Busting Health and Fitness Myths

There are so many myths and wrong ideas about loosing weight or building muscle. It can make getting into shape become overwhelming because you read or hear that you have to starve yourself, live in the gym, and do hours of cardio every day. Most people are simply misinformed on how to go about getting in shape, which can lead to not seeing results, hating what you do, and giving up. I used to think I had to do all these things to get in shape, before realizing most of it was inaccurate. After learning how to do it the right way, my progress when up like crazy, and it was much easier to keep my goals in control! So here I am going to go over some of the common myths and inform you on how to do it the right way to see real results!

#1 Diet – How Much Should You Eat

People tend to believe that in order to lose weight, they have to stop eating, and feel starved all day. This is not true! Your body needs enough calories to function properly, and allow you to burn fat. Obviously if you eat like a pig all day, your probably going to gain weight, but as long as you keep you portion sizes reasonable, and from good food sources for the most part, you will start to see your extra weight fall off. So don’t drop your calories to 1,000 – 1,500 per day. When you do that, your body is going to store and hold as much fat as possible, because it doesn’t know when it will get calories for energy next, or if it will have enough. Your body doesn’t care about you losing weight. It just wants to keep a safe supply of energy. So when you don’t provide it from healthy foods, your body keeps what it can.

Also, eating an adequate amount of calories will help your metabolism continue to naturally burn more calories through out the day. This is the thermo effect of food. So if you starve yourself, your metabolism will slow down and your body won’t burn as many calories each day. So a healthy person at a good body mass index (BMI) should consume at least 2,000 – 2,300 calories per day.

#2 Cardio – How much is enough

Cardio is a great benefit when it comes to your health and losing weight. But if you try to complete hours and hours every day, you may be over working/over training your body, to where it’s not going to have adequate time to heal and repair. It will also make it very difficult to stay consistent with your program. I recommend doing cardio for 30 – 45 minutes 3 – 5 days per week. This will keep you consistent, stay healthy, and continue to loose the weight you want to.

It honestly comes down to better nutrition. And the reason I say that here is because it takes an average 1 mile jog to burn 100 calories. But eating an extra 100 calories is super easy. So doing cardio isn’t going to do hardly anything for your weight loss, if your diet is bad. So simply stay on top of your diet, and incorporate a healthy amount of cardio to stay consistent!

#3 Protein Shakes are the best way to build muscle

Drinking a protein shake can definitely help build and repair muscle tissue after a workout! They are also very convenient when it comes to getting nutrients right after a workout, or when you’re on the go. However, it is not the key factor to building muscle. The best nutrients to get after a workout are a quality source of natural protein from whole foods such as chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, etc. Carbohydrates are also a major key factor in building muscle. So it is not bad to take a protein shake after a workout, or through out the day, but what it’s really doing is supplying your body with protein just like real food. However, real whole food is usually a more natural and absorbable source.

#4 Doing crunches to burn fat in your stomach

In order to burn fat, you have to burn calories. And when you do so, the fat comes off from everywhere on your body, just like it comes on. You can not “spot reduce” meaning crunches will not specifically burn fat in your stomach, and curls will not burn fat in just your arms. This will tone those spicific muscles, but the fat will not fall off just that specific body part. This is why crunches alone will not help you get visible six pack abs. The best way to burn fat is by doing cardio which will help you lose weight throughout your whole body, and increase your muscular endurance! Incorporating ab circuits and cardio is the most effective way to build a visible six pack! That and good nutrition of course!

#5 Cardio is the only way to burn a lot of calories

Cardio is a terrific way to burn fat and get the lean look your trying to achieve. However, it is not the only way to do so. Lifting weights and doing body weight exercises such as calisthenics or conditioning can be even better for weight loss! As long as you are doing it the right way. If your main goal is to burn fat, tone up, and look tighter, lifting weights can be a very helpful factor. By using a weight that you can perform between 12 – 16 reps, you will be working on toning and muscular endurance. It is also good to perform super set (2 exercises for opposing muscle groups back to back) exercises as well. This helps tighten the body by burning more calories than you would performing 6 – 10 reps. This also makes it more effective because you are continuously moving, and keeping the heart rate up. Also, your body needs to repair that muscle tissue over the next 24 – 48 hours, which makes your body continue to burn calories during that post workout period.

#6 Lifting weights will make me too big

You will not get too big by accident! That takes a lot of hard work and dedication! And it’s even more difficult for women, who usually tend to be the ones who fear getting to big. The people who are very big and muscular have been working at it for many many years. The only way you are accidentally going to get to big is by taking steroids, or eating way too much without exercising! So don’t be afraid of lifting weights. It can help tone your body, and burn even more calories through out the day!

Watch the video on this topic below:

For more information on any of these topics, check out my Exercise Programs, Custom Meal Plans, Youtube Channel, and other Blog Posts! Thank you for reading/watching, and I hope this helped clarify a few things for you!

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