Unfortunately, there are a lot of myths around about weight loss,exercise and nutrition.
Here are just 5 of them:
1. Lack of exercise makes you fat.
The truth is you don't gain body fat because of a lack of exercise. You gain it because your blood sugar levels exceed what you are using.
Basically, you are eating too many calories.
Exercising everyday has many health benefits and can help you burn excess calories.
But if you eat far more than you need, exercise alone will not make you slimmer.
No matter what you hear about weight loss, the simplest rule to remember is this; if you take in more calories than you burn, your body will store those calories as fat and you'll gain weight.
2. After you turn 30 your metabolism slows down.
Actually, hundreds of research studies have shown that the slow down in metabolism with age is primarily due to a loss of muscle tissue. And the loss of muscle tissue is directly related to a lack of hard physical activity.
So, to keep your fires burning into your 30's, 40's, 50's and beyond, make sure you include some form of weight bearing exercise, like gym work, in your exercise program.
3. Carbohydrates are fattening.
There are a lot of people avoiding foods like breads and pastas at the moment because they believe that because they are high sources of carbohydrates that they are fatting.
The truth is that anything is fattening if you eat more of it than you body needs. Even lettuce can be stored as fat. Any food or drink which contains calories can be stored as body fat if it causes your blood sugar levels to exceed what the body needs at that time. Natural breads and pastas are great sources of complex carbohydrate which help fuel your body and keep you feeling full and satisfied for longer.
The key is how much you eat and when you eat it.
4. Eating after 7pm makes you fat.
This isn't true. Eating at any time will make you fat if your body doesn't need the food you eat. Eating after 7pm is OK if your body needs the amount of calories you consume at that time.
Remember, your body is burning calories 24 hours a day, it just burns them at different rates throughout the day and you should try to feed your body at those times when it needs the calories most.
5. Strength training makes you bulky.
It is amazing how many women are concerned about this. Muscle size is primarily determined by genetics and hormone production; therefore, most women don't have the potential to build very large muscles.
Building muscle for women is actually very beneficial. Muscles burn calories, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn which makes it easier to burn fat and harder to gain it.
Not only that, weight training makes your muscles taught and tight so you may even look slimmer in addition to being stronger and healthier if you include it as part of your exercise program.