"7 Myths About How to Stay in Shape" Review

There are many conflicting messages on the best ways to achieve your best shape. Check out this list of 7 mythbusters...it might change your approach to fitness (from the article 7 Myths About How to Stay in Shape).

1. Myth: Fat makes you fat.

If you brought a space alien to the average American supermarket and let them wander around, they'd probably tell you "fat" was a kind of human poison, on par with arsenic and mercury. And it makes a kind of intuitive sense to say that fat makes you fat. But that's not how our bodies work.

As with any nutrient, it's possible to overeat fat. But fats, especially the healthy sort that come from olive oil, avocados, and nuts, are an essential part of our diet. And when you don't eat them, you're not just depriving yourself of something your body needs, you're making it harder for you to feel full — and increasing the chance you might overeat.

Moody Wisdom: The other key message here is that it is possible to overeat the good stuff too. If you have a problem with your boundaries, you'll want to read "4 Ways Your Brain Make You Overeat and How to Outsmart Yourself".

2. Myth: Fat-free food is healthy food.

In the effort to strike fat from the American diet, a massive industry of fat-free foods rose up — especially in the dairy section. The implication of slapping "fat-free" on a product is that it's healthy. But the thing is, you can call plenty of unhealthy foods fat-free. Think about soda, candy, and beer.

And unfortunately, many fat-free products are in fact packed with a much more dangerous substance: sugar. "Healthy" yogurts are especially bad in this department. In fact, people who eat low-fat dairy foods are more likely to be overweight.

Moody Wisdom: This myth is most popular among my personal training clients. Check out "Personal Trainer Wisdom: 1 Fitness Myth Unraveled" for another suprising myth debunked.

3. Myth: No pain, no gain.

"No pain, no gain" is a popular idea in the workout world, forming the foundation of several popular programs. But in reality, working out long after your body starts telling you it's getting damaged poses a serious injury risk. Which is not to say you shouldn't push yourself.

Some soreness after exercise is a sign of natural strengthening processes in your muscles (that don't, incidentally, have anything to do with lactic acid.) And while the potential benefits of high-intensity exercise are huge, pain-free moderate exercise is powerful as well.

Moody Wisdom: Repeat after me "You can still build muscle without feeling sore the next day." Repeat after me "You can still build muscle without feeling sore the next day." Sorry bodybuilders. Skim through 12 Workout Myths That Just Need To Die for other specific exercise tips.

4. Myth: You need to drink eight glasses of water a day.

Listen, staying hydrated is important. And sometimes when you can't sleep or start feeling irritable or fatigued, the problem is really dehydration. So for people who struggle to remember to drink water, setting a goal might not be the craziest thing in the world.

But, as Randall Monroe illustrates so well in the above XKCD, there's no science (or sense) behind the magical eight glasses number. In general, pay attention to your body and the weather. Drink as much water as you need to feel hydrated. And you'll probably be fine.

Myth: Exercise is about losing weight.

Exercise is very, very important. It keeps you fit, strengthens your muscles, and extends your life expectancy. But there's one task that it's not particularly good at: making you lose weight.

On its own, exercising simply doesn't burn enough calories to make the pounds fall off, even though its other functions are enormously important. There's really only one thing that helps cut weight, and that's cutting calories. A doctor or nutritionist can help you put together a plan to do that.

Myth: You can be too old to start exercising.

There's an idea out there in the culture that if you don't get fit young, you never will get fit. That turns out to be nonsense. Our best research on this subject shows that people who started exercising late in life — even after their 70th birthdays — saw increases in fitness and lived longer than their friends who remained sedentary.

Myth: Drinking a glass of red wine every day will make you live longer.

A few studies have suggested very minor cardiovascular benefits to certain substances in red wine, when consumed in very small quantities. But even the researchers behind that work think we all need to cool it with the booze. And there's good evidence that there was no truth at all to this idea in the first place.

More saliently, regular drinking is associated with disturbed sleep, decreased happiness, and increased cancer risk. It certainly doesn't make you healthier (sorry).

Which of these myths will change your approach to weight loss?

Are you having trouble losing weight? Read "50 Unhealthiest Foods on the Planet" Review. It's probably time to rewrite your grocery list.

Picture Credit: theodysseyonline.com-Will running be the answer to your weight loss?

Article Credit:
Author: Michael Moody Fitness with excerpt sourced from the article " 7 Myths About How to Stay in Shape " on MSN.com.
"7 Myths About How to Stay in Shape" Review

Learn how to lose weight from a personal trainer in Chicago.

8/8/2016 2:51 PM

Michael Moody Fitness

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