MythBusts

"Weight Loss and Fitness Mythbust #1: Weight Lifting Makes You "Bulky" and Fatter

One of the biggest myths regarding weight loss and fitness, is that weight lifting makes you "bulky" and/or fatter. Funny thing is, it was not created by the unscrupulous weight loss industry. Instead, it is a general misconception created by people who have no scientific evidence to back it up. As a matter of fact, studies prove that weight training decreases body fat and is the most effective form of exercise in helping you decrease body fat. You don't get the results while you're doing it, but as a result of doing it.

You see, muscle is the only place in the body that utilizes fat as energy. As you get older, you lose muscle (known as muscle atrophy). This is the reason why you begin to gain body fat when getting older. You can compound the effects of muscle atrophy by going on a diet or doing lots of cardiovascular activity. Doing too much cardiovascular activity without eating enough can speed up the breakdown of muscle.) Therefore, the more muscle you lose, the easier it is for the body to store fat.

Have you ever known anybody to gain weight back after going on a diet (maybe you)? The absolute only way to prevent yourself from losing muscle is lifting weights. You also have to make sure you get enough nutrients in order to create more muscle. Besides improving your ability to burn more fat, weight lifting is proven to be effective to treating diseases such as diabetes and osteoporosis. Therefore, you must not avoid weight training out of fear of getting hurt or "bulking up." If you're unsure of where to begin, have someone monitor you. In regards to "bulking up," it is a flat out lie. If it were true, then how do explain all of these men and women that you see or you hear about getting shapely muscles, sleek arms, rock-hard abs, and beautiful legs through weight training? How do you explain why they keep doing it? It's simple- It's because it works.

"Weight Loss and Fitness Mythbust #2: Dieting Will Eliminate Fat

This is a big myth I fight to correct everyday. Stay with me on this: Your body can't tell the difference between you dramatically reducing your calories to lose weight with a diet, or starvation. The science behind it is simple: when you dramatically reduce your caloric intake, your body shifts into a protective, survival mode by slowing your metabolism down so you won't burn as many calories. This means your body holds onto your ugly body fat and burns up your valuable, figure slimming muscle instead. Why does your body eat up your own muscle tissue instead of burning fat while you are deducing your calories? Because your muscle is what burns the most calories. As a matter of fact, muscle is the only tissue in the body that utilizes fat as energy. To keep you alive for the long haul, your body cannibalizes what burns the most calories! In other words, you will breakdown muscle to get it's primary energy. Thus, drastically reducing your calories will make you fatter!

In the beginning of a diet you WILL lose weight by dramatically cutting calories. But it won't be fat loss, it will be water weight and lean muscle tissue - the exact OPPOSITE of what you want to get rid of. There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. So, when a diet promises to help you lose 10 pounds of weight in one week, it can't be fat. Why? Because 10 pounds of fat is 35,000 calories. That's 5,000 calories per day. Even with exercise that is a an impossible feat.

Science has proven this over and over again. It's an undisputed universal fact. Not only will harsh diets slow your metabolism down to a crawl, causing your initial weight loss to come to a gradual halt, they will also inevitably bring about a "rebound" effect. This rebound will make you even fatter than you were before starting the diet. This is the result of, among other things, losing muscle. When you rebound, not only do you generally put on more weight than you actually lost with the diet, your percentage of body fat increases because your body cannibalized muscle tissue as an energy source during the dieting process. Thus the "yo-yo" effect that almost all calorie deprived dieter's experience.

Remember, weight is nothing more than a measure of gravity pulling an object toward Earth. It is not a measure of body composition. No matter how you look at it, there are no shortcuts. You must simply eat right and combine it with the right form of exercise.

"Weight Loss and Fitness Mythbust #3: Pills, Powders, and Shakes Will Make You Skinny

Fat burners, diet pills, nutritional supplements – you know who gets the most out of these products? The manufacturers and sellers. Some of this stuff is extracted from foods and has a role in nutrition, but it's not a substitute for eating right. And much of the "miracle" drugs you see advertised are exceedingly dangerous to you. Don't believe me? The next time you see an advertisement in a weight loss magazine for one of these "miracle" products – or if you see a commercial on TV for one – read or listen to the DISCLAIMERS AND WARNINGS that accompany these ads. A lot of this stuff is dangerous and it has no place in a healthy, permanent weight loss and fitness lifestyle.

Sure, if you're willing to risk exposing your body to these drugs, you might be able to lose some weight – at first. But you will experience no long-term benefits – none! In fact, it's really much worse than that. "Dieting" in any form that denies your body the essential nutrients and calories it needs to function efficiently can cause you to lose weight…until you stop the diet. And anyone who has "dieted" knows you cannot sustain the diet indefinitely. Your body screams out for nourishment and eventually you give in. That's when the rebound effect begins. You will inevitably regain all the weight you lost – PLUS SOME. And the regained weight is predominantly fat. During your diet your body cannibalized some of your lean muscle to use as fuel. After the diet, your regained weight does not come back in the form of lean muscle plus some fat – it comes back almost exclusively as fat.

