6 Weight-Loss & Dieting Myths Debunked: Cut Through the Lies So You Can Lose Weight Right Now

I know all about weight-loss & dieting myths because I spent over 20 years dieting and over 30 years with two eating disorders. During all those decades I was taught a lot of inaccurate things about weight loss, which is why I never had any success keeping the weight off long-term.

It wasn’t until I decided to figure out weight loss for myself and find what worked for me that I was able to lose over 160 pounds and keep it off for 9 years and counting.

Here are a few things that I was told were true that actually turned out to be weight-loss & dieting myths.

Weight-loss & dieting myth number 1

WEIGHT-LOSS & DIETING MYTH: There are good foods and bad foods

HERE’S THE TRUTH: There are no good foods or bad foods. There’s just food.

When you categorize food into “good” and “bad”, you limit your choices, restrict foods you may enjoy eating, and give food a stifling power in your life. All that tends to do is lead to an obsession with the “bad” foods you “can’t” or “shouldn’t” have. Obsessive thoughts about food also tend to lead to disordered eating and a damaged relationship with food.

Weight-loss & dieting myth number 2

WEIGHT-LOSS & DIETING MYTH: Sugar and/or carbohydrates lead to weight gain.

HERE’S THE TRUTH: Overeating is what leads to weight gain.

Food is fuel for your body and that’s all it is, no matter what form that food comes in. If you take in more fuel than your body needs, you’re going to gain weight, regardless of what kind of food you’re eating. I eat sugar and carbs every day.

Weight-loss & dieting myth number 3

WEIGHT-LOSS & DIETING MYTH: Eating “healthy” foods leads to weight loss.

HERE’S THE TRUTH: Eating only as much food as your body needs leads to weight loss then maintaining that loss.

This goes back to “good” foods versus “bad” foods and “healthy” foods versus “unhealthy” foods. Nope, there’s just food. If you eat only the amount of food your body is calling for, you’ll lose the weight and keep it off. The converse is also true: if you overeat any kind of food, you’ll gain weight.

Weight-loss & dieting myth number 4

WEIGHT-LOSS & DIETING MYTH: Eating “healthy” leads to good health.

HERE’S THE TRUTH: You can be healthy simply by listening to your body’s hunger and fullness cues then eating whatever foods your body is craving.

I’m living proof of that. I eat a variety of foods, whatever my body happens to be calling for when I’m hungry. You can eat “healthy” and still be overweight. You can eat “healthy” and still have diseases and illnesses associated with having too much body fat. Eating “healthy” is not a guarantee of good health.

Weight-loss & dieting myth number 5

WEIGHT-LOSS & DIETING MYTH: Eating “healthy” makes you feel better.

HERE’S THE TRUTH: Certain foods will make you feel better physically, that’s absolutely true.

I can tell if I’ve had too much sugar or not enough protein or if I need some salt simply by how my body feels. However, part of well-being and feeling better includes your mental health. If you’re restricting yourself to only certain foods you consider “healthy”, and don’t allow yourself to eat foods you enjoy, that will likely make you feel miserable mentally and lead to disordered eating and/or an obsession with food.

Weight-loss & dieting myth number 6

WEIGHT-LOSS & DIETING MYTH: Eating “healthy” will stop you from bingeing.

HERE’S THE TRUTH: Bingeing is an emotional reaction.

You can binge on any food, whether you consider them “healthy” or not. Bingeing is about trying to get food to fix something in your life. It’s not about hunger or the food itself at all. I once binged on rice cakes because it was the only thing I had available to me. Eating any particular food will not stop you from bingeing. The only thing that will is addressing the reason why you’re bingeing. So the question you need to ask is: what is it you’re trying to get food to fix in your life? That’s what you need to answer and then take action to heal.

So to sum up:

There are a lot more than six weight-loss & dieting myths out there. Not everything that you’re taught about weight loss is true. That’s why you need to be discerning and decide for yourself what’s true for you and what is not. You have permission to do that; all you have to do is give it to yourself.

Get off the diet-go-round. Get on with your life.^®

Stop wishing, start doing.
Create your own weight loss before and after success story.

My weight loss transformation & how it can help you learn the truth, lose the weight, & keep it off

You absolutely can break the diet cycle. I got free. Your life can be that way too.

I made my own path because I needed to get myself out of the crazy-making behavior I was having around food. I needed:

• no more dieting.
• no more restrictive eating.
• no weighing and measuring food.
• no off-limit foods.
• no more judgment around food.
• no more trying to figure out healthy eating or just what healthy foods to eat.
• no more judging my self-worth based on the scale.
• no more you’re-not-doing-it-perfectly diet rules that were only fueling my constant thinking about and obsession with food.

I needed to stop: searching for weight loss tips, wondering how to lose belly fat fast or how to lose weight fast, worrying about how to eat healthy or finding healthy snacks for weight loss, coming up with yet another healthy eating plan, trying to have quick weight loss, or forcing myself onto yet another weight loss diet. What I needed instead was to find, out of all the weight loss programs out there, the best weight loss program for me. Turns out, the best way to lose weight was to find out what works for me and do that.

• I’ve lost 160+ pounds naturally by simply trusting myself and listening to my intuition (mindful eating and eating intuitively).
• I have maintained that weight loss for 9 years and counting by trusting myself and listening to my intuition (mindful eating and intuitive eating).
• I no longer have any eating disorders, including bulimia (bulimia nervosa) and binge eating disorder (compulsive overeating).
• I no longer have a fear of food.

Just imagine what you could be doing with your life if you’d just commit to having your own before and after weight loss success story. You could be: following your own dreams and reaching your own goals, cultivating your own passions, and making both your inner and outer worlds a more blissful and peaceful place.

I got that for my life. I want it for yours. I will teach you how.

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Let today be the day you make peace with your body and with food.

For more information, check out the Start Where You Are Weight Loss^® page.