all the right foods and I've been working out since 1983--so I really doubted the fact that it would do me any good...

Thank you, LapBand, thank you.........!

[Pattypoo1 0]

Oh yeah, I tried Redux also...

[sfeiner 2]

Well, here's one no one has mentioned. My sister had her teeth wired shut for months. Dentists were doing it if Dr's recomended it. I think it was about 30 years ago. She lost a lot of weight for awhile. I think she was drinking Optifast or something through a stwaw. Then she discovered that there were other things she could get through that straw. Like melted ice cream and shakes etc. She has dieted her way to about 400 pounds now.