"Weight Loss and Fitness Myth #4: Aerobic Exercise Will Burn The Most Fat

I see frustrated women who spend 4 days a week, 40 minutes at a time, on the stair-stepper, treadmill or in an aerobics class who don't lose weight! But they keep doing what they're doing hoping that somehow what hasn't worked in the past, will miraculously change their bodies in the future. I know men who run 6 miles a day who have no muscle tone and rolls of fat around their waists who hope the same thing. You've been led to believe that if you want to lose fat, all you have to do is regular aerobic exercise. There's a lot more to it than that. No single piece of the puzzle works by itself.

You must monitor and control your cardiovascular intensity to maximize the number of calories you burn. And, if aerobic exercise is not synergistically applied with weight training to increase lean muscle mass, and supportive nutrition you cannot effectively accelerate the fat loss process. Each pound of lean muscle tissue burns 35-60 calories a day while your body is at rest. So, put 5 new pounds of muscle on your body, and you can burn up to 300 more calories in the next 24 hours than you do right now. Whereas body fat is not metabolically active, and just makes you look fat.

Therefore, a combination of properly monitored aerobic exercise, resistance training and supportive nutrition enables you to rapidly burn the maximum amount of fat. Even if you're a triathlete or marathon runner, you have to eat the right combinations of foods and include weight training. Working with aerobic athletes for years, they are astounded not just in the development of how they look, but how they perform.

As it is said in a military cadence, "you can run all day, you can run all night, you can run, run, run into a fire fight." When you are running to lose fat, that's all you'll be doing- is fighting. No amount of running can make you stronger or improve muscle tone. As a matter of fact, it can cause you to get weaker and decrease your metabolism if you do too much of it. You're body will cannibalize muscle (an abundant source of protein) when you deplete yourself of muscle glycogen (stored carbohydrate energy in the muscle). So you see, too much of good thing can be bad. Like with all things in life, you need a balance. When it comes to losing fat, you must include resistance training and maintain proper eating habits. Aerobic exercise alone is not the answer.

"Weight Loss and Fitness Myth #5: Thigh reducers, tummy trimmers and body part shapers can "spot" reduce

All over the country people are falling for infomercials touting muscle-specific exercises for body fat reduction. You cannot reduce your waist size by only working the abdominal muscles, nor can you reduce your thighs with a thigh exerciser. It's a scam. A total rip-off. People have gone as far as getting third degree burns by attaching electrodes to their abdomen. It might have done some reduction, but not the kind you're looking for.

What you have to keep in mind is that body fat is a reservation of energy. When doing abdominal exercises, you can build up your abs and even have a nice "six-pack." However, it will simply be under a layer of fat if you don't include the other components of what it takes to get fit.

The only way to reduce body fat is by combining a precise program of supportive nutrition with the right balance of aerobic and resistance exercise. If it sounds hard, it's not. It's just hard to cut through all the lies, misinformation and total nonsense being shoved down your throat by these big, mega-buck companies attempting to further line their pockets at your expense.

Most people I talk to who buy these contraptions tell me that they are collecting dust anyway. Don't buy into the deception any more and except that there is no quick fix "exerciser" anymore than there is a pill.

Sometimes to get through the madness, you can laugh at yourself about the things you have bought before. Share what you might have got. I'm sure that there are some things I haven't even heard of.

Weight Loss and Fitness Myth #7: You Burn More Fat at a Lower Heart Rate than a Higher Heart Rate

You may have been told that doing cardiovascular exercise at a lower heart rate is better in order to burn more fat. Though there is a degree of truth to this, it is really another myth that needs to be busted.

Somewhere, someone read an article or a journal stating that the ratio of fat that you burn while doing cardiovascular activity is higher at a lower heart rate. As you begin to increase the intensity by means of speed, resistance, or incline, your fat burning ratio will decline. While this is all true, this information can be severely misinterpreted. At all times of the day the energy of which your body using is primarily aerobic. All this means is that you will utilize more fat energy as compared to carbohydrate energy (aka- glycogen that is converted to glucose). When you increase your aerobic output, you will begin to change the ratio at which you utilize fat and carbohydrate energy. No matter what, when you increase aerobic activity, you will increase your carbohydrate (glucose) usage. This is done by what is known as aerobic glycolosis (you don’t have to remember that). There is a high correlation between your heart rate and increasing “carbohydrate burning.” So, when you read this you may think, “okay, if I want to burn more fat, I need to keep my heart rate down.” However, and this is a big however, notice that nothing is mentioned about the quantity of fat calories that is used at a lower intensity as compared to a higher intensity. All that is mentioned was the ratio