There is no shortage of advice regarding your fitness and health. Unfortunately, not all of it is good. As a result, bad advice circulates, and some of it can be harmful. So, let’s explore some common health and fitness myths in no particular order and set things straight.
Myth #1: Spot Reduction
You may have heard that you can lose fat or tone up an area of your body, like your stomach, thighs, or butt, through targeted exercises like crunches or squats. Unfortunately, the body doesn’t work like that. Your body decides where it pulls fat to burn for energy, which is never where you want it and is written in your genes.
Instead, a balanced diet with a variety of nutritious foods and consistent exercise will help you achieve your weight goals.
Myth #2: Do Cardio To Lose Weight
Cardio can burn extra calories, which can lead to weight loss. However, permanent weight loss combines a healthy diet and consistent exercise.
In many cases, making minor adjustments to your diet and adding some modest exercise, such as walking, yoga, and strength training most days of the week, can help you lose weight and improve your overall fitness.
Myth #3: The More Exercise, The Better
At face value, this makes sense. If you exercise more, then you’ll burn more calories and improve your fitness. It’s true that the more fit you are, the harder, longer, and more frequent you may be able to exercise. In reality, pushing yourself to exercise more than your body can handle is a recipe for disaster.
However, exercising too much can lead to burnout and injury. You may start to hate exercising, especially if you force yourself to do it to record more exercise in your fitness journal. Instead, find exercises you enjoy so you look forward to exercising. Although, too much of a good thing can be harmful. Therefore, you should include rest days so your body can recover between workouts.
Myth #4: No Pain, No Gain
While it’s true that you have to push yourself to reap the rewards of exercise, if it hurts, then you’re doing it wrong. Pain isn’t necessary to make progress. If you lift weights, you can work your muscles to the point they can’t lift anymore, but it shouldn’t hurt. Likewise, you don’t have to run your fastest for all your workouts to improve your cardiovascular fitness.
Instead, your exercise routine should be challenging but never painful. A balanced routine between cardio, flexibility, and strength training will provide enough challenge and diversity to improve your overall fitness.
Myth #5: Weightlifting Will Make You Bulky
While this may be your goal, many women avoid strength training because they fear gaining too much muscle mass. However, bulking up for anyone is difficult because building muscle requires specific training and diet plans.
Most women lack the testosterone levels to gain significant muscle mass. However, strength training can help everyone with toning, functional strength, and fat loss.
Myth #6: You Won’t Build Muscles As A Vegan Or Vegetarian
This myth likely originated from the misconception that animal products are the only source of high-quality protein. Protein is vital for helping repair and build muscles. Animal products are often considered to be complete proteins since they contain all the essential amino acids.
Although some plant-based foods lack one or more essential amino acids, eating a variety of them can give you everything you need to build muscle. Many plant-based foods, such as beans, lentils, tofu, nuts, seeds, and certain grains, are rich in protein. Eating these foods as part of a well-balanced diet can give you the proteins needed to build muscle.
Myth #7: Skipping Meals Helps Lose Weight
Weight loss is all about burning more calories than you consume. Therefore, skipping meals means you’re consuming fewer calories, right? Not necessarily. Skipping meals can increase feelings of hunger. When you do eat, you may overeat or make unhealthy food choices. As a result, you may consume more calories.
It gets worse. When you skip meals, your body slows your metabolism to conserve energy. As a result, it may be more difficult to burn calories to lose weight or find the motivation to exercise. Instead, eat when you’re hungry, eat balanced meals, and make smart choices.
Myth #8: Low-Intensity Cardio Is Best For Fat Loss
It is a common belief that exercising within a fat-burning zone strictly burns fats over carbohydrates for energy. The fat-burning zone is associated with low-intensity workouts such as walking or yoga. Low-intensity exercises can be done for a prolonged period, especially for beginners, resulting in potentially more calories burned.
Although a higher percentage of calories burned may come from fat for lower-intensity exercises, the total calories burned tend to be lower than in high-intensity workouts such as cycling or running. Regardless, your overall calorie deficit comes from a balanced diet and any form of consistent exercise, no matter how intense.
Myth #9: You Can Detox Your Body
It’s a popular notion within the health and fitness communities that detoxing your body of waste products can help improve your overall health. However, your liver, kidneys, lungs, and digestive system are already working together to neutralize or eliminate toxins. Therefore, you don’t need a specific diet or cleansing product marketed to detox your body.
It’s important to be cautious with any detox diet. Many require extreme restrictions, fasting, or consuming specific foods or supplements. However, it’s worth noting that there’s limited scientific evidence supporting these approaches. In fact, some detox diets can be harmful and lack essential nutrients.
Instead, ditch the notion of a quick-fix detox and focus on improving your overall health by eating a balanced diet with a variety of foods and consistently exercising most days of the week.
Myth #10: All Carbs Are Bad
This myth likely originates from low-carb diets and trends. In truth, carbs are essential. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are the three essential macronutrients. They are critical to providing energy for your body to function properly.
Carbohydrates cover a wide range of nutrients that include simple sugars, complex carbohydrates, and fiber. Not all carbs are equal, and the quality of the source matters. Consuming whole, unprocessed carbs from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is better than cookies, cakes, and chips.
The Takeaway
There is a lot of information regarding the best ways to improve your health and quality of life. Although there is good information, there is also bad advice that can lead to injury. You can’t rush your way to fitness. However, you can reach your goals by eating a balanced diet and consistently engaging in exercises you enjoy.
Everyone is different, so what works for one person may not work for you. Therefore, research and tailor your workout routine around your specific goals. As a result, you’ll improve your chances of achieving and maintaining your goals as you age.
FitTrend’s mission is to help you along your self-improvement journey, promote an active lifestyle, and help you achieve your goals. Our journal can help you track your workouts, weight, mood, calories, and more. Also, FitTrend allows you to connect supported gadgets to your account to make it easier for you to update your journal automatically. Create your account today and start using FitTrend for free!
Disclaimer: No content on this site should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
