Top 10 myths about weight loss

It is really very easy to fall into the myth trap. You will always find this guy at the gym...he will come up to you when you're on the treadmill and tell you...'you won't lose weight like this. You need to stick to 65% of your max heart rate otherwise you are wasting your time'. YEAH right!!! me sweating like a pig running in a treadmill at a speed of 12mph and you say I am wasting my time. Well, the funny thing is that most people will just listen to him. Here I have complied a list of the most popular myths that you may have faced or probably will face in the future.



10. Weights will make you bulked up: 

This is one of the biggest concerns that women have. They stay away from weights completely, simply because they believe that using a dumbbell make them a PRO-BodyBuilder. Trust me ladies. It ain't that easy. You need to work VERY hard in the gym, put yourself in a lot of pain along with being extra disciplined if you want to get bulked up. Weight are very good for you. Weight/strength training really helps raise your metabolism and therefore lose more weight. An added advantage is that you don't just LOSE weight...you tone up your body as well i.e. you get rid of the JIGGLY bits.

9. Just do crunches: 

Ah yes!! the crunches!! I heard a trainer at the gym say 'You need to do 700 reps of ab exercises. Only then you can get a 6 pack.' DUMA**. To get rid of belly fat, you need to concentrate on full body workouts and cardio workouts. Crunches or other ab exercises strengthen the muscle. They don't do much to the fat. Reason: crunches are anaerobic (not aerobic) and abs are a very small muscle group to get fat loss benefits. You can get fat loss benefits from anaerobic workouts if you use enough muscles that will raise your BMR for quite some time after the workout. So basically, doing crunches to get rid of the belly fat is a MYTH!!


8. Eat anything you want then just workout 

I would love to believe this BUT unfortunately, this is not true. Let's just take a small example. You spend 45 minutes on a treadmill at a normal speed..how many calories do you burn? Correct...about 450 calories. Let's say you eat 3 slices of pizza (becuase we all know, you have to take more than one slice). That would be about 500 calories. Ohh, don't forget the coke. That would be a 100 calories. I am sure we will have some cheese cake so that's another 250 calories. Let's add that up!! 500+100+250 = 850 calories. Plus there is a whole different world if you start considering the type of calories, high GI, low GI, protein, saturated fats etc. Advice: Eat healthy

7. Eat meat, vegetarians can't build muscle: 

Vegetarians get protein from their diet as well. I agree that beans, legumes etc do not have first grade protein BUT...not many people know that if you combine them with a carbohydrate, you get a complete protein. e.g. potatoes and bread --> Complete protein.

6. Eat once a day: 

People try this following the logic that if I need 1800 calories to operate and I take just one meal a day which cannot be more than 1000 - 1200 calories MAX so they should be losing weight. Well two things here...first...you will lose weight initially but then the body adapts and starts running on the 1000 to 1200 calories infact, this amount is so less that the body goes into starvation mode. Secondly, this has very bad effects on your health. It is suggested that you take 5 - 6 small meals a day totaling your calorie requirements.

5. You shouldn't eat after your workout, you will gain what you've lost: 

The best time to east sweets and white bread etc. is right after the workout. That is when the body requires it the most but one should not overdo it. Eat a good amount of all energy sources.

4. Mid-night snack is Good: 

The mid-night snack is really good for you. If you want to see that extra tire around your waist and feel lethargic. Eating late at night has a lot of adverse effects that is why it is recommended to have your dinner 2 hours before going to bed. If you take a huge midnight snack and then go to bed...your metabolism drops and everything that you have eaten converts into fat. Keep the fridge locked after 8pm :P.

3. Take some lemon, honey and water first thing in the morning and you will lose weight:

This is something that a lot of herbalists recommend. This combination has some good anti-oxidant properties but this can AID...not CAUSE fat loss. I suggest you try it but don't get your hopes up unless you are doing the preliminaries.

2. Muscle turns into fat: 

People say that I do not want to go to the gym coz then I'll have to lift weights and when I stop lifting weights, all the muscle will convert into fat. This simply is not true. They are two completely different tissues. Once is used for stability and holding the entire body together and other is just stored energy. Not much of a link there. You will only gain fat if after you stop working out, you still eat a lot. That will turn the FOOD into fat...still not muscle into fat.

1. You can choose what part of your body you want to lose fat from 
This is called spot reduction and I wanted to leave it to the end. It is very closely related to the first point but this covers a lot of things. When you lose fat, you lose it from the entire body. The areas with more fat lose more and area with less lose less. You can pick and choose what area you want to build muscle at but can't lose fat. SORRY!!!
Here you have the top ten myths about fitness. Make sure you don't fall into the trap.