Healthy ideas for your inbox
Lived off nothing but nuts for days? Applied a magical cream to your “problem areas”? Following the latest fasting fad?
If this sounds familiar, you’ve probably, at some point, fallen for one of the many “lose weight fast” plans that are rampant on the internet (or even in the questionable advice of well-meaning loved ones).
There’s no shortage of scams for helping folks lose those extra inches (usually for a hefty fee) or weird weight loss advice that’s passed along but doesn’t seem rooted in any sort of research. Ready to cut through the noise and separate the truth from myths? You’ve come to the right place.
The myths that need to go
Though we could write a novel about the various weight loss myths that are out there, some of them seem to have more staying power than others.
1. You just need the right supplements
Sadly, there are no special dietary supplements that can magically help you drop the pounds — in fact, some weight-loss supplements might actually harm you. Why is that? Well, they aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), so there isn’t any guarantee of what you’re getting, how pure it is or how you may react to it. Plus, there hasn’t been much scientific evidence of how effective they are.
Some medications that have proven to be effective are GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. These are not supplements, which simply provide extra dietary nutrients, but FDA-approved medications that were originally developed to treat diseases like diabetes and are usually injections.
According to Dr. Saurabh Khandelwal, a bariatric surgeon, drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are really the first effective weight loss drugs that may provide a way to maintain weight loss over time, although there still is much to learn about their long-term effects.
There are also weight-loss pills that include Qsymia (phentermine and topiramate) and Contrave (bupropion and naltrexone), which are often used when insurance won’t cover the other drug options.
2. Carbohydrates are evil
Carbs are one of the three main components of human nutrition (along with fats and protein), and everyone’s body needs some amount. Plus, not all carbohydrates are created equal, so it’s important to understand how complex carbs versus simple ones interact with your body. Also, cutting out all carbs from your diet can cause you to lose weight, but it’s hard to maintain — and you can deprive yourself of some important nutrients.
According to Karen Conger, a registered dietitian at Harborview Medical Center, saying that any certain food group is the reason for your weight gain and avoiding those foods completely is not a sustainable way to live.
3. Exercise is the main determinant of weight loss
This one might be a surprise, but just exercising more will not, in fact, help you lose weight.
“Exercise, though great for many reasons like increasing strength and cardiovascular fitness, is not a major determinant of weight loss for most people — it probably contributes 10%,” says Khandelwal. “It does significantly contribute to the maintenance of weight loss, though.”
In other words, eating anything you want and hoping to still lose weight with exercise might not be the best plan. But it can help you keep off pounds you’ve lost, and you should still exercise for all the health benefits it provides.
4. Fat-free foods are good for you
Nothing screams the 90s quite like a bunch of packaged food with the words “fat-free!” splashed across the front. Though at the time it seemed like a great idea, the problem was that in order to make those fat-free foods tastier and more appealing, they loaded them with lots of sugar (and calories).
"If you eliminate fat, you typically need to increase the sugar content several fold to achieve a taste profile that will make people think that they ate something similar,” says Khandelwal.
So even though at the time people thought fat was the problem, excess sugar was by far the bigger villain. Indeed, the high sugar content in fat-free and low-fat products is thought to have contributed to the rise in obesity, type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases over the past couple of decades.
5. You just need more willpower
This is less of a weight loss myth and more of a common misunderstanding of obesity — and something that’s important to clear up. People sometimes think that obesity is a choice, or simply a result of someone being lazy or not trying hard enough — which is not the case.
“Obesity is a complex chronic disease and is recognized as such by the American Medical Association,” says Khandelwal. “It is no different than any other chronic health condition, like diabetes or high blood pressure, but in this case, there's a disorder of energy metabolism.”
Yes, behavior and environment contribute to the disorder, but those two things also play a part in many other diseases.
6. Diets are the only way to go
The myth of the diet itself may be the biggest one of all. Khandelwal feels that people should really get away from the phrase dieting because it’s more about healthy lifestyle changes that you can sustain.
Using a more holistic approach, like competent eating, can nurture a healthier relationship with food and with your body. Diets can often make you feel a lot of shame and self-blame, especially if you struggle to stay on track. It’s better to find a sustainable and healthy way to live every day that works specifically for you.
Where to find the facts
With all this questionable information swirling around, where can you find legitimate information about how to lose weight?
Social media is not necessarily the most reliable source of information when it comes to health tips and tricks (you’ve seen the stuff that’s out there). But there is hope, and according to the experts, the best place to start is with your doctor.
“A wellness visit is a great time to discuss this with your doctor to see if your weight is associated with any other health issues,” says Dr. Laura Montour, co-director of the UW Center for Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery and an obesity medicine expert. “Your provider should do routine labs and waist circumference to evaluate your cardiometabolic health.”
That basically means finding out how your metabolism is affecting your cardiovascular health. This is an important step because you want to evaluate other measures of your health to avoid weight cycling (also called yo-yo dieting or repeatedly losing and regaining weight) and other issues.
However, some doctors don’t get a ton of education in medical school about nutrition, and many of them don’t have the expertise to help you make detail-level decisions. Plus, their time with you can be limited, especially if they’re busy trying to address other health issues you’re facing.
This is where a dietitian can help you figure out how to kick start your weight loss journey — since nutrition is very much their specialty.
One thing you can start working on before meeting with a dietitian? Tracking your food intake so you can understand the nutrient breakdown — such as protein, carbohydrates and fat — of your meals. You can download an app to help you track what you’re eating, and then when you meet with a dietitian, you can give them data that can help them figure out what changes you might need to make.
According to Khandelwal, most people think they eat healthier than they actually do, or that they’re more active than they really are.
The healthy way to lose weight
What does work when it comes to losing weight in a healthy way? Above all, it’s about finding something that works specifically for you.
“Rather than prescribing a program to you, it’s about helping you make activity and nutrient choices and eating decisions that work with your lifestyle and your ability to afford it, while also taking your culture and historical background into consideration,” says Khandelwal.
And one more tip:
“Don’t focus on weight loss,” says Conger. “Instead focus on adding healthy habits like cooking more, improving sleep hygiene, increasing movement, and eating more fruits, vegetables, lean protein and whole grains.”
