There are many false truths about losing weight. So what are the facts about weight loss. Here we list our Top 10 of fat loss facts. Which ones do you think are true or false?
1. Eating in the evening is bad for you – not if you exercise in the evening after work. If you do exercise late, you need to refuel your muscles; otherwise your performance may not be as good for your next workout. The science – glycogen is a substance stored in bodily tissue as a store of carbohydrates. Low glycogen equals poorer performance
2. Saunas will help you lose weight – if anything they result in dehydration so you need plenty of liquid during and after otherwise your next workout will be quite poor
3. Eating less carbs will help me lose weight – if you reduce your intake in carbohydrates you will have less energy. You may also start to lose muscle. See point 1 on Glycogen. With carbs, it’s key that you focus on the right carbs. There are both good and bad but do not skip on carbs
4. I’m going to start this new celebrity diet – why? Most of them will results in rapid weight loss, which is generally water rather than fat and as soon as you stop your fad diet, you go back to your old habits and put the weight back on again. If you allow your metabolism to slow, burning fat will also slow
5. Eating lots of protein (for example, chicken) will results in more muscle – yes you should eat lots of protein, but there’s a limit – 2 grams per kilo of bodyweight as a guide. Anymore and you may put on weight instead through fat
6. I want to lose weight fast – if that’s the case you are more likely to put in back on. If you lose weight fast, especially early on in a diet, it’s more likely to be excess water due to dehydration. The process is then followed by losing muscle rather than fat. This then impacts any exercise you are trying to do which will slow down the impact to losing body fat
7. Weight training will add muscle and hence add weight – resistance training with weights is very important for you and should be included if possible as part of your exercise routine. Twice a week is good enough. As your body goes through the process of building muscle, in turn it will burn calories and hence lose body fat
8. I will skip breakfast and wait until lunchtime so I have fewer calories – if you do not eat regularly, your metabolism will slow and hence your body will not burn fat, instead it will store it. Again, back to Glycogen, those carb stores will go down and you will have a lot less energy. If you can it’s best to eat little and often, but do not skip meals
9. Muscle may become fat –they are two completely different tissue types. Exercise will maintain or increase muscle tissue, depending on the type of exercise and reduce fat
10. Avoiding fat will help my weight loss program – there is both good and bad fat. By all means avoid bad fat, hydrogenated fat, saturated fat etc., but your body needs some fat in your diet so focus on good fat, such as olive oil. Reducing fat too far will again reduce your workout performance and impact your weight loss routine
I do hope this list helps you think through how you approach your diet and weight loss program. Eat healthily, eat regularly and exercise.
Lana Soko is passionate about Health and writes for http://www.lose-weight-with-us.com
Tags: celebrity diet, exercise, fat loss, glycogen, hydrogenated fat, increase muscle tissue, lose muscle, losing weight, metabolism, muscle, Protein, Resistance training, saturated fat, weight loss, weight training
September 22, 2010 at 8:10 pm |
Thank you for these myths and the clear explanations. Our body is complex and to think we can do any one of the lies and lose weight and become more healthy … hopefully your readers will spread the word and not fool themselves into continuing with destructive behavior.