12 Weight Loss Myths I Wish I’d Known About Sooner
If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you’ll probably know that absolutely everybody seems to have an opinion about how you should be doing it. Whether it’s someone telling you that you shouldn’t eat bread, insisting you need to exercise every single day or suggesting that you’re somehow cheating if you need medical help, there always seems to be someone ready to tell you what you’re doing wrong.
Having lost around 10 stone myself, and subsequently regained some of it, I’ve heard plenty of advice about weight loss over the years. Some of it has been genuinely useful, some has been confusing and some has made me wonder whether the person offering it has ever actually tried to lose weight themselves!
The trouble is that when you’re desperate to see the scales move, it’s incredibly easy to believe that there must be a secret you’re missing. Perhaps there’s a particular food you need to stop eating, a certain type of exercise you haven’t tried or a diet that everybody else knows about except you.
I think that’s one of the reasons weight loss myths can be so damaging. They make something that’s already difficult feel even more complicated, and they can leave you feeling as though you’re failing when you’re actually doing perfectly well.
These days, I look at the truth of weight loss rather differently from how I did when I first started. I still understand wanting to lose weight, but I’m much less interested in following rules simply because somebody insists they’re the only way to succeed.
So, here are twelve common weight loss myths that I think are worth questioning, including a few that can make life unnecessarily difficult when you’re trying to make healthier changes.
1. Weight loss surgery or injections are cheating
This is one of the weight loss myths that really bothers me because it suggests that struggling with your weight is somehow a test of character, and that getting medical help means you’ve failed that test.
I don’t see why it should be treated so differently from other health conditions. If someone needs medication or surgery to help manage a medical problem, we don’t generally expect them to prove they’ve suffered enough before they’re allowed treatment.
Weight loss medications and bariatric surgery aren’t suitable for everybody, and they certainly aren’t effortless solutions. They have benefits, risks, eligibility criteria and ongoing considerations that need to be discussed with healthcare professionals.
Some people may find that medication helps them manage appetite or other biological factors that make weight management difficult. Others may benefit from surgery, particularly where obesity is affecting their health.
I’ve explored weight loss surgery myself and ultimately decided it wasn’t the right route for me. That doesn’t mean I think somebody who makes a different decision is taking an easy way out.
I think we need to stop judging people for how they choose to manage their weight. You don’t know somebody else’s medical history, what they’ve tried or how much they’re struggling, and frankly, it’s none of your business unless they’ve invited you into the conversation.
The NHS information on obesity treatment explains the different approaches available, including specialist treatment options.
2. Fruit contains sugar, so it’s bad for weight loss
Every so often, I come across advice suggesting that bananas are fattening, grapes should be avoided or fruit is somehow unsuitable if you’re trying to lose weight.
I find this particularly frustrating because fruit is something most of us could probably benefit from eating more of, rather than worrying about.
Yes, fruit contains naturally occurring sugars, but whole fruit also provides fibre, vitamins and other nutrients. Eating an apple isn’t nutritionally the same as drinking a sugary fizzy drink simply because both contain sugar.
That doesn’t mean you have to eat unlimited amounts of anything, but there’s no reason to be frightened of a banana because somebody on social media has decided it contains too many carbohydrates.
I think one of the problems with dieting is that we can become so focused on individual ingredients that we forget to look at what we’re eating overall.
If you enjoy fruit, eat it. There’s no need to make healthy eating more complicated than it already is.
The NHS Eatwell Guide includes fruit and vegetables as an important part of a balanced diet.
3. Eating healthily is always expensive
Whenever somebody suggests that healthy eating requires expensive powders, specialist ingredients or a fridge full of fashionable superfoods, I can’t help thinking about the ordinary foods most of us actually have in our kitchens.
You don’t need to spend a fortune on unusual ingredients to eat a balanced diet. Frozen vegetables, tinned beans, oats, potatoes, eggs and seasonal fruit can all be useful, affordable foods.
Of course, I wouldn’t pretend that eating healthily is equally easy for everybody. Food prices, access to shops, cooking facilities, disabilities, time and family circumstances can all make a difference.
It’s also worth remembering that convenience foods aren’t automatically a bad choice. Sometimes a ready-made meal or a tin of soup is what fits into a busy day, and that’s absolutely fine.
What I would challenge is the idea that you need to buy expensive products specifically marketed for weight loss.
I’ve always thought that finding meals you enjoy, can afford and are happy to make regularly is far more useful than filling your cupboards with ingredients you’ll use once and then discover lurking at the back three years later.
If you’re trying to keep costs down, have a look through my budget-friendly healthy recipes for ideas using everyday ingredients.
4. You have to exercise every day to lose weight
I think exercise is one of those subjects where people can become unnecessarily strict with themselves.
Somebody decides they want to lose weight and suddenly believes they need to go to the gym every morning, walk ten thousand steps without fail and feel guilty whenever they sit down.
But you don’t have to exercise every single day to lose body fat.
