10 common weight loss myths debunked for good

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Updated: 23/05/2025

Sustainable weight loss is a journey with ups and downs. This is exactly why it may be tempting to put faith in weight loss myths claiming to ”speed the process ” and make it super easy. And this is also why working on building a healthy mindset that prioritises your health and overall wellness while working on weight loss may protect you from myths:

Because if there is one thing food myths for weight loss have in common, it is  that they don’t consider one or more of the following vital factors for your wellness: 

• Which foods work for your body and health status
• Your food preferences and healthier foods that you are interested in experimenting with 
• How are your energy levels and mood while working on your new habits? 
• What works for your lifestyle, personality, cooking equipment, and budget

It’s time to give up on unsustainable eating habits and protect your physical and mental health!

Here are a few nutrition and weight loss myths it’s time to stop believing:

1. The nutrition and lifestyle changes you make to lose weight are temporary

This nutrition myth may be the root of so many more weight loss myths and claims, and it deserves the top spot. Please let me know in the comments if you agree!

• It makes you think that it’s ok to follow extreme diet programs/ excluding foods you love intense exercise challenges that don’t fit into your lifestyle, because “it will be over soon”.
• It could encourage you to try unapproved (and expensive!) supplements or pills that promise faster weight loss.
• It increases expectations for fast weight loss.
• It makes you focus on the number on the scale instead of your health.
• If your energy intake is too low or you include foods you do not enjoy, you may look forward to eating like you did before starting your fitness journey.
• It may discourage you from exploring your moderation and which habits and changes would support you in several different circumstances (eg. when things are busy, or when you are having a stressful week)

Weight management should be primarily about improving your health and quality of life in the long term. Slow and steady weight loss, resulting from realistic nutrition and lifestyle changes, may be the best result to ask for!

2. You need to avoid fats or all energy-dense foods

There are plenty of foods that are both nutritious and relatively high in calories. That doesn’t mean you should avoid them to lose weight. On the contrary, a mindful portion of these foods can help you feel full for longer and provide valuable vitamins and minerals. Also, including foods with healthy fats can support the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (Vitamins A,D, E,K) and our cardiovascular health!

Have you checked the recommended portion size on the front of the packaging? Keeping an eye on it may be a helpful hack! This way, you work on increasing your awareness of portion sizes and their energy content, feeling more confident to include them in your diet, and maybe discovering more food combinations to support your goals and food variety!

Let’s see a few examples:

3. Starchy carbohydrates slow down your progress

A widespread weight loss myth that may promote an unbalanced diet and fear of specific food groups.

Many foods with starchy carbohydrates are full of fibre, vitamins and minerals. They are also very beneficial for your gut health. (eg. legumes, oats, bananas, sweet potatoes, oats). There is no reason to avoid them to lose weight, as long as you pay attention to your portion size.

Also, including wholegrains and wholemeal pasta/bread can be a lovely way to work on your daily fibre intake!

What is the weight you lose when you drastically reduce your carbohydrate intake?

The amount of carbohydrates that is not used immediately for energy is stored in your liver and muscles in the form of glycogen. Glycogen holds 3 grams of water. When you stop taking carbohydrates from your food, glycogen stores will be used for energy production instead. When glycogen is used, you lose the water weight, too.

So, a big part of the initial, faster weight loss after drastically reducing carbs is probably not due to fat loss. Your glycogen stores will be full again when you stop avoiding carbohydrates. We need to create a sustainable calorie deficit for a healthy weight loss pace.

4. You need to stop having a late evening snack

Another weight loss myth that creates stress for no reason. Your total daily energy intake is what matters. Not if you had a snack at 5 pm or at 10 pm

Sleeping well is very important for your overall health and sustainable weight loss. If you were used to snacking a lot in the evening, feeling hungry when you go to bed could disrupt your sleeping patterns.

If you notice that a healthy evening snack prevents further evening cravings and supports your sleep quality, both may be good signs that it may suit your lifestyle! So many healthy snack combinations can be lovely opportunities to have more healthy foods throughout your day or week.

You can find more ideas here!

Here are a few examples of healthy evening snacks for a good night sleep:

5. You can lose fat from a specific part of your body

Another stressful weight loss myth that could create unrealistic expectations while losing weight. Thankfully, registered professionals work really hard on social media to spread the truth: With a sustainable energy deficit, you will lose fat from your whole body. It’s up to your genetics where you will start losing fat from or where you will lose more fat. Exercising can tone up your muscles and help you improve the appearance of the areas you want.

