The new year has just begun and if you’re like many Americans, you’ve resolved to lose weight and get in shape.
Unfortunately, dreams of whittled waists and flat tummies often are dashed in favor of french fries and pizza by mid-March. False ideas about fitness are some of the main reasons people aren’t successful with their goals. We spoke with experts at the American College of Sports Medicine, among others, about some of the most pervasive fitness myths.
1. Trying to lose 50 pounds in a month or run a 10K after working out for a week.
Setting unrealistic weight loss and fitness goals are the No. 1 fitness myths, said David Grotto, a spokesman for the American Dietetic Association. According to the ADA’s nutrition guide, “Instead of trying quick fixes, gradually make realistic changes in your lifestyle and eating habits. A weight shift of 1/2 to 1 pound a week is healthy. Any more than 2 pounds of weight loss a week suggests that you’re exercising too much or eating too little. Remember: Your extra pounds didn’t creep on overnight. They don’t disappear that way either!”
2. Dieting to lose weight and fat.
Dieting is an idea that should be banned from the human psyche because it is merely a short-term solution for a lifelong commitment (weight management). Many people who “diet” cut their calorie intake too low or eliminate certain food groups, thereby setting themselves up for failure. Mary Pearsall, a licensed practical nurse, certified personal trainer and owner of www.phonefitnesscoach.com added that when you reduce your caloric intake too much, your body shifts into a protective mode, holding on to fat (an important energy source) and sacrificing muscle instead. Not only will this slow your metabolism down and cause your initial weight loss to come to a gradual halt, inevitably it also will bring about a rebound effect. This rebound will make you even fatter than you were when your diet began, thus the yo-yo effect that all dieters experience. To permanently lose the fat stores in your body, you’ve got to burn more calories and increase your metabolic rate (the rate at which your body burns fuel) with a precise exercise routine and proper nutrient ratio adaptations (that means eating the right stuff at regular intervals).
3. Aerobic activity alone is the best way to lose the most fat.
In order to get the most out of your aerobic workout, you should monitor and control your aerobic intensity to maximize the number of calories you burn. According to Susan Kleiner, a spokeswoman for the college of sports medicine, aerobic exercise alone is not enough; it should be supplemented with resistance training (lifting weights) to at least maintain muscle mass, which can help accelerate the loss of fat. In a nutshell, a combination of properly monitored aerobic exercise and resistance training enables you to rapidly burn the maximum amount of fat.
4. Resistance training (weight lifting) doesn’t burn fat.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Kleiner said strength training is very important to losing and maintaining the loss of body fat. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. Fat is not. Fat is an energy source for the body, but most people have much more than they need. The more lean muscle you have, the more fat you burn, even when you are at rest. Pearsall said the real secret is how metabolically active your body is the 95 percent of the time that you’re not working out. People with more lean muscle burn fat at a much greater rate than those with less lean muscle. That doesn’t mean you have to look like Arnold or Madonna to be an efficient fat-burning machine. But you do have to at least maintain and preferably increase your lean muscle mass. It’s easy with proper resistance training.
5. Muscle will turn into fat once you stop working out.
Kleiner said muscle doesn’t turn into fat. If you stop working out, you lose your muscle tone and get flabbier. If you continue to consume the same amount of calories as you did when you were working out, you’ll pack on more pounds of fat.
6. The more out of shape you are, the longer it will take to see results from your exercise program.
The less fit you are, the greater the relative improvement will be. Percentage wise, the greatest gains in fitness come in the first few weeks and months of any exercise program. Kleiner said people should notice changes within the first six weeks of their program. After that, results are cumulative. This means the longer you continue to work out, the more benefits you will see. Varying your workout is key to handling plateaus. You should definitely see changes by the third month.
7. A high-protein, low-carb diet is the best way to lose holiday weight.
Not if you want to keep the weight off long term. Grotto said these diets do work short term, but in the long haul, denying food desires never works. “We are meant to eat a variety of foods,” he said. The American Heart Association released a report in October that said following a high-fat, high-protein diet for a long period of time increases the risks of high cholesterol, kidney stones, heart disease and possibly cancer. Read the full article on the association’s Web site, www.americanheart.org. Go to the journal section.
8. I have to join a gym to get in shape.
Some people are more comfortable and find it more convenient to work out at home. The best place to get in shape is the place you will attend regularly.
9. An exercise program that worked for my friend is guaranteed to work for me.
The science of weight loss is always the same, use more calories than you consume. But a program that works for your friend may not work for you. If you hate jogging, you won’t stick with it. Find activities that you like to do so you continue it as a lifelong process.
10. If I work out seven days a week, I’ll reach my fitness goals faster.
Rest is just as important as working out because muscles need time to repair. Even if you crosstrain, make sure to schedule a day off. Kleiner added that “working out seven days a week might increase the risk of injury because of tired muscles.”
11. If I am not “tired” after working out, then I have not worked out hard enough.
If you’re tired after working out, it’s a sign you’re pushing yourself too hard. According to the editor of the fitness Web site www.primafit.com, except for the first couple of weeks of a new exercise program (when the unaccustomed stress may leave you more fatigued than usual), your workouts should leave you feeling invigorated, not worn out. “One good rule of thumb: You should finish each workout with the feeling you could have easily gone a bit longer if needed. An especially bad sign is if you’re still tired a day or two after a workout. In that case you’re probably overtraining and need to reduce the length and intensity of your exercise sessions.”
12. Instead of working my entire body, I can work on a portion at a time.
Pearsall said thigh reducers, tummy trimmers and body-part shapers don’t work. “All over the country people are falling for infomercials touting muscle specific exercises for body-fat reduction. You cannot spot reduce your waist size by working the abdominal muscles, nor can you reduce your thighs with a thigh exerciser. It’s a scam. A total rip-off. The only way to reduce body fat is by combining a precise program of supportive nutrition with the right balance of aerobic and resistance exercise. If it sounds hard, it’s not. It’s just hard to cut through all the lies, misinformation and total nonsense being shoved down your throat.”