Weight loss can happen without a formal exercise programme, although physical activity has plenty of benefits beyond the scales. It can help improve cardiovascular health, strength, mobility, mood and overall fitness, and it can support weight management over time.
I think it’s important to separate those benefits from the idea that exercise is something you have to do to earn your food.
If you enjoy running, brilliant. If you prefer swimming, walking, dancing around the kitchen or doing a little exercise at home, those are all valid ways to move.
And if you have health problems, disabilities or other reasons why exercise is difficult, that doesn’t mean you’re excluded from making changes that support your health. Check my guide to gentle exercise that counts for some ideas.
The NHS physical activity guidelines offer advice for different ages and abilities, but I would always encourage people to start with what is realistic for them rather than what somebody on Instagram says they should be doing.
5. Yoga doesn’t count because it doesn’t burn enough calories
I think this myth comes from the idea that exercise is only worthwhile if you finish absolutely exhausted and your fitness tracker tells you you’ve burned hundreds of calories.
But not every form of movement needs to be judged by how many calories it burns.
Yoga can help with flexibility, balance, strength and relaxation, depending on the type you’re doing. It can also be something you genuinely enjoy, which is rather important if you’re hoping to keep doing it.
Is a gentle yoga session likely to use as much energy as a long run? Probably not, but that doesn’t make it pointless.
I’ve become much more interested in the idea that exercise should fit into your life rather than take it over. If you enjoy something and feel better for doing it, I don’t think you need to justify it by calculating exactly how much weight it might help you lose.
And if yoga isn’t your thing, that’s fine too. There are plenty of other ways to be active.
6. The faster you lose weight, the better you’re doing
This is one I particularly wish more people understood because I know how exciting a big loss can feel.
When I was losing weight, I could become very focused on my weekly weigh-in. Seeing a big loss felt fantastic, while a smaller loss could feel disappointing even when I’d had a perfectly good week.
The trouble is that losing weight quickly doesn’t necessarily mean you’re losing more body fat.
When you first change your eating habits, some of the weight you lose may be water, particularly if your carbohydrate intake changes. Your weight can also fluctuate because of salt, hormones, exercise and digestion.
Rapid weight loss can sometimes happen for medical reasons or as part of a professionally supervised treatment, but crash diets and extreme restriction aren’t something I’d recommend trying to achieve a particular number on the scales.
For many people, a gradual approach is easier to maintain, although the right pace depends on individual circumstances.
I think it’s also worth asking yourself what happens after you’ve lost the weight. If the only way you can maintain a particular loss is to follow rules that make you miserable, how realistic is that going to be for the rest of your life?
I’ve explained more about this in my article on water weight vs fat loss, including why the scales can drop quickly at first and then seem to slow down.
7. Depression always makes you lose weight
Weight and mental health have a complicated relationship, and I don’t think it’s helpful when people make sweeping assumptions about either.
Some people lose their appetite when they’re depressed, while others find themselves eating more. Changes in sleep, energy, motivation and activity levels can also affect eating habits and weight.
Certain medications used to treat mental health conditions may influence appetite or body weight too, although the effects vary between people and treatments.
I think the important thing is not to assume that somebody’s weight tells you anything reliable about their mental health.
You can be struggling emotionally at any size, and gaining or losing weight isn’t a measure of how well somebody is coping.
If you’re experiencing depression, getting appropriate support matters far more than trying to force yourself to achieve a particular number on the scales.
And if you think medication is affecting your weight, speak to your prescriber rather than stopping it yourself.
The NHS information on clinical depression is a useful starting point if you’re concerned about your mental health.
8. You need to follow keto, paleo or another specific diet to lose weight
There always seems to be a diet that everybody is talking about, doesn’t there?
One year it’s all about cutting carbohydrates, another year you’re apparently supposed to eat like somebody from thousands of years ago, and before long there’s another set of rules telling you what you should and shouldn’t put on your plate.
Different dietary approaches can help some people manage their weight, but there isn’t one named diet that everybody needs to follow.
A pattern of eating may help someone reduce their overall energy intake, feel satisfied and build habits they can maintain. Another person might find exactly the same approach restrictive, expensive or completely impractical.
I think this is where personal preference matters enormously. Some diets fail just because they don’t work for you.
If you love bread, potatoes and pasta, choosing a diet that tells you to avoid them all might make life unnecessarily difficult. If you don’t enjoy cooking complicated meals, a plan that requires an hour in the kitchen every evening probably isn’t going to suit you either.
Having lost a significant amount of weight myself and then regained some, I understand that losing weight and maintaining that loss are two different challenges.
These days, I’d much rather encourage somebody to find a way of eating they can live with than persuade them to follow a particular diet simply because it’s fashionable.
9. Carbohydrates make you fat
Poor old carbohydrates. I sometimes wonder what they’d do if they could defend themselves against all the things they’re blamed for!
Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other carbohydrate-containing foods are often treated as though they automatically cause weight gain, but it isn’t that simple.
