Health and Fitness Myth Busters
There is so much misinformation out there about fitness, weight loss, health, body shape and so on. Photoshopped magazine images and the pressure of social media doesn’t help. Let’s cut to the chase and cut the crap from lots of BS that is out there:
1. Can you Spot Reduce and what is this anyway?
When people talk about spot reducing they are referring to losing weight in a certain area for example, “I want to lose my tummy” or “I want a smaller butt”. I hate to break it to you but this is impossible to achieve unless you go under the knife! With fitness techniques we can certainly hone into a certain areas and create strength and tone but you cannot direct weight-loss to a specific area. It’s simply impossible.
2. Weight training is not recommended for women unless they desire the “big and bulky” look.
This is SOOOO not true! On the contrary, weight training is essential for women to create strong bones and ward off osteoporosis as they age. Women need to be strong for every day life. It can actually result in them looking leaner, more toned and defined as opposed to “big and bulky”. And remember, everyone has a different build and body shape and we have to work with what we have as a base. Period.
Photo by CATHY PHAM on Unsplash
3.You need to focus on cardio if you want to lose weight.
WRONG! Certainly cardio is one component of an all rounded fitness program but it is not ‘King’ by any means. I actually focus on this less and on weights more and I do this for a variety of reasons; cardio is not easy for everyone - those that are carrying a lot of extra weight, those with hip and knee issues, instability and pelvic floor issues for example. What’s more, with a good weights session, you continue to burn calories for long after the session due to the elevated metabolic boost, whereas with cardio you tend to burn calories during the session alone so the weight loss benefits are not so high. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying don’t do cardio, I’m just saying, don’t think of it as your sole answer to weight loss - use it as a part of the program, not the entirety of it.
4. If I stop eating early at night I won’t gain weight
This is absolute nonsense to be honest! While it might be better for the digestion and your sleep patterns to not overload your body close to bed time, it does not have an impact on weight loss. Weight loss is a massive industry; think of all the weight loss products, pills, shakes, bars and books that are out there wanting your money in exchange for the perfect body. They have to come up with new things all the time to grab your attention - and your wallet - such as not eating at certain times! The basics of weight loss (I insert a waiver here; unless you have underlying medical conditions to contend with such as an under-active thyroid or the need to be on some medications that cause weight gain etc) is very simple science; it is energy in versus energy out. It really is that simple. Ie how much energy / food / calories / kilojoules do you consume versus how much do you expel via your body doing its daily metabolic activity (ie functioning!) and exercise, sweat etc. People with active lifestyles and higher metabolisms are clear winners here but the science is very simple. So if you really want to get serious about weight loss, you need to start being accountable about what is going into your mouth and what you are doing in your daily life. No more excuses!
5. Carbs are the enemy
Let me get this clear; carbohydrates are NOT the enemy! I LOVE bread I might add - nutty, seedy, solid wholesome bread. There’s nothing like the smell of fresh bread! And sour dough and bagels - I absolutely LOVE it! The body needs a certain amount of carbs to function at an optimum level, to give us energy and to be included in a wholesome diet. Just try to be accountable and to balance the carbs with a suitable amount of fat and protein. Enjoy your food but own what you consume because at the end of the day we want to eat complete and balanced meals that comprise of all of the food groups in sufficient quantities to nourish us and to maintain / increase or decrease our weight as per our specific goals but in a safe and maintainable manner.
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