5 Worst Pieces of Diet Advice Nutrisystem Success Stories Ever Received

You can find dieting advice anywhere, and we mean anywhere. But that doesn’t mean it’s all good advice. In fact, the weight loss tricks that typically hit trend-level status are generally misguided and have little reliable research to back it all up.

Because trying to lose weight is an uphill battle to begin with, starting off on the wrong foot with all of the wrong weight loss tips certainly won’t do you any good.

So, if the advice sounds downright ridiculous, it may very well be. To help you rifle through this mess of health-related information, we’ve asked some of our Nutrisystem success stories for the worst dieting advice they’ve ever received.

And their responses? Gold.

To keep your plan on track, leave the recommendations to the experts… and let the rest inspire a good laugh, but nothing more.

Here are the worst pieces of dieting advice ever received:

1. “Drink a spoon full of vinegar before each meal.”

“I have tried some of the craziest advice on quick and easy diet tricks out there, but I think the single worst dieting advice I got once was from a sister in law who advised me to drink a spoon full of vinegar before each meal, saying it devolves all the fat and I can eat what I want,” says Lisa D.

“This has never been proven to work and if you have acid reflux this can be like drinking a fire ball. Needless to say, I had no positive results doing this.” Lisa is warranted in her skepticism to say the least.

While studies, such as those published by the International Journal of Obesity and Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, suggest that consuming small amounts of apple cider vinegar can have some health benefits, it is not some crazy, super diet juice. Some findings suggest that drinking apple cider vinegar before or after a meal may have a beneficial impact on blood sugar. Other findings have led researchers to explore apple cider vinegar as a potential appetite suppressor, but it’s not black and white. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2014 found that while drinking vinegar prior to a meal does appear to promote fullness, this may be largely due to the fact that it induces nausea. In other words, study participants ate less because they didn’t feel well—obviously not an ideal way to suppress one’s appetite.

There aren’t any groundbreaking discoveries that if you down a bit of this bitter liquid, calories become powerless. Eating five cheeseburgers or three extra-large pizzas, even with a little shot of vinegar, will still break the calorie bank and leave you feeling horrible. Truthfully, you may even feel worse having experimented with this dieting advice because of the sickening combination of flavors.

2. “The ‘fat-free’ diet.”

Elaine C. explains, “I mistakenly tried this type of diet around 13 years ago. I lost weight but unknowingly increased my triglyceride count which actually put me at risk for heart disease.” She goes on to reveal that she, “wasn’t looking at anything except fat content,” and, “was eating too much sodium, too much sugar and not enough fats—good fats.” Right after tossing this dieting advice out the window, the weight came right on back.

Opt for high quality “good fats” like those found in avocados, nuts and nut butters, olive oil, etc. Monounsaturated fats can help improve blood cholesterol levels, reduce heart disease risk and control both blood sugar and appetite, while polyunsaturated fats are touted for similar qualities. And Omega-3s? They’ve been shown to help reduce body fat!

Get the 411 on fats in this helpful article.

3. “Come up with a more realistic goal.”

When Rebecca D. decided to take the first step, she was excited to kick off her weight loss journey—that is, until she spoke to her own mother. “When I told my mother that I had ordered the food and wanted to lose 30 pounds, she told me I should come up with a more realistic goal!” Setting a realistic goal is critical to weight loss success. However, only you (and maybe your doctor) know what this number is for you.

When determining your weight loss goal, you should start by assessing your current BMI, and how much weight you’d need to lose to fall into the healthy range (for more on BMI, read this article). Outsiders are not able to gauge this number for you and shouldn’t. Plus, it can be disheartening and maybe even a little insulting to hear someone doubt your abilities to take control.

In this case, Rebecca knew 30 was the right goal for her, and she stuck with it, despite her mother’s unwarranted input. Today, she’s 30 pounds lighter* and is so happy she did. No one is more proud of this achievement though than her mom!

4. “Never have sweets or chocolate.”

This is a tall order—and not the delicious frozen kind. EmilyBeth D. believes the worst piece of dieting advice she ever received was to kiss any sweets or chocolate goodbye for good. Older family members and friends repeated this one tip countless times, but is there a single person in the world that follows this one to a T?

Even Nutrisystem Weight Loss Coaches advise program participants to allow themselves small amounts of the foods they love the most. When a craving starts to creep up, people have a tendency to avoid it like the plague, grabbing large quantities of other, “healthier” foods they to fill the void.

Chances are, the craving never gets satisfied and the calorie counts start rising through the roof. Satisfy the craving in a mindful way—as in an appropriate portion size—and let it be done, they say. Move on, with little, if any damage done. “Everything in moderation,” EmilyBeth exclaims. Couldn’t put it better ourselves. That’s why here at Nutrisystem, we offer lightened up takes on all your favorite sweet treats… in portions that make sense.

5. “Eliminate all carbs and sugar.”

Vanessa W. was told not just to cut carbs, but to nix them from her diet entirely! Sounds a lot like what EmilyBeth experienced. Elimination diets are becoming so popular today, but are pretty much always a bad idea. We run off of the energy produced from the three major macronutrients in food—protein, fats and carbs.

In fact, carbohydrates should be consumed in the highest quantity (45 to 65 percent of your calories) because they are the body’s biggest source of fuel!

The body relies heavily on carbs for use in the central nervous system, muscles, heart and kidneys. The fiber in healthy carbs also keep us satisfied well past our meals, ensuring our appetites don’t have too much power later on. Take them out? That’s asking for trouble. The key is to choose the right carbs… complex carbs that won’t cause spikes in your blood sugar. (Not sure which those are? Check out this article for a list of 10 healthy carbs you need in your life.)

Perhaps the funniest part about this weight loss tip, is that Vanessa heard it from, “so many people, most of which were never successful at losing weight.” Wonder why…

Cut through all of the noise and get down to the weight loss that actually works for you.

If you aren’t already on Nutrisystem, explore your healthy diet options here! >

*Weight lost on prior program. Real Success Story. Expect to lose an avg. of 1-2 lbs. per week. Results may vary based on starting weight and program adherence.