Last Updated on November 21, 2017 by MarcyPro
Losing weight is attainable but not an easy feat, especially if you believe in myths.
Trying to lose those extra pounds can be difficult due to workout and diet misconceptions. Articles about these beliefs go viral on social media sites and people tend to fall for them. Believable as they seem to be, these misconceptions work against you. With that said, this week, we will discuss three of the most common workout and diet myths and find out which ones are healthy or not. Let Marcy help you determine the facts on proper workouts and weight loss.
WORKOUT MISCONCEPTIONS
WORKOUT MYTH 1: People who do not need to lose weight do not have to exercise
People workout to take the extra pounds away, so if you do not have unwanted flab on your body, then no need for exercise, right? This notion is not correct at all. What most people are unaware of is that aside from taking the extra fats away, exercising also helps to maintain the body. Think of the body as a car needing regular maintenance; without it, it will cause your car to break down more often. Working out reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, and improves overall mental health as well.
WORKOUT MYTH 2: Getting serious cardio workouts will help you lose the extra pounds.
Cardio exercises strengthen both the cardiovascular and respiratory systems while burning calories. So the myth is partly true, however, if you are aiming for weight loss, cardio is not enough, even if you are getting rigorous exercises. You are at the risk of losing muscle, which means keeping the weight off would be more difficult as we all know, muscles help to burn calories faster than simply doing cardio exercises. Cardio and weight training go hand-in-hand. The perfect weight training equipment is the Smith Cage Machine, as it allows you to work on all major muscle groups efficiently. Check out the Marcy Smith Cage System in the shop to know more about this machine and what it offers.
WORKOUT MYTH 3: Slow lifting of dumbbells will give you bigger muscles
This is a rumor that has been passed around in gyms. Unfortunately, this is not true at all. To prove its falseness, University of Alabama researchers studied two groups of lifters — one group has to perform a 5-second lift and a 10-second down phase, while the other group performed a 1-second lift, and 10-second down. The faster group was able to burn 71 percent more calories than the slow group. Fast lifting then helps burn more. Low weights and more reps create long lean muscles while high weight, less reps, create big muscle mass.
DIET MISCONCEPTIONS
DIET MYTH 1: Skipping meals is an effective form of dieting
Yes, you can lose weight by skipping meals. However, this is only for the short term; there are negative impacts on your health in general to doing this. People who do this regularly tend to eat larger meals at the rest of the day. It will cause you to get cravings for foods that are high in fat and sugar. Metabolism is affected too; as people ended up eating more food at meals later in the day. The result? Gaining back the calories you lost by skipping meals and unstable blood-sugar levels.
DIET MYTH 2: Restrict yourself from carbs as they make you fat.
Carbohydrates are not detrimental to the body. An enormous amount of carbs will make you gain weight, but they are needed by the body. Moreover, there are good, healthy carbs and there are bad carbs; the former include foods low in sugar, sodium, and saturated fats. These are veggies, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. The bad carbs are foods that lack nutrients, low in fiber. They are also high in sodium, refined sugars, and saturated fat. Perfect examples are fast food and other processed foods. Hence, it is all about choosing foods with the right carbs, opposed to avoiding them entirely.
DIET MYTH 3: No desserts for as long as you live!
Can you live without eating dessert for the rest of your life? A few may say yes, but as we just discussed, it is all about choosing the right carbs. There’s enough space in your diet pyramid for desserts, all it takes is balancing your calorie intake. Otherwise, depriving yourself of dessert or your favorite comfort food would lead you to binge, and even make you irritable.
Do you know other myths you want us to bust? Feel free to ask in the comments below.