10 Weight Loss Myths You Should Stop Believing ASAP

I truly hate to break this to you but losing a crazy amount of weight overnight is impossible. Sure, some people can lose weight faster than others, but for the most part, losing weight requires smart choices and A LOT of patience. When trying to lose weight, it can be hard to sort through the piles and piles of conflicting information that is out there. That is why I wanted to put together this blog post to help you debunk some of the oh so common weight loss myths.

Tell me, how many of these myths have you heard once you start on a path to a healthier lifestyle – “you’re going to be hungry ALL OF THE TIME”; “you are going to have to exercise AT LEAST 1 hour every day”; “you are going to have to avoid eating all of the foods that you enjoy and start eating a bland and boring diet”; “just do core exercises every day if you want to get a flatter stomach and a six pack” – all of these sound pretty ridiculous right? There is so much misinformation out there when it comes to health and fitness. There are so many sketchy products, sketchy “health gurus”, new diets, and there is always a new study contradicting an old one. SO CONFUSING!!

Therefore, it makes it hard to know who and what information you can trust. It becomes a huge problem when you finally decide to start on your health and fitness journey, and you end up not being able to separate fact from fiction. This is when you will end up wasting so much of your time and effort doing ineffective workouts or eating the wrong foods. Which will then turn into you losing hope and giving up once again. This never-ending cycle can be vicious for some. So let me help you figure out fact from fiction in the hopes that it will give you the inspiration and motivation you need to take charge of your health and change it for the better!

Myth 1: Diet is the Secret Ingredient to Weight Loss

How in the world can there be a new diet every month? How can there be 100+ diet options out there? Better question – why is it that people can try out all these new diets and yet NONE of them work LONG-TERM? If diets keep failing, how could it be the secret ingredient to weight loss like everyone thinks it is?

Do you have someone you know that one year they are down 40 pounds, but then the next there are up 40+ pounds again? This is very typical for many dieters unfortunately. Even if you are on the “best diet out there” what good is it if you cannot stick to it?

There have been studies done that compare fad diets and how rather than the diet being the determining factor for weight loss, it was ADHERENCE to the diet that was the most important factor. Adherence. So what is adherence? Adherence is the system you set up for your own success. The reason why most diets fail is because people continue to ask, “which diet is the best” rather than, “how can I best ingrain these new healthy habits that will ensure long-term success?”

A diet typically implies that it is something short term. Now, I know that saying “all diets don’t matter” is not fair. BUT if you can adjust how you think of something as a diet to thinking of it as a long-term lifestyle involving habit changes, THAT is what goes a long way towards seeing those long-term results.

THE TRUTH: If you are looking for long-term and sustained weight loss, focus more on changing habits rather than choosing which fad diet you want to try next. Learning how to make a “diet” into a lasting lifestyle change is the most important factor when it comes to long-term success.

Myth 2: It Is Going to Take a Lot of Time and Effort to Succeed

I think that many people feel that getting healthy takes too much time and energy because they are ‘resistant’ to actually making the change rather than truly believing it takes working out 1+ hours a day and eating salads for every meal. So we need to shift that attitude to show you that it doesn’t take DRASTIC measures to make a difference.

For example – you can accomplish consistent weight loss by just removing all liquid calories from your diet! Yes! Something as small as taking out liquid calories from your diet can help add up to big wins! The typical American will drink a glass of OJ or coffee with sugar and cream in the morning, a soda or energy drink throughout the day, and then a Starbucks coffee or other high-sugar juice sometime later I the day. So how much is this adding to your diet?

A glass of orange juice is about 110 calories.

A coffee with sugar + cream can be anywhere from 15 – 120 calories.

A 16 ounce soda is about 200 calories.

An energy drink (this obviously varies brand to brand) is about 140 calories.

A typical Starbucks drink (let’s go with a Vanilla Frappuccino) has 250 calories.

Y’all, that is an extra 800+ calories you are adding to your day probably without even realizing it! And don’t even get me started on how much sugar that is.

