I am so ANGRY at B.S. DIETING ADVICE!!!!!
What is with this B.S. dieting advice that everyone is so quick to dole out?! I was reading Yahoo Answers diet and fitness and it is a load of bull! You get 13 year old girls writing in, "I am SSOOOO fat! I am like 130 pounds! How can I lose weight? What should I do?" and you get people answering with things like (real quote),
"300 push ups a day - 5 miles walk or jog - 100 sit ups --
large bowl of porridge in morning - one egg or a kipper for protein (have a tea with it - its not punishment you know )
have one apple before workout and one during
in afternoon have two apples or other type of fruit - thats it !!!!!!"
This is ridiculous!!!!! 5 miles? 300 push ups? 100 sit ups? KIPPER?!
No one will ever stick with this impossible and bizarre weight loss plan! Who is coming up with this smut? I've also heard other things like, "No hot dogs and no hamburgers. Don't eat the low calorie version either. If you do your body will adjust to it and want them more." WHAT?! That makes no sense! It's all wives tales!
How do we stop this? Are all these people dieting in the dark, living by the rules of "good" food and "bad" food? "You can't eat that under any circumstances it will make you fat"? This idea that you need to kill yourself with exercise every day in order to lose weight?
THIS IS INSANE!
That bizarre and irrational advice is exactly why I stopped asking random peers if they knew of a good way to lose weight.
I logically knew it was calories in vs. calories out, and had to build my own diet plan around that info. Because seriously, some people just have no clue what they are talking about.
You have no idea how many times people would suggest "going vegetarian" as a quick weight loss solution. I'd then inform them that I've been a vegetarian since 5th grade. They'd just stare blankly while their little boxed-in brains tried very hard to comprehend the new and disturbing concept of a chubby vegetarian.
HAHA! I sooo agree with this, I once read in a magazine (cant recall exactly which one) that eating food smothered in lemon would cut its calories in half. Its like society as a whole refuses to believe that losing weight is as simple as calories in/calories out.
...well what to do but keep hearing all the nonsensicle jibber jabber
I know right? It's just like all those crazy people who advocate eating more food to lose more weight! That doesn't make medical sense!
.....oh wait.
Why do you think the dieting industry is so prosperous?
I don't mean to sound ugly here, but I think that 1 out of every 3 people will fall for anything, at least temporarily. And dieting has that appeal that will make people go to no ends to prove how gullible they truly are.
OK, I will stop my attack on mankind.
Original Post by susyvr77:
HAHA! I sooo agree with this, I once read in a magazine (cant recall exactly which one) that eating food smothered in lemon would cut its calories in half. Its like society as a whole refuses to believe that losing weight is as simple as calories in/calories out.
...well what to do but keep hearing all the nonsensicle jibber jabber
... that would probably work because you'd be so disgusted at your soggy, lemon coated cheeseburger, you'd only get through half ;)
I totally agree. I am constantly dumbfounded by the fact that there are enough stupid people in the world to keep bizarre, ridiculous and dangerous weight loss companies and websites in business. People are really fooling themselves if they think there is an easy way! Sadly, we can't all eat everything in sight, never exercise and expect to remain healthy. What makes it even worse is all the celebrity endorsement. Beyonce and the lemon-water cleanse anyone? A lot of the stuff out there perpetuates the quick-fix mentality our societies are obsessed with, not to mention promotes unhealthy body image and eating disorders.
When people ask me how I lost so much weight, and I tell them it was counting calories and limiting portions of high calorie foods... and that's it, I get some very strange, disbelieving looks. Then when I tell them it took me 3 years, they just walk away. Nobody wants to hear reality or common sense where weight loss is concerned. I think they'd probably be interested if I lied and said I was doing a bizzarre diet and lost 50 pounds in a few weeks.
Original Post by tealparadise:
I know right? It's just like all those crazy people who advocate eating more food to lose more weight! That doesn't make medical sense!
.....oh wait.
You're funny! I get comments all the time as I polish off my huge plate of broccoli, my giant bowl of salad, and my teensy piece of meat - "You'll never lose if you eat all that!" Ok, then how come I'm 50 pounds lighter and they, gulping their strange pills and concoctions, are not losing? How come they are hungry and I am not?
OP-just wonderin' if your panties are in a bunch this morning?
teehee...panties in a bunch. Happens to me all the time
Original Post by yummy_kitty:
They'd just stare blankly while their little boxed-in brains tried very hard to comprehend the new and disturbing concept of a chubby vegetarian.
You can do some pretty unholy things with vegetables and dairy
tealpenguin: "Who is coming up with this smut?" hahahaha That's the best use of the word "smut" I've read in years!
People at work have been eagerly asking me what I'm doing to lose weight. Their faces drop when I start talking about calories and exercise. One woman said, "You mean you didn't have surgery?" with disbelief on her face. *sigh*
Our society is based on instant gratification. Einstein: "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when creating them."
Original Post by mad4moon:
.........One woman said, "You mean you didn't have surgery?" with disbelief on her face. *sigh*
Our society is based on instant gratification. ......
I get that all the time. As soon as they hear that I lost more then 200 pounds, the first question is 'When did you have your surgery?' I get this 'yeah, right' look from them as soon as I tell them I lost my weight through good choices, calorie counting, portion control, exercise, and the right mental attitude! No surgey. Even the new doctors I met with last year assumed it was through surgery!
What gets me are the people who keep seeking advice until they hear what they want to hear, whether the facts are correct or not. If someone is convinced that the way to lose weight is through a cleanse, then most of them will scoff at those of us who tell them to try losing the healthy way. They'll keep searching until they hear from someone who tells them that "yeah, I lost tons of weight by doing (insert quick-loss method)!"
How do we stop this? My guess is that as long as there's money to be made in the weight-loss industry, we're not! So we grin and bare it and try to set good examples for those around us.
How do we stop this? with information. Type up a paragraphed sized response and cut and paste it every time a 13 year old wants to lose weight, and include informative links. If no one else is responding with anything other than 'eat only fruit! 4,502 pushups!" they honestly may not know what else is out there.
For all the information, wikipedia entries, great websites, helpful people and forums and everything else available on the web, there are still a ton of stupid people out there.
There's a lot of people putting misinformation out there, and a lot of the so called nutrition "experts" doing the same thing. Just because someone wrote a book and got it published, it doesn't mean what they wrote is good advice, or even true.
There are certain threads and forums that I have simply learned to avoid. I did a lot of research on my own to come up with my healthy plan, and it wasn't easy based on the huge amount of things that get published. As for ridiculous advice I find in forums, a smart person knows to consider the source. I feel very sorry for the people who are mislead by these crazy ideas, but the only person who can save them is themselves.
Look for forums and online groups that have an emphasis on healthy plans, and look for ones who have more sensible adult members that teens. (nothing against teens, there are some very sensible teens out there, but it's my experience that groups that have a good portion of adults also have the sensible teens too!) Bottom line is, don't be afraid to post something more sensible when you see foolish things posted. Don't be too lazy to do your own research and check your facts, and look for sensible groups and forums to join.
first of all... if you go on yahoo answers you should be smart enough to know that 90% of the people that post on those sites are BSing and are trying to be funny. If you go to the website believing any of that or thinking you're gonna be given good information than you really need help. Even this site is just a bunch of people giving their opinions (just like me). If you want to know the truth talk to someone who is trained in a field like a doctor, trainer, or nutritionist...
i agree with rgupta. i go to yahoo answers all the time and i think the diet and fitness section is probably one of the most wasteful sections. you can actually get some interesting answers on other sections, but the diet and fitness section is full of whackjobs (the politics section too).
Original Post by spirochete:
Original Post by yummy_kitty:
They'd just stare blankly while their little boxed-in brains tried very hard to comprehend the new and disturbing concept of a chubby vegetarian.
You can do some pretty unholy things with vegetables and dairy
Oh hell yeah you can. Wonderfully, deliciously, unholy things...
*drools*
Original Post by susyvr77:
HAHA! I sooo agree with this, I once read in a magazine (cant recall exactly which one) that eating food smothered in lemon would cut its calories in half. Its like society as a whole refuses to believe that losing weight is as simple as calories in/calories out.
...well what to do but keep hearing all the nonsensicle jibber jabber
That's because everyone always wants an easy fix..a lot of people don't actually want to limit their calories, watch what they eat and sometimes..actually put the fork down.
They don't want to hear that they have to..they want to hear that they can sip ice water between pizza and burgers and lose weight, or that they can drink green tea and magically burn off their excess fat in their sleep.
I like Oprah, but she pushes all those pills and plans and products..she's not helping to promote the simple truth of calories in/out.
Original Post by clairelaine:
Original Post by tealparadise:
I know right? It's just like all those crazy people who advocate eating more food to lose more weight! That doesn't make medical sense!
.....oh wait.
You're funny! I get comments all the time as I polish off my huge plate of broccoli, my giant bowl of salad, and my teensy piece of meat - "You'll never lose if you eat all that!" Ok, then how come I'm 50 pounds lighter and they, gulping their strange pills and concoctions, are not losing? How come they are hungry and I am not?
Mmmmm my campus convenience store finally started selling lettuce and "fresh" spinach (aka EAT IT QUICK) so I'm sitting here munching on my HUGE 300 calorie: 1/2 apple + shredded nuts + 1/2spinach1/2salad + carrots + dried fruit + shredded turkey + ranch Salad!
Could've had a whole 10 spoonfuls I ice cream for those calories! (Might have 1 anyway :D )
