Common Myths About Dieting and Exercises

Myth 1- Low carb diets: Low Carb diets became popular due to the trend of "Lose Weight Fat" advice. While it is enticing to believe these fad diets, it may be helpful to know why they went viral... Yes, eating very low carbs can help you lose weight fast, I could probably drop 15 pounds in a week if I reduced my carbs to less than 100 grams a day. BUT this weight lost is not fat, it is water weight and as soon as you start adding more carbs back in, the weight comes back on. Carbs are used for fast energy, they are our bodies first source of energy. Our body will also store carbs as 'glycogen' for up to 2-3 days if we consume excess carbs than our bodies need at the moment. The reason these carbs get stored is to provide energy for when the body needs it- exercise and daily activity. For every gram of carb stored in the body, they hold 2-3 grams of water with them. When we consume carbs, water that we consume and hold is pulled into our muscles. This is what gives you that dry, toned "fit/lean/shredded" ( what ever you want to call it) look if you are lean enough. So if we deplete ourself from carbs, we will naturally hold less water and we will look like our muscles are depleted. This gives the 'Skinny Weak' look. Yes we will be temporarily lighter, but we will have no energy, we will be fatigued, and weak. Then when carbs are added back into the body, all of that water weight lost will be put back on. This will stress your body out and you would be fatigued, grumpy, and hangry for no reason. Unless you are carb cycling, which I will touch base on in the future, a moderate carb intake is so much more beneficial than an unhealthy low carb diet.

Myth 2- Lifting heavy weight is for muscle gaining and light weight for fat loss: Doing light weight for 20+ reps may give you a 'pump' but will provide little stimulus to the muscles. Doing only this style of exercise will not allow the body to develop muscle, whether it is to shape it or make it bigger. Avoiding progressive overload (strength training/weight training exercises) will tell your body that you do not need the muscle and your body will lose hard earned muscle. Which in turn slows down your metabolism and has you hold more fat than if you incorporated strength training. You do not have to go for a 1 rep max, but doing 3/4 sets of 8-12 reps and struggling on the last rep(making sure you aren't just going through the motions) will make such a difference in your muscle building/ fat loss efforts.

Myth 3- Fasted Cardio is magical for fat loss: Fasted cardio is not magical for fat loss and science has confirmed that no metabolic magic occurs when doing cardio in a fasted state. It can show results, sure, but no better than doing cardio with fuel in your body. There are however mindful benefits and sleep quality benefits to fasted cardio.

Myth 4- More is NOT always better: Doing more Sets, Reps, CARDIO, and workouts is not always beneficial. Yes working out with intention to work your body harder to have results show is the goal but rest days are when you body makes the growth; whether it be fat loss or muscle building. Please remember to listen to your body and let it rest and recover.

Myth 5- Lifting heavy weight will get me stocky and big: Sure lifting heavy weight can get someone stocky and big but that depends on their diet and reps. If someone is eating 1000 calories above their maintenance calories and training for 1-3 reps of the most weight possible, sure you can put on bulk and strength. As for being in a caloric deficit or slightly above maintenance and weight lifting in the 8-15 rep range and pushing yourself, your body will not get big and bulky, It will get tone and lean. Strength training and diet are key for fat loss or muscle building.

Myth 6- I will do cardio and some more cardio to burn fat: Doing only cardio and being in a caloric deficit may increase your chance of seeing the scale drop temporarily BUT this weight lost is fat AND muscle. What happens when we lose fat and muscle and are not trying to maintain muscle and/or build muscle? We get what has been termed 'Skinny Fat' and we put the body under more stress than it needs. We will over work out bodies and will put our bodies in starvation mode which tells the body to hold what you eat and use hard earned muscle as energy. 

Myth 7- I feel bloated and I want to lose weight fast so I should skip meals: Your body is constantly building proteins and breaking proteins down. Not providing your body with the meals/fuel/calories to recovery from workouts is muscle suicide. Why? If your body isn't triggered with the stimulus to rebuild proteins it wont. The stimulus is the meal and if you skip a meal and do not have the energy/ nutrients circulating your body, you will feel drained and tired because your blood sugar drops. With out a new supply of calories your body can shift into starvation made to conserve energy since it does not know if and when it will get fueled again. This will slow your metabolism down and the food you do eventually consume will not be burned efficiently but rather held onto.