If you just switch a few of these to water, or make more mindful choices, you will be creating a new habit that will result in weight loss without having to change your entire lifestyle. Depending where you are on your weight loss journey, you can lose dozens of pounds in a year just by changing your DRINKING habits.

Now, I know we were discussing liquids, but much of your success will come from the food you eat. And remember, creating healthy habits will take time, a lot of patience, practice, and training. There are no quick fixes that are long-lasting.

THE TRUTH: When it comes to changing your body and improving your overall health, you will need to change your diet because something is obviously not working. Your diet is what is going to account for most of your success. Once you have ingrained good eating habits that have stuck with you or once the weight loss starts to slow down, then it is time to start adding in exercise for the max benefits if you have yet to do so.

Myth 3: Carbs are the Enemy

Many people think that in order to see success they need to cut out all carbohydrates from their diet. Carbs have received the bad rep of causing weight gain.

THE TRUTH: Carbs do not inherently cause weight gain. When broken down, they are very simply the body’s main source of energy. We need them! And carbs can absolutely work WITH US not against us when we are eating high-quality, complex carbohydrates that keep blood sugar levels stable and help boost recovery after tough workouts. When cutting carbs from your diet, you may lose water weight that can create the illusion of fat loss. Then when carbs are reintroduced into the diet, the weight comes back as we store necessary carbs with water. This will also create that “bloated” feeling. However, if you include complex carbs (like whole grains) into your regular diet, the body will adjust accordingly and you will be less likely to overeat or have sugar cravings.

Myth 4: It Is Okay to Cut Out Entire Food Groups

Many people think that by cutting out carbs or cutting out fats will help them get the results they want. When the truth is, unless you have food allergies, lactose intolerance, or celiac disease, cutting out certain foods or entire food groups may be unnecessary despite what many fad diets out there claim.

THE TRUTH: Your body needs a variety of foods! Your body runs best when you are including the three macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, and protein) into your daily diet. You should work on switching your mindset from “what should I cut out of my diet” to “what should I be eating more of”. That will be the key to making sure you are nourishing your body and making sure you are getting the essential vitamins and minerals.

Myth 5: I Am Going to be Hungry All the Time

Many people are terrified to start diets for the mere fact they think they are going to have to be chowing down on salads all day and every day. Well guess what?!? I have some great news for you! Like I have said in my recent blog posts, dramatically reducing the calories you eat is one of THE WORST WAYS to lost weight long-term. Let’s say it all together – DRAMATICALLY REDUCING THE CALORIES YOU EAT IS ONE OF THE WORST WAYS TO LOSE WITH LONG-TERM!!! Okay, moving on. There have been so many studies that show people who dramatically reduce calories fail and often regain the weight. The number of calories you reduce is related with the likelihood of failure. Woah. But this all makes sense! Who can maintain a diet if you are constantly hangry all the time? Nobody!

There is another thing to keep in mind though – not all foods are created equally based on their ability to keep you full. Certain foods do not create the “I’m full and content” response like other foods do. The worst culprits? Junk food and processed foods that have a high sugar content and some refined carbs.

For example – eggs versus oatmeal at breakfast. I used to eat oatmeal every day. Honestly, I love the stuff, and this is not me knocking down oatmeal or telling you not to eat it, I am just using it as an example. On the days I ate oatmeal at breakfast I would feel full and satisfied after eating it, but then a few hours later I would be starving again. Versus, on the days I would eat eggs, I would still be full hours later. You may be asking why that is since 150 calories of oatmeal and 150 calories of eggs should be the same right? Well calorie-wise they are - but how they affect your body, they are not. Eggs are higher in protein than oatmeal and guess what? Numerous studies have shown that protein is the secret to making us feel fuller longer. Not surprising!

Basically, all of this is a really long way of me saying that if you eat the ‘wrong foods’ in large amounts, you may not feel full. If you eat the ‘right foods’ in small amounts, you can stay fuller longer. People can lose weight eating 5+ meals per day. Always think QUALITY, not just QUANTITY.