6. You should be worried about sugars in whole fruit

When you are trying to change any unhealthy eating habits that could cause weight gain, the last thing you need to worry about is sugar in whole fruit. Fruit is low in calories, and high in valuable vitamins and minerals.

Things are a bit different when it comes to juice, please check No 8!

Fruit contain simple sugars, but they also contain fibre. Fibre reduces fruit’s glycaemic index. This means your blood sugar will not spike, but it will be absorbed gradually.  Also, fibre will help you feel full for longer . 

This is why simple sugars in fruit do not count as added sugars. You will find added sugars in processed foods, were fibre is not present to prevent your blood sugar from spiking. Also, processed foods with added sugars are usually high in calories, added salt and saturated fats.

7. You always need to change something about your breakfast!

Having or skipping breakfast for weight loss is a common online debate. Very often, people working on weight loss and enjoy breakfast think that maybe skipping it will help, while many breakfast skippers consider starting it.

If you notice that having a healthy breakfast makes you more physically active and reduces your cravings for ultra-processed snacks high in added sugars and empty calories, throughout the rest of the day or mid-morning, then it could be a positive change to your diet. Overall, having a healthy breakfast has been associated with numerous health benefits. The NHS guidelines also include a balanced breakfast as part of a healthy diet .

• In 2020, the meta-analysis of seven randomised controlled trials showed that skipping breakfast significantly reduced the participants’ weight. However, changes in body fat and body mass index (BMI) were not significant.

• The same meta-analysis a significant increase in LDL cholesterol when participants skipped breakfast .

• In 2021, the most recent meta-analysis has shown that here is a higher risk of weight gain over the years for breakfast skippers. However, findings among studies are still not consistent . 

Another frequent breakfast debate is cereal-based vs savoury breakfasts. Both can be an excellent opportunity to add several different healthy foods into your day, and work on your daily protein and fibre intake.

Please remember that different things may work for different people, so if eating in the morning does not feel ok for you, there is no need to have the mindset of ”forcing” yourself. If you are interested in further exploring this habit, there are so many different ways to gradually try it and see how it goes!

8. You need to turn everything into a juice or smoothie

Smoothies may be a lovely snack, especially for hydration on warmer days. However, juices and smoothies have a lower fibre content, higher simple sugar and energy content compared with the same amount of whole fruit/ vegetables. Since they are lower in fibre, simple sugars will raise your blood sugar more easily.

By adding a source of protein (eg. yogurt, nuts, seeds, milk), and healthy fats (eg. nuts/seeds/ unsweetened nut butters) you can also make it more filling!

The reduced fibre content is the reason smoothies and juices count as 1 of your 5 a day no matter how much of them you drink !

Also, chewing participates in nervous system signals that make you feel full more quickly. If you turn your fruit and vegetables into smoothies often, you may end up consuming more calories before you start feeling full .   Finally, you lose part of the soluble fibre, which has been significantly associated with reduced appetite. Check this post on fibre and weight management for more information!

9. There are magic foods/drinks that burn fat

Would this weight loss myth be another outcome of myth No 1? Introducing foods/drinks that will speed up the process or specific combinations of spices. There is very little evidence that specific foods may support fat burn . Here are some examples to keep an eye on:

• Specific teas or teas with specific spices (and sometimes at a specific time of the day!!)
• Excessive caffeine intake
• Making your meals spicier than you want to

10. You need complex cooking skills

Here are two examples of why this is a myth:

• Sandwiches: and wraps: your source of protein (eg. tinned fish, egg, cheese, tofu, hummus, chickpeas, turkey, cream cheese)+ 1-2 vegetables for fibre (eg. tomato/lettuce/bell pepper slices)+ your healthy fats (eg. With oily fish like mackerel, you have a source of protein and healthy fats, or a slice of avocado for healthy fats and fibre). Or, by choosing seeded/wholemeal bread you get extra fiber from bread too!
• Soups: A homemade soup can be an excellent opportunity to add vegetables, a source of protein and if you cook with a vegetable oil with unsaturated fats, a portion of potatoes/sweet potatoes, to brown rice, you’ve got your balanced meal! If ready soups work better for you, choosing a low-sugar option (low sugar is <5g/ 100g) and adding your source of protein can turn it into a filling and quick option!

Very simple lunches/meals on-the-go can be lovely templates for a balanced and filling meal with protein, fibre, healthy fats, and healthy carbohydrates!

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