Carbohydrates provide energy, and many carbohydrate-rich foods also contain fibre, vitamins and minerals. Wholegrains, beans, lentils, fruit and vegetables can all contribute to a healthy diet.
Your overall eating pattern and energy balance matter much more for long-term weight changes than whether you’ve eaten a jacket potato.
It’s true that changes in carbohydrate intake can affect the number on the scales because your body stores carbohydrate as glycogen alongside water.
So if you’ve been eating fewer carbohydrates and then enjoy a meal containing more than usual, you might notice your weight increase temporarily. That doesn’t automatically mean you’ve gained body fat.
I think the bigger question is whether the foods you’re eating help you feel satisfied and fit into a way of eating that works for you.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to spend the rest of my life believing that having a sandwich was some sort of dietary disaster.
10. If the scales go up, you’ve gained fat
This is probably one of the most important myths in this entire article, particularly if you’re somebody who weighs yourself regularly.
Your weight can change from one day to the next for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with gaining body fat.
You might have eaten a saltier meal, had more carbohydrates than usual, started exercising, become constipated or reached a point in your menstrual cycle when you’re retaining more fluid.
Even the amount of food and drink currently in your digestive system can make a difference.
I know how easy it is to step on the scales, see a gain and immediately start thinking about what you’ve done wrong. I spent far too much time doing that when I was losing weight.
But the scales can’t tell you whether a pound is water, food in your digestive system or body fat. They simply measure your total weight.
That’s why I think looking at longer-term trends is much more useful than judging yourself on one particular morning.
I’ve written a separate article about why weight fluctuates from day to day, including why one disappointing weigh-in doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
11. Muscle weighs more than fat
You’ve probably heard somebody say this when explaining why their weight hasn’t changed despite exercising more.
Technically, a pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh exactly the same. They’re both a pound!
The difference is that muscle tissue is denser than fat tissue, so the same weight of muscle takes up less space.
This means your body shape and measurements can change even when your overall weight doesn’t change very much.
If you’re doing resistance exercise and building muscle, it’s possible for changes in your body composition to affect what you see on the scales.
However, I wouldn’t automatically assume every maintain or gain is because you’ve built muscle. That explanation gets used rather freely in dieting conversations, and genuine changes in muscle mass take time.
I think it’s better to recognise that body weight is only one measurement and that becoming stronger or fitter is worthwhile regardless of what the scales happen to say.
12. Losing weight cures diabetes
This is an area where I think we need to be particularly careful about the language we use.
Weight loss can improve blood glucose management for some people with type 2 diabetes, and significant weight loss can help some people achieve remission.
But remission isn’t the same as a permanent cure. Blood glucose levels can rise again, and ongoing monitoring remains important.
It’s also important to remember that type 1 diabetes is a different condition and cannot be cured by losing weight.
I really dislike the suggestion that people can simply lose weight and make every health problem disappear. It places an enormous amount of responsibility on individuals while ignoring the fact that medical conditions are often complicated.
If somebody has diabetes, their treatment and weight-management decisions should be guided by appropriate healthcare professionals rather than advice from somebody who thinks they’ve discovered a miracle solution.
You can read more about type 2 diabetes remission from Diabetes UK.
So, what’s the truth about weight loss?
I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned from my own weight-loss experiences is that there isn’t one perfect way to do it, and there certainly isn’t a set of rules that everybody should follow without question.
When I lost 10 stone, the number on the scales felt incredibly important to me. I was pleased with what I’d achieved, but looking back, I can also see how easily dieting can start to take over your thoughts.
Regaining some weight has changed how I think about the whole subject. I still believe in looking after your health, making changes that help you feel better and working towards goals that matter to you, but I no longer think that every meal, every workout and every weigh-in needs to be treated as a test you’ve either passed or failed.
I also think we need to be kinder about the choices other people make.
Some people want to lose weight. Others don’t. Some find a particular diet helpful, while others prefer not to follow one at all. Some need medical treatment, and some are simply trying to feel a little healthier without making weight loss the centre of their lives.
None of those choices gives somebody else the right to judge them.
If there’s one thing I’d love you to take away from these weight loss myths, it’s that you don’t have to believe every piece of advice somebody confidently gives you.
Ask questions, look for reliable information and think about whether what you’re being told is actually helpful for you.
And if somebody insists that you’re doing everything wrong because you eat potatoes, don’t run five miles every morning or haven’t lost three pounds this week, you’re perfectly entitled to ignore them.
After all, they’re not the one living your life.
Sources and further reading
- NHS – Obesity treatment — information about approaches to weight management, including specialist treatments.
- NHS – The Eatwell Guide — advice on balanced eating and food groups.
- NHS – Exercise — information about physical activity and its health benefits.
- NHS – Clinical depression — information about depression and accessing support.
- Diabetes UK – Type 2 diabetes remission — explains remission and why it isn’t the same as a cure.
This article shares general information and personal experiences. It isn’t a substitute for individual medical advice, particularly when considering weight-loss medication, surgery or changes to treatment for an existing health condition.
