When starting a new fat loss program, most people are confused about where to begin. The confusion usually stems from from the thousands of myths that surround weight loss and losing body fat. In this article we’ll share the 5 most common myths and replace them with the facts to help you avoid common dieting and exercise mistakes in your fat loss efforts.
Before we look at the myths, let’s define the two major types of body fat. The first is visceral, or internal fat, which surrounds the organs. Visceral fat is usually lost by dieting. The second fat is called subcutaneous fat, which lies just below the skin. Subcutaneous fat is generally lost through exercise. The fact that you’re trying to lose these 2 different types of body fat are why it’s so important to incorporate both exercise and dieting into your weight loss program.
Myth #1: Spot reducing exercises are effective to target fat loss in certain areas, such as the thighs.
Fact: There is very little you can do to influence specific subcutaneous fat distribution. Exercise should always be a part of any fat loss program – but vigorously exercising a specific body part has no real influence on local fat in that area. This myth has been debunked many times. The truth is that fat melts from the body in the order in which it came. So if your hips started gaining the weight first, it will be the last area in which you lose fat completely. Stay with a sensible, fat burning diet and exercise for overall good health, rather than spot reducing.
Myth #2: Body fat comes from eating fatty foods.
Fact: Fat in foods does not necessarily equal fat on your body. Fat comes from calories; it doesn’t matter if those calories come from a ice cream or vegetables. For health reasons, we want to obtain most calories from healthier foods, however, if you eat more calories than your body needs, it will store them as fat. An example is that sugar makes us fat, whereas eating olive oil or avocados in moderation may not be stored as fat, depending on your caloric intake and the timing of your meals. Eating proper portions of healthy meals, 5-6 times per day will keep the metabolism running high and avoid a spike in insulin, so the body will not store the food you eat as fat– no matter which type of food groups you have eaten.
Myth #3: Eating carbohydrates will prevent you from gaining body fat.
Fact: Carbohydrates have the same chance of being turned in to fat cells as any other type of food. In fact, under certain conditions, the carbohydrates that you eat can get directly turned in to fat cells immediately. Neither fats, carbohydrates nor proteins prevent you from getting fat.
Neither is the opposite true, in that carbohydrates do not prevent you from losing fat. The myth comes from the fact that too many simple carbs will be stored as fat. Again, we go back to eating smaller meals of largely healthy foods, 5-6 times a day.
Myth #4: With strength training, high repetitions will lead to maximum fat loss.
Fact: Doing high-repetition weight training, or about 20-30 reps per set, will not lead to greater fat loss. In fact lower reps, say 1 set of 8-10 reps, done to exhaustion (high intensity) with heavier weights, has been reported to result in more fat loss. This is due to the fact that higher reps are good for muscular growth. More lean muscle mass helps us burn more fat.
Myth #5: Crash diets or severely restricting caloric intake will melt fat away faster.
Fact: Putting your body into starvation mode generally makes it hold onto fat to preserve your life. That said, it is true that when you don’t eat enough calories, your body will eventually break down some stored fat to use as energy. However, when you go off your diet and start to eat normally again, you’ll gain all that weight back because your body will believe it is coming out of starvation, and will store fat more effectively than ever. Unfortunately severely restricting calories also results in some muscle loss, as well.
To lose weight safely, lose a little at a time; one to three pounds a week is ideal. Don’t deprive yourself of food, and eat at least 1,300 calories per day if you are a woman, or 1,500 per day if you are a man. You put fat on over time, so support your body by doing the same when losing weight.
When you design your body fat reduction plan around these facts, you’ll find losing body fat to be easier and less complicated. There are no shortcuts with getting fit, and going for long-term results are not only the safest and healthiest, but will train your body to burn fat efficiently over time. Combining strength training & cardio, and eating a fat burning diet of healthy foods, is the best approach to a leaner body.
One diet that focuses on these fat burning principals is called Fat Burning Furnace. Learn more about the secrets that the Olympians have been using for decades!
