Neither is healthy weight loss quickly achieved; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends losing no more than 2 pounds per week for those who plan to keep what they’ve shed. Meaning, even if you started your weight loss journey today, you could be months or years away from reaching your goal.
So it’s no surprise that weight loss myths and quick weight loss tricks are widespread. Ph.D. Nisha Patelmedical director of obesity medicine and metabolic health program within the transplant department at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, recently announced on social networks dispel five such “must die” falsehoods. She breaks every sa Wealth.
Myth no. 1: Calorie deficit is not important for weight loss
If you’ve ever tried to lose weight through a diet, you know you have to create caloric deficit by burning more than you consume. Easier said than done, especially when that difference is filled with food cravings and hunger pangs. Patel acknowledges that these factors contribute to the difficulty of sustaining the deficit over the long term, but says they do not make it any less critical.
“Calorie deficit is the driving force behind weight loss, and it’s still important what you eat,” says Patel, who also authorized specialist in culinary medicine. “If you eat food that is rich in fiber, lean protein, it will fill you up more. They are also in line with the Dietary Guidelines for Health Promotion and it will be easier to create a calorie deficit with this type of food compared to (ultra-processed food).”
In theory, Patel jokes, you could eat nothing but Oreos and lose weight as long as you’re in a calorie deficit. However, it is neither a nutritious nor a sustainable diet. Plus, she says, trying to create a calorie deficit on only ultra-processed foods can be harder than you think; their calculated mix of fat, salt and sugar makes you more likely to overeat.
“We really want to focus on fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, lentils, beans, those types of foods to really help us create that calorie deficit,” Patel says. Wealth. “You’ll feel fuller because of the fiber and protein, you’ll meet your nutrient needs, and you’ll cut back on ultra-processed foods.”
Myth no. 2: Fasting is magical for weight loss
You may have tried to limit when you eat via intermittent fasting. The method lasts many formsfrom a complete 24-hour fast once a week, to eating only between 10 and 18 hours a day. While some people can lose weight with intermittent fasting, it is a practice promotes weight loss better traditional approaches are a misconception, says Patel.
“Fasting can be a tool to help individuals reduce calorie intake because at the end of the day, reducing calorie intake actually promotes weight loss,” says Patel. Wealth. “What we eat during that eight-hour eating window matters. It’s not just a free-for-all; you can still eat more calories than you intend to in an eight-hour period, so they still need to focus on the quality of their diet.”
The intention of the person behind the intermittent fasting is also important, she says. If fasting for 16 hours a day and eating for eight suits their lifestyle and they can still eat a balanced diet, great. However, in Patel’s experience, people who fast unintentionally, such as those who have a lot of work to do and skip breakfast, tend to eat more later in the day and in the evening.
“It will be counterproductive to weight loss,” she says.
A study published this spring in the Annals of Internal Medicine supports Patel’s clinical experience. In a randomized controlled trial of adults with obesity and prediabetes, researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that people who ate regularly and those who were restricted to a 10-hour eating window had similar weight loss results—suggesting that the amount of calories consumed has a greater impact on weight loss than when they are consumed.
Myth no. 3: Keto is the best for weight loss
Objective a ketogenic or “keto” diet is to bring your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. In ketosis, instead of primarily burning carbohydrates, your body uses fat as fuel. However, the keto diet is high in fat and low in carbohydrateswith moderate protein intake.
Benefits of a keto diet can include weight loss, lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar, reduced inflammation, and increased concentration and energy. However, side effects range from dehydration to kidney stones “keto flu,” a cluster of symptoms such as fatigue and stomach upset.
Low-carb diets like keto aren’t necessarily bad, Patel says, but their often extreme restrictions make them challenging to maintain long-term. In addition, people tend to regain weight.
“People often forget that it’s not the carbs that are the problem, because we have many sources of health-promoting carbs like fruits, vegetables, whole grains (that) people can’t include on a keto diet,” she says. . “The other problem with the keto diet is that when some individuals do it, they start incorporating more saturated fat into their daily diet. So there is a risk of developing high cholesterol, and it could increase the risk of heart disease.”
Patel is adamant that the most powerful component of the keto diet is—you guessed it—a calorie deficit.
“Within the first six to 12 months, people can experience maybe a little more weight loss with the keto diet compared to other forms of calorie restriction,” Patel says. Wealth. “But that is not, again, sustainable in the long term. I would say that difference in weight loss is pretty insignificant.”
lisegagne—Getty Images
Myth no. 4: Over-the-counter weight loss supplements are FDA approved
There are countless over-the-counter weight loss supplements out there, and it’s easy to remember which ones are approved by the FDA Food and Drug Administration (FDA): none. The agency regulates dietary supplements as food, not medicine, and usually does so after they are on the market.
“Much of the burden falls on supplement manufacturers to prove its safety and ‘effectiveness,’ and there are so many supplements out there that regulatory bodies can’t keep up with trying to control them all,” says Patel.
Little scientific evidence suggests that over-the-counter weight loss supplements work, according to Office of Dietary Supplementspart of the National Institutes of Health. Moreover, they can be dangerous. The FDA maintains a list infected slimming products that contain active drug ingredients not listed on product labels—potentially interacting with medications or supplements you are already taking.
“(Supplements) don’t go through the same testing and regulations as drugs, which must go through clinical trials and prove safety and efficacy before being approved by the FDA,” Patel says. Wealth. “It can be scary. As consumers, it’s important for us to understand the risks versus the benefits of certain supplements.”
Before taking a dietary supplement of any kind, Patel recommends talking to your doctor, who can help make sure your supplement comes from a legitimate source and has been third-party tested.
Myth no. 5: Taking weight loss drugs is the easy way out
Social media may have given you the impression that GLP-1 drugs such as Wegs (FDA approved for chronic weight management) i Ozempic (approved by the FDA to treat type 2 diabetes) are wonder drugs abused by celebrities looking to lose weight. Or maybe you’ve heard that people who take such drugs that are agonists of glucagon-like peptide 1 they “cheat” their way to losing weight. Not so, says Patel.
“People forget that there are strong neurohormonal factors that make it difficult not only to lose weight, but also to maintain that weight long-term,” says Patel. “Medications have really helped level the playing field. It can help interrupt some of those disruptive signals.”
People shouldn’t band together either weight control drugs with vanity; obesity is a serious, chronic disease, not to mention a global epidemic, according to World Health Organization. In the US, the CDC estimates that one in five children and two out of five adults have obesity. GLP-1 drugs can help people lose weight by reducing appetite and increasing satiety. In addition, Patel points out, such a drug is intended in combination with reduced calorie intake and regular exercise.
“It’s not an easy way out,” she says. “People (still) need to practice healthy lifestyle habits.”
For more on weight management:
