Drop pounds fast! Freeze fat now! Stop eating these five foods!
Sound familiar?
Messages endorsing weight loss are everywhere: on billboards and social media, at family gatherings, and in doctors’ offices. It’s widely known that obesity is associated with health risks, including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, and some cancers. That’s a scary list. To reduce those risks, who wouldn’t want to lose a few pounds?
But the story isn’t that simple. Common ideas about weight loss often aren’t based in science and can actively harm your health. Here are some of the most common weight-loss myths that could be holding you back, along with some tips to improve your health sustainably while maintaining a healthy attitude toward weight and food.
Meet Our Experts
- Kary Woodruff, PhD, RD, professor of nutrition and integrative physiology in the College of Health (COH) at University of Utah Health
- Julia Franklin, PhD, professor of health and kinesiology in the COH at U of U Health
- MYTH: The only way to get healthier is to lose weight.
FACT: “Thinner doesn’t automatically mean healthier,” Franklin says. Better physical health isn’t always visible—it can mean lower blood pressure, better blood sugar control, more energy for daily tasks, and an overall improved quality of life. Thinking beyond the number on the scale to the activities and behaviors you’d like to build into your routine can help promote both mental and physical health. What does a healthy, active, and fulfilling life look like to you? - MYTH: Anyone can lose weight if they try hard enough.
FACT: Weight isn’t just a “calories in, calories out” equation—it’s also affected by many environmental, social, and genetic factors that are outside of individual control. Even factors like air pollution and a family history of food insecurity can affect how our bodies metabolize food. Losing weight and keeping it off is the exception, not the rule. But everyone can make good health choices to improve their well-being and feel healthier. - MYTH: Dieting is the best way to lose weight.
FACT: Fad diets, like the celery juice diet and other detoxes and cleanses, come with serious health risks and tend to be ineffective in the long run. Excessive calorie-restrictive dieting can lead to nutrient deficiencies, poor bone health, and less energy for healthy physical activity. And most people who rapidly lose weight end up regaining it, which can lead to an unhealthy cycle of rapid weight gain and loss. Instead of unsupervised dieting, Woodruff encourages anyone who wants to lose weight to talk to a registered dietitian about establishing a supervised, evidence-based weight management approach. - MYTH: You can shame yourself or others into losing weight.
FACT: Weight shaming is counterproductive and causes physical harm. “Weight stigma is the message that someone’s body weight is not acceptable, that they need to be smaller in order to be healthier,” Woodruff explains. The experience of weight stigma—regardless of someone’s actual weight—causes chronic stress and is associated with worse blood sugar regulation, inflammation, metabolic issues, and unhealthy behaviors like avoiding exercise. - MYTH: Getting healthier is going to hurt.
FACT: Healthy behavioral changes are ones that you can sustain in the long run, which means they work best when they’re enjoyable. Instead of picking a workout regime based on what will burn the most calories, it’s more important to move your body in ways that feel good to you, like going dancing or riding a bike with your kids.
Similarly, instead of trying to remove “bad” (and tasty) foods from your diet, Franklin and Woodruff recommend eating more of the foods that can support your health goals, like fruits and veggies, while still enjoying other foods in moderation. “What can I do in my day that will bring me joy?” Franklin recommends asking yourself. “Recognize that food and physical activity are part of that.”
These weight-inclusive attitudes to nutrition contradict negative messages about body weight and shape that are everywhere in modern life. But shifting toward a body-positive approach can improve your health and the health of those around you. Finding a weight-inclusive medical provider is crucial, Woodruff says. She also encourages health care providers who are unfamiliar with weight-inclusive care to get curious and start learning how to better care for every patient’s unique body and needs.
To replace weight-shaming attitudes with a more positive outlook, Franklin and Woodruff recommend spending time around peers with similar goals, avoiding comparing your body to others’, and speaking with a mental health provider if body image issues are impacting your quality of life.
While changing attitudes is important, it’s not easy. “Self-acceptance doesn’t come at the snap of your fingers,” Franklin says. “Be kind to yourself and recognize that this is a journey that you’re on.”
Woodruff adds, “When we know it’s hard work, we can expect that it’s going to be a process. We can roll up our sleeves and get started.”
