Diet & Fitness Myths

We’ve all heard them, we’ve all believed them at some point, maybe some of us still do believe them.

There is so much contradicting information out there, especially about diet & fitness, so I have selected some of the most common myths to write about in the hope that it will help clear things up for people who don’t know what to believe.

Dieting Myths

You can eat whatever you want as long as it fits your calories and still lose weight - half truth

I'm going to start off with this one as it's part myth, part truth.

Yes, if you restrict calories, you could eat your entire allowance in chocolate and still lose weight. However, not all calories are created equally and 500 calories from a whacking great bar of chocolate are going to affect the body quite differently to 500 calories from, say, a bowl of porridge or a fresh fruit salad with natural yoghurt.

One time a few years ago, I successfully lost weight following the above diet - eating whatever I wanted as long as it fit into my calories. Yes, I lost a significant amount of weight and reached my goal weight pretty effortlessly. Was I happy with the final result? Hell no! I was still flabby. I had that dreaded skinny fat look about me, my skin was dreadful and spotty, my hair and nails were a mess and I didn't feel healthy. I also found that by allowing myself to eat anything that fits into my calories I would often skip meals so I could eat junk, or not eat dinner so I could drink more wine. Whilst that isn't a bad thing occasionally, to find yourself doing it on a regular basis is not healthy.

Low Fat diets are best for losing weight

Most people have tried cutting out as much fat as possible to lose weight and whilst it might work, it's not because fat is bad therefore eliminating it = weight loss. Fat is the most calorific of all macronutrients (9 calories per 1g, as opposed to 4 for protein & carbs, 7 for alcohol) so it makes sense that restricting this essential macronutrient will result in weight loss as you will be restricting calories without even realising.

Fats are essential for the human body which uses them for everything from building cell membranes to performing key functions in the brain, eyes and lungs. The functions of fats include:

• Brain – Fats compose 60% of the brain and are essential to brain function, including learning abilities, memory retention and moods.
  
  Fats are especially important for pregnant women, since they are integral to fetal brain development.
  
  Cells – Fatty acids help your cells stay moveable and flexible, as well as being responsible for building cell membranes.
  
  Heart – 60% of our heart’s energy comes from burning fats. Specific fats are also used to help keep the heart beating in a regular rhythm.
  
  Nerves – Fats compose the material that insulates and protects the nerves, isolating electrical impulses and speeding their transmission.
  
  Lungs – Lung surfactant, which requires a high concentration of saturated fats, enables the lungs to work and keeps them from collapsing.
  
  Eyes – Fats are essential to eye function.
  
  Digestion – Fats in a meal slow down the digestion process so the body has more time to absorb nutrients, and help provide a constant level of energy and keeps the body satiated for longer periods of time. Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) can only be absorbed if fat is present.
  
  Organs – Fats cushion and protect your internal organs.
  
  Immune System – Fats ease inflammation, helping your metabolism and immune system stay healthy and functioning.

The important thing with fats is making sure they come from the right sources, such as:

• Olive oil
  Flaxseeds & flax oil
  Fish Oil
  Virgin Coconut oil (Has saturated fats but has been proven to benefit the body)
  Raw nuts & seeds
  Oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel or herring
  Eggs
  Avocado
  Natural nut butters (no added sugar or oil)
  

EFA's (Essential fatty acids - Omega 3&6) are essential cannot be made by the body. Sadly, many modern diets are missing these EFA's completely and this can contribute to mental health problems, such as depression and other psychiatric and behavioural problems.

So, don't be afraid of fats, they are essential to your body!

Cutting calories will help when weight loss plateaus

This is the first thing most people do when their weight loss plateaus but it is almost always the wrong thing to do. The human body is a clever thing and adapts to change very easily. The biggest mistake most people make when they start on a weight loss programme is to slash calories too drastically. As I said in my article about fat loss a 10-15% deficit is often more than enough.