THE TRUTH: Feeling hungry is NOT a sign that you are doing it right. Dramatically reducing the calories in your diet is linked to VERY LOW diet adherence. When you start to focus on eating proper foods (like lean proteins, healthy fats, and veggies) you will begin to eat less and stay fuller longer.

Myth 6: You Cannot Eat After 8:00 PM (one of my personal faves)

The idea that eating after a certain time can cause weight gain is a common misconception. If your body is giving you physical hunger cues, it is telling you it needs some energy. Your body does not care what time it is. Now while it definitely does not matter how late in the day you eat; it is important that you look into why you may be getting hungry that late. Often it is because you are not eating enough during the day. Maybe you think you should skip breakfast to save calories, or maybe you eat a tiny salad for lunch. These are common things that will lead to people overeating later that day which will not necessarily lead to weight gain.

THE TRUTH: It does not matter how you time out your meals. You can eat past 8:00 pm and not gain weight. But if you do tend to find yourself needing a midnight snack often, you need to recognize and prioritize a well-balance breakfast and lunch to help you make smarter choices in the evening.

Myth 7: I Am Going to Have to Spend Hours a Day in a Gym to Lose Weight

A lot of the people I work with in the beginning have the mindset of that they must go to the gym 7 days a week, for an hour + each time. Heck! I used to be one of those people. Been there, done that, and I am NEVER going back. You live and you learn right? But why do we all think this in the beginning? The problem is that we were/are taking advice form people who have achieved the results we want, even though those people have no idea how they did it or they did in through unhealthy (maybe even unethical) ways.

Now let’s get back to the question – how many hours will you actually need to spend in the gym? For many people, you may not need to exercise at all at the START of your health journey to lose weight.

“What Clarissa?!? Isn’t exercise good for you?!?” – YES!

“But won’t exercise help you lose the weight quicker?!? – YES!

“Doesn’t exercise have a lot of health benefits?!?” – YES! YES! YES!

Did you catch where I said you may not need to exercise at the START of your health journey. KEY WORD START! Remember the key rule to losing weight = what you eat and drink throughout the day, day after day, will account for most of your success.

Once diet improvements alone will not cut it anymore... bring on the exercise! You would be shocked to learn that in just 4-5 hours a WEEK of gym time, MAX, can result in dramatic results. And I am not talking about hours on the treadmill either.

My week will usually consist of 4 days where I lift weights, 1 cardio/HIIT day, and 2 rest days. For about an average of 5 hours if I had to guess of actual “gym time”. With just 5 hours I am able to maintain a body that I am proud of year-round while still being able to enjoy food I love and even a glass of champagne every now and then. I never feel bad about going out to get drinks or dinner, because I know I am putting in the work that needs to be done and I know how to use moderation.

Now with saying all of this, my point is not to brag. Not at all! I just want to offer a dose of reality when it comes to the belief that it is going to take you 10+ hours a week in the gym to see the results you want. What you eat and drink will account for most of your success. Being smart with your time in the gym will also go a very long way.

Another myth that falls in this category – EXERCISE DOES NOT COUNT UNLESS IT IS INTENSE AND SWEATY! This is not true. You do not need to sweat buckets in order to see results. You can see results when you go on walks, do yoga, go swimming. The secret to exercising is finding something you enjoy that you can do LONG-TERM!

THE TRUTH: You do not need to spend hours a day in the gym in order to see the results you want. Your diet will account for the majority of your success, so it should be treated as such. Once you improve your diet, putting in 4-5 hours a week at the gym will offer up noticeable changes in your body.

Myth 8: I Can Keep My Sh** Diet and Just Work Out Long Enough to “Burn It Off”

NOPE! NOPE! NOPE!

Many people today share this belief about being able to eat junk foods and then just exercise it off. Unfortunately, these people do not know how hard it is to change your body composition without altering your diet. There have been studies done to show that people who exercised WITHOUT changing their diet saw only very minor changes in their weight (about 6 pounds in 30 week).

