- Myth: The few calories the better. Your body actually need a few more calories when you are exercising to fuel your body and keep your energy up. Cutting calories will actually force the body to feed on fat reserves, then muscle and then it will go into starvation mode and it will begin to conserve calories and store them for later, in reality causing weight gain. There is a healthy calorie range each person should eat when trying to gain, lose or maintain weight and it is different for each person depending on current weight and how active your lifestyle is. Here is a link to a free caloric intake calculator to help figure out what your intake should be to lose or maintain weight. Or you can email me and I can help you figure it out.
- Myth: You can lose weight only in one area. There is no such thing. When a person loses weight, it is lost pretty evenly throughout the body for an overall weight loss. However, you can tone muscle in one particular area through strength training combined with cardio. Anyone that tries to sell you a product promising to reduce belly fat is scamming you. You can reduce belly fat by losing weight all over and doing abdominal exercises to tone that area.
- Myth: Carbs are bad. This is partially true. Too many carbs are bad. The wrong type of carbs are bad such as food that have been overly processed (white flour, white pasta, white bread, sugary cereals, etc) Unprocessed carbs and even partially processed carbs help satiate hunger and can provide a lot of fiber. All of this helps keep you fuller long, ensuring that you may not need to eat as often. Sticking to wheat bread and pasta, and whole grains like oats, quinoa and barley are much better for you. These are called complex carbs and the body basically has to work harder to break them down to them through the body, so they will stay in your belly longer, keeping you full. Even "good" carbs can be over done though. Either way, carbs are an essential factor in helping the body perform properly
- Myth: Fat is bad. Same story as carbs. Not all fat is bad, but too much is never good and there are different types of fats. The body actually needs some fat to perform proper functions such as providing energy, keeping the body insulated, controlling blood pressure and helping with blood clotting. It also help maintain healthy hair and skin and helps transport the soluble vitamins A,D,E & K. BUT, not all fats are good for you. Good fats are found in nuts and seeds, lean meats, lean fish, some cheeses, eggs and avocados Saturated fat is the biggest cause of high cholesterol and is found in butter, cheese, whole milk, ice cream and fatty meats. These should be avoided. Some fat is good and those that are consumed should also be done in moderation such as olive oil or soybean oils, even though they are considered "good fats". Then there are the fats found in fried foods and processed commercial goods. These can also raise LDL (bad cholesterol) and can make even the healthiest food high in fat when fried.
- Myth: You can't lose weight when you get older. It does become more difficult to lose weight as you get older because the metabolism slows down but that doesn't mean that older people can't or shouldn't workout. Getting and staying healthy later in life can help with heart problems diabetes, joint pain and many other ailments that plague older generations. It is also very possible for older people to start a program. Beachbody has developed programs geared toward older people and those that have never done exercise. They are slower paced and are focused on the areas that cause the more problems such as joints.
- Myth: Fat-free or calorie-free means it is safe to eat and have as much as you want. Most often these types of products are chemically processed and found in the cookie or cracker aisle, leading you to assumption that you are eating something healthy just because the words FAT-FREE or CALORIE-FREE are on the labels. Often in order to make processed foods "free" something else is added making the product higher in calories, carbs, sugar or fat than the original version. Do not fall for these labels, they are nothing more than a marketing tactic.
- Myth: Skipping meals will help you lose weight. I am going to refer right back to #1 here. Skipping meals is a sure fire way to send you body into starvation mode. Your body needs food to fuel itself and stay on track every 3-4 hours. This keeps the metabolism going and keeps it from fluctuating. Breakfast is especially important as your metabolism is already at its lowest after sleep and need food to start the engine again. You should eat something within an hour of waking and eat small meals throughout the day to keep the metabolism at its highest in order to burn off the most calories. It does sound completely backwards but eating more actually is better for you than starving.
- Myth: The more you sweat the more calories you burned. How much you sweat can have little or nothing to do with hour hard you workout. There are many other factors involved such as current weight, room temperature, and genetics. Some people sweat just sitting around doing nothing while other barely break a sweat running a couple miles. Everyone sweats differently and you should never judge how hard you have worked on sweat. If you feel like you sweat TOO much though, it could be a sign of bigger problems and you should see a doctor.
- Myth: Lifting weights makes you bulk up. Here is the science: muscles burns more calories than fat. Muscle is also more dense and takes up less room than fat giving the impression that fat weighs less. You not only WANT more muscle but you NEED more muscle to lose weight faster and more effectively. Now, if you are a woman and are worried about getting that beefhead look, then you need to lift the correct weight and do the right amount of reps. Choosing a weight that is slightly challenging and doing 3 sets of 10-15 reps will not make you bulk up. That only happens when people lift excessive amounts of weight, consistently and even daily, to the point where they max out muscles and can barely finish reps. However, make sure you also don't chose a weight that is too light. Your muscle need to be challenged and if you can do more than 15 reps of any exercise and not feel a burn then you should increase the weight. Building muscle is the only way to dynamically change your body. You can do all the cardio you want, which is great because it will help you burn calories but you will not be able to tone, tighten and sculpt without weights.
- Myth: Workout more if you want to lose more weight. Working out too much can actually do more harm to your body than good. You may lose motivation and enthusiasm for exercising if you do it too much. The body is supposed to produce endorphins when you exercise, giving the happy feeling or euphoria. If you exercise too much it can actually cause fatigue, moodiness, depression, sleep problems, and frequent illnesses. Your body is built to need so many calories a day and if you are exercising them all way, it can hurt you, and do a lot of damage to your metabolism.
- Myth: Fitness requires a lot of time and sacrifice. Time is always the #1 excuse people use for not exercising. In reality, it isn't a lack of time to exercise but rather a lack of making exercise a priority. Everyone has priorities in their life that they make time for and exercise ahs to be one of them or it will not make the cut. Most people need about 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise each day. Beachbody has developed many programs that are designed for the people that are short on time and just want to get in, get it done and get on with life. Most programs range from 25-40 minutes. Those that are really serious about health and fitness will carve out 30 minutes a day to exercise. For those worried about sacrificing things to make time for fitness should also think about these priorities. You should never put anything over family or God (in my book) but fitness should be high up on the list. We all want to take good care of our families but if we don't do what we need to do to take care of ourselves, we will not be there in the long run to take care of others.
- Myth: The scale is what matters. First of all, we all carry water weight that can fluctuate up to 5lbs a day. Your weight can literally change 5lbs in a day. Unless you ate and additional 18,000 calories in a day, odds are you didn't really gain 5lbs. Also, lets go over the fact that muscle takes up less room than fat and you may have built muscle and lost fat, but weigh the same. A woman that is a size 12 and weighs 165lbs could weigh the same as a woman that is a size 6 but is more muscular. Weight does not really matter. Pay attention to how clothes fit, or how exercises get easier each time you do them, or how you no longer crave sweets and carbs because your healthy life has knocked those habits out of you. We call these non-scale victories and they are far more rewarding than what that scale says.
There are so many myths, I could go on all day but I hope these 12 have given you a little more insight into getting healthy. If you have any questions about this blog or fitness in general please contact me. Or if you are ready to begin the journey to healthy life, go to my website to chose the program best for you. www.beachbodycoach/ljpintha
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