When calories are dropped so suddenly, it comes as a shock to the body so you may lose weight very easily at first. However, keeping calories so low for a prolonged period of time is not a good idea. As I already said, the body adjusts to whatever you throw at it so it won't take long for it to get used to such a low calorie intake. This means it will match your metabolism to the intake of food you are feeding it. The less you feed it, the slower your metabolism will be. The more you feed it, the faster it will be. It really is that simple. This is why it does make me roll my eyes when some overweight people complain about having a slow metabolism. I'm not disputing that some people, particularly those who have thyroid disorders, have trouble losing weight but it certainly doesn't make it impossible, just more difficult. My mum is hypothyroid and has to take levothyroxine every day but still managed to successfully lose weight and reach her goal.

So, if calories are kept too low for a long time, your body will begin to store what you give it as it thinks there is a famine. This is why a weekly treat meal where you indulge yourself a little is a good idea. It's also a good idea once every 3 months to have a week at maintenance to let your body know that food is not in short supply. This keeps your body guessing and keeps your metabolism ticking over nicely.

So, if your weight loss has stalled, rather than cutting calories further, try increasing them first, even if only by 100-200 for a week or so.

Eating at night makes you gain weight

This is one of those myths that really bugs me. Eating at certain times does not make you gain weight - excess calories make you gain weight. For example, if you ate the exact same meal at 6pm or 8pm , is one higher in calories than the other? Of course not! Each meal has exactly the same amount of calories. Food and drink taken over the course of a week, month or even longer is what really matters, along with how much energy you expend during that time. Excess calories will be stored as fat, whether they are eaten in the morning or the evening.

Eating diet versions of foods is healthier than regular, full fat versions

VS

Absolutely not! It has been proven time and again that many "diet" or "light" versions of food actually contain higher calories than their regular versions. The trouble with most diet products is that the fat is taken out (naturally, as fat is the macronutrient with the highest amount of calories) and it is instead pumped with fillers, thickeners, sugar or artificial sweeteners to make the product more palatable.

As an example, compare the ingredient list from a Mullerlight to that of a Fage Total 0% fat Greek Yoghurt:

Strawberry Mullerlight:
Yogurt, Strawberries (10%), Water, Fructose, Modified Maize Starch, Gelatine, Flavourings, Colours: Beetroot Red, Carmines; Acidity Regulators: Sodium Citrates, Citric Acid; Sweetener: Aspartame.

Fage Total 0% Fat Greek Yoghurt:
Pasteurised skimmed cow's milk, live active yoghurt culture

I know which one I would rather put into my body!

Skipping breakfast helps you to lose weight

Most people who don't eat breakfast often proclaim "I never eat breakfast and I don't even get hungry until lunchtime - when I do eat breakfast, I'm ravenous within an hour". That maybe the case. What it also means is that your metabolism is not switching from storage mode to fat burning mode until you eat that first meal, so it makes sense that the earlier you eat that first meal, the sooner your body starts burning fat! The clue is in the name - break-fast.

Those that don't eat breakfast, you may find yourself extremely hungry within an hour of eating, persevere - your body will adjust within a couple of days.

Snacking in between meals is bad

Far from it. Snacking in between meals, or even eating 5-6 smaller meals spaced every 2-3 hours keeps blood sugar levels stable, stops you from feeling hungry and keeps the metabolism ticking over nicely.

Your metabolism can be likened to a fire. To keep that fire burning you have to add small amounts of fuel throughout the day. If you were to dump 3 huge loads of fuel on it every day, the fire would get smothered and would take a long time to get burning again.

Exercise Myths

The longer you spend in the gym, the better the results

You know the people I'm talking about. The ones who appear to live there, every time you go, they are there and they are still working out when you leave too. I've never understood people like that to be honest - who on earth wants to spend 2 hours of their day working out?

Results is based on more than just what you do in the gym - it's based on your nutrition, the intensity you workout at, resting periods - if your diet is shit, you exercise at a low intensity and you don't include rest days then you could spend ALL day in the gym, it won't make a great deal of difference.

