As a long-time gym goer and personal trainer, I see mistakes in the gym, talk about them during appointments, and get bombarded like a meteor shower everywhere I go.
Let’s put an end to months or years of weight loss fads. At least for the lucky readers of this article!
First weight loss myth: stop trying to lose weight!
I need to get this out of the way because everything else depends on it.
I hear this bug being talked about more often. Are you trying to lose fat but keep your muscle Your muscle is identical to your metabolism, so you want to maintain it and, ideally, increase it, not lose it!
Losing fat on its own is much more difficult, but if you lose a lot of muscle with a lot of fat (i.e. to lose weight), be prepared to gain that fat back due to a loss in metabolism!
Second myth about weight loss (fat loss): Trying to ‘lose weight’ from your stomach!
Your body stores fat and burns it generally, not locally.
I mean, you can’t (despite those annoying commercials) get a flatter tummy for some stomach exercise
And anyway, your stomach is usually the last place it will go.
Abdominals do not remove belly fat.
Third myth about weight loss (fat loss): Zero carb approach to weight loss.
Remember, we like muscle, we need muscle.
If your body is low in carbs (or no carbs at all!), it will often resort to breaking down muscle tissue for energy.
Enough talk.
Avoid having less than 75g (approximately) of carbohydrates per day. If your work is physical, have more!
Fourth Weight Loss Myth (Fat Loss): Trying to keep its fat content as low as possible.
While the rule above says we shouldn’t take a zero-carb approach to “weight loss,” keeping our carbs fairly low is key.
As such, our daily calorie intake will be quite low. We might think this is great, but if our intake is too low, we will lose muscle and slow down our metabolism.
Fats to the rescue! Good fats can help us burn fat and are calorie dense. A high-protein, low-carb diet often leaves us with a large calorie deficit that fat can help absorb.
good fats: Olive oil (cold pressed), fish and seed oil, rice bran oil, oh, and nuts too!
bad fats: Animal fats in general, fats from dairy products, hydrogenated fats or anything solid at room temperature.
Get no less than 75g of good oils per day.
Fifth Weight Loss Myth (Fat Loss): Push yourself as hard as you can on the treadmill to lose weight!
Yes, you will lose weight. muscle weight!
Your body burns fat at a low intensity, and bodybuilders have used a low-intensity approach to burn fat for decades.
Your body uses stored carbohydrates for energy at high intensities. When your carbs are low, you’ll be eating muscle for fuel!
Try 20 minutes of brisk walking before breakfast, then another 20 minutes before dinner or after your weight training session. Do this for 3 months and then look in the mirror.