Weight Loss Myths

Five Big Weight Loss Myths

Are you trying to lose weight? Does someone keep telling you that you are doing it all wrong? I am sure that you, just like me, have heard many of the following statement -- but did you know that most of them are untrue, and can be very detremental to your weight lose efforts.

First let me just say, If all you want to do is lose weight -- then you are already on the wrong track. Your goal should be to lose body fat -- no they are not the same thing. When you lose weight, it could be muscle mass or body fat, or even a combination of both. The ultimate goal is to lose body fat while maintaining your lean mass, increasing your lean mass or at minimum limiting the amount of lean mass that you lose.

Now on to those Myths.

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First -- Dieting will decrease body fat. When you decrease your calories -- especially if you decrease too much -- your body thinks that it is being starved. This will only succeed in slowing your bodies natural metabolism down. This will defeat your efforts to lose weight and you will either platue or begin to see increases in your weight.

Second -- Supplements are all that is necessary to be skinny. Wrong again. Supplements can assist you in your weight loss endeavours, but once again there is no Magic Pill. You still need to eat properly and exercise. As much as people hate to hear it -- weight loss is still a matter of Calories in vs. Calories out. You have to burn more calories than you take in. You can achieve this by eating right, proper amount of exercise -- both cardiovascular and resistance.With the properly ratio of the above, you will increase your metabolism and start to see improvement in your body composition.

Third -- Aerobics or cardiovascular exercise is the only way to lose weight. Again, Wrong. How many fit marathon runners do you see? Do you long to look like a marathon runner or a sprinter? Marathon running is nothing but aerobic exercise, where as sprinters are short intervals of anaerobic active just like resistance training is anaerobic. Each pound of lean muscle mass you have will burn anywhere from 30-50 calories a day when you are resting. I don't know about you, but I want all the lean muscle that I can get.

Forth -- Resistance training does not burn fat. See above. The more muscle you have on your body, the higher your metabolism will be. The higher your metabolism the more calories, and body fat, your body will burn even at rest.

Fifth -- You can shrink a specific body part or area. You want to lose those love handles, so you are doing sit ups by the thousand and still nothing is happening! Well, that is because your body is very efficient and will burn body fat from all over your body, not from just one spot. The same is true for all other body parts -- sorry Suzanne Summer -- but even that magical thigh machine will not make your thighs any smaller with out a proper nutrition and exercise program.

There are many myths and misconceptions out there -- and it is difficult to seperate fact from fiction. Just remember that if it sounds to easy or good to believe -- then it probably is.