Look at it this way - if you are working hard enough, you wouldn't be able to last more than an hour really.

Sit ups will give you a flat stomach

Of the many fitness sites and message boards I frequent, this has to be the biggest perpetuated myth of all. You see so many posts from desperate people (mostly females) who complain about belly fat and can't understand why it isn't going as they do 200 sit ups a day.

Well, here is the bad news - all those sit ups are going to do is give you a damn strong pair of hip flexors!

Spot reduction is just not possible - we cannot choose where our body will lose fat from and exercising a body part will not make it smaller. It's no coincidence either that at my gym, the only people I see on that stupid weighted ab crunch machine or knocking out 100s of rapid crunches on those ab cradles that bugger up your neck are people with big guts. Do you see people with enviably strong, flat stomachs doing this? No. They do a variety of core work, both direct and indirect by working out with free weights, incorporating stablising exercises and working their core in every direction it goes.

Sit ups and crunches only serve to work the rectus abdominis. These are the long, tube like muscles that runs down the centre of the mid section. The core is made up of more than just this muscle - it is made up of the obliques, transverse adbominis and the lower back muscles too. So, why oh why would you spend so much time only working one of the muscles that form this corset like group?

It also helps to bear in mind that when you strengthen and build up a muscle, it becomes shorter so building up the rectus abdominis could wreak havoc on your posture.

No pain no gain

I have myself been guilty of believing this myth in the past - I have found myself disappointed if I don't ache like buggery the day after a tough workout, I almost feel like I've been robbed. However, pain after a workout is not an indicator of how hard you worked. If your pre and post workout nutrition is good, you can all but eliminate those murderous DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). Once you become fitter and stronger you may find out that you only ache when you change around your routine and perform exercises that your body is not used to doing – this does not mean you are not working hard enough.

Muscles will "turn to fat" when you stop exercising

This is impossible - muscle and fat are two completely different types of tissue and it is not possible to convert one to the other. When someone has quite low body fat and good muscle definition and they stop training and eating sensibly, all that happens is that their muscle mass depletes whilst their body fat increases.

Lifting weights will make you look bulky

VS

So many women are terrified of picking up the iron for the fear of bulking up and looking like a body builder. So, to all of those women, I throw out a challenge - do it. Go ahead and get bulky, get a body to resemble Arnie and I will give you a million quid. Why am I so confident? Because without chemical intervention, it is impossible for a woman to look like a male body builder. Women just do not have the required testosterone to get huge and even most men struggle to look like that.

I will admit that if you are carrying a lot of fat, starting to lift weights can make you look temporarily larger. This is due to beginner gains in muscle (which won't be of any big significance) and muscle pump from water and glycogen being stored in the muscles. As you shed fat, this will become less noticeable and you will start to look smaller. Perseverance is one of the most important things when commencing a new regime.

If, after 6 weeks or so you continue getting bigger or are not getting any smaller, that would indicate that you are most likely gaining fat and something is off in your diet.

Muscle weighs more than fat

What weighs more? 1lb of feathers or 1lb of lead? Neither - they weigh the same. However, the lead is hard and compact whereas the feathers are light and bulky. This is the same as fat and muscle. Pound for pound, they weigh the same. However, muscle takes up a lot less space so the same volume of muscle as the same volume of fat, muscle would be heavier.

I don't want to build muscle, just tone up

There is no such thing as toning up. You cannot tone a muscle - it either grows, shrinks or stays the same. A muscle is always in a permanent state of tone, which is a state of partial contraction, so that the muscles are always ready to be used.

Most people (normally women) when they speak of wanting to "tone up" seek a firm body with good muscle definition. This is achieved by having muscle to show off in the first place and then having body fat low enough to let the shape of the muscles show. The only way to do this is to build some muscle mass and then lose the fat on top of it.