Many of us follow advice we read online when it involves weight loss, activity, weight gain, small issues like cold and cough or maybe bigger issues like cancer. But this can often add to one’s already existing issues. It is extremely important to follow only expert advice when you want to heal, improve your health, start dieting or build muscle. You might have heard sayings like ‘No pain, no gain!,’ ‘You never put on or bulk up without supplements,’ or ‘Crunches are the key to six-pack abs!’. It seems there are more questions, less answers and only half-truths within the market about healthy exercise. There are numerous misconceptions about exercise and weight loss, but don’t let yourself be fooled by the same. All of those misconceptions lead to plenty of misinformation about diet, fad diets and exercise generally, and the truth is different for everybody, Let’s take a number of those commonly believed exercise myths to task, and determine the reality about them as we have science to back us up.
Myth: You will lose weight from specific body parts by doing exercises that focus on those areas.
Truth: Well it is partially true, this is called ‘spot training’ and unfortunately, it doesn’t burn fat at one go. Your body actually predetermines which fat stores it will use and that’s how you get inch loss. For instance, doing sit-ups will strengthen your abs but it may not take the fat off of your stomach. You can, however, complement a balanced exercise programme with proper nutrition and variety of weight training exercises to gradually reduce and tone the body.
Myth: If I’m going to the gym for 30 to 45 minutes, that provides me a pass to try to do whatever I would like to for the rest of the day.
Truth: The gym doesn’t negate a poor diet. If you work out for an hour and then follow an unhealthy lifestyle for the remainder of the day, it is not going to work. Also, emerging research suggests that if you are sedentary for most of the day, it’s going to not matter how hard or often you exercise. People that spend longer periods sitting during their leisure time have an increased risk of issues, no matter what their daily exercise. So, you have got to move the entire day. Eat a well-balanced diet, follow a healthy lifestyle, don’t sit for long periods of time. These practices should be incorporated alongside a gym routine.
There is tons of fitness information out there — some are reliable, and others aren’t. Don’t allow these common food and exercise myths to distract you from achieving your goals of getting healthier. We will debunk a few more myths in the next edition. If you have heard any of any of these myths, let’s find out the real answers together.
(The writer is Chief Nutrition Officer, Luke Coutinho Holistic Healing Systems. She is a clinical nutritionist with a focus on healthy lifestyle choices.)
Photo credit: Jonathan Borba on Unsplash