As a personal trainer, I often think about the fact that I can ONLY train the client in the gym, but once that client leaves the gym… it is up to them to change and improve their diet. I can tell them what to eat and give them guidelines, but I sadly I cannot be with them 24/7 to see what is actually going into their mouths.

A person can exercise week after week and see little to no improvements. It happens all the time. When your diet does not improve, all the exercising you are doing may very well be for nothing. Find someone who has lost a massive amount of weight by just exercising alone and NOT changing their diet. You probably will not find many. Now find someone who has lost a lot of weight just by eating the right foods, without exercise. There will be way more of those.

Let’s take burning off a cookie for example. It is actually way harder than you probably think! So, it is 8:00 pm and you are looking for a sweet treat after dinner. Before you know it, you’ve knocked out 5 Oreos. That is 275 calories. Now let’s say that you want to burn off the cookie calories with exercise. So you start looking up what you would have to do and for how long.

Here are some of your options:

· Treadmill (medium/intense effort) = 153 calories in 15 minutes

· Stair Stepper (intense effort) = 156 calories in 15 minutes

· Elliptical (intense effort) = 160 calories in 15 minutes

So that gives us an average of about 150 calories in about 15 minutes of ‘hard’ exercise. But you need to burn 275 cookie calories? That means you would need to spend 30 minutes doing ‘intense exercise’ just to burn off 5 Oreos.

Now imagine if it was not just 5 Oreos you were ‘treating yourself’ to. Could you imagine how long you would have to exercise to burn off 500-1,000 extra calories? You would be looking at hours of grueling cardio exercise a day. It is pretty much impossible to exercise away any excess calories. To put it a little differently – YOU CANNOT OUT EXERCISE A BAD DIET!

Now I could go even further into all the other bad parts about eating highly processed foods that go well beyond just extra calories – the artificial dyes, preservatives, chemicals… just yuck. All this stuff can negatively affect your body later down the road, but we can save that for another blog post 😊

THE TRUTH: In small (very small) amounts you can technically “exercise off” extra calories from overeating or from eating junk food, but in large amounts (and if this is an everyday occurrence) it is practically impossible. Remember, trying to burn our just 5 Oreos would call for 30 minutes of intense cardio.

Myth 9: You Can Target Fat Loss in Your Trouble Spots

Are you concerned with your thighs? Maybe you are concerned with your biceps? Myth has it that you can target these specific areas with diet and exercise to get the results you want. But I have some bad news for you – you can’t!!

THE TRUTH: You can totally lose weight overall by eating the right foods and incorporating exercise, but there is no way to tell where that fat is going to be shed from! Each body is different. It is impossible to target fat loss from specific body parts through diet. With that being said (here is the silver lining), you can totally use exercises to tone muscle groups! This can then translate into that specific body part looking slimmer.

Myth 10: To Get a Six Pack You Need to Work Abs Everyday

One of the craziest myths in the health and wellness industry (and ties into Myth 9 of targeting trouble spots) is that, in order to get a six pack or lose belly fat, you must do thousands of ab exercises every day. Let’s start with the obvious: abs begin to show at around 10-14% body fat, give or take. Therefore, it does not matter how many ab exercises you do unless you lower your body fat levels. And you cannot lower body fat levels just from doing ab exercises alone. You must do it through overall health and fitness.

I am not sure how this myth came about, but it is crazy how we are so quick to believe marketing schemes. Marketers have led us to believe that with an “ab wheel” or “ab lounge”, we will be able to get the abs we desire while we keep the same diet. Y’all, this is just ridiculous. Save your money, and do not fall for the marketing schemes.

THE TRUTH: It is very well known that you WILL NOT get the abs you want or lose the belly fat you want to by just doing crunches alone. You will get abs from eating right + exercising. You must lower overall body fat levels. Which is great news because who loves doing thousands of crunches?!?

Woah! This post ended up being way longer than expected, so I hope you stuck with me! I hope that this post helps shed some light on some of the weight loss myths that too many of us get stuck believing in. Wanting to start on your health and wellness journey but you are not sure where to start, reach out to me! I would love to answer all of your questions and help you achieve your goals!

- Body By Riss