This post touches on calorie restriction and eating patterns that can overlap with disordered eating. If you have a complicated relationship with food, please speak with a healthcare professional or registered dietitian who can support you properly. You deserve more than a carousel.
Nutrition advice is everywhere — and a lot of it is doing real harm. The myths below aren't just annoying, they actively get in the way of you feeling good, eating well, and trusting your own body. Let's go through them one by one.
Fat makes you fat.
Eating fat does not make you fat. Healthy fats are essential for hormone production and brain function, and they actually help you feel satisfied so you eat less. It is the combination of sugar and refined carbs that triggers insulin resistance and fat storage — not the avocado on your toast.
Fruit sugar is as bad as table sugar — avoid fruit.
Not all sugars are equal. Fruits contain fructose, yes, but it comes packaged with fibre, antioxidants, and vitamins that completely change how your body processes it. The fibre in whole fruit slows down glucose absorption, preventing spikes. If you want even steadier absorption, pair your fruit with a protein or a healthy fat.
Eating past 7pm makes you gain weight.
Your body does not wear a watch. It does not store food as fat after a certain hour. What actually happens is that restricting food at night increases cravings and the risk of bingeing. If you are hungry at 9pm, eat. Hunger does not clock out at 7pm.
Calories in = calories out — that's all that matters.
Your body is not a calculator. The same amount of broccoli and Oreos affect your hormones, gut bacteria, inflammation levels, and metabolism in completely different ways. The quality of your food determines whether what you eat becomes energy, muscle, or stored fat. Eat real, whole foods — not a number.
A very low intake of calories is enough for a grown adult.
Extreme under-eating is what toddlers are designed for — not grown women. Eating too little can slow your metabolism, throw your hormones out of balance, and push your body into breaking down muscle rather than fat. Eat to nourish yourself. Not to shrink.
Eat to nourish yourself. Not to shrink.
- Avoiding all fat because of old low-fat diet culture — and then wondering why they feel constantly hungry and hormonally off.
- Cutting out fruit because someone online said fructose is bad, while still eating processed snacks with added sugar.
- Following an arbitrary eating cut-off time and then white-knuckling through real hunger until morning.
- Obsessing over counting rather than asking whether a food is actually nourishing them.
- Under-eating significantly in the belief that less food always means better results — when it often means a slower metabolism and worse energy.
You deserve better information than what diet culture has been selling for decades. Better info leads to better energy, and better energy leads to a much freer relationship with food.
Pick one myth from this list that you have been quietly living by. Just one. Notice where it shows up in your day — what you avoid, what you feel guilty about, what rule you follow without questioning it. Then eat the thing you've been avoiding and see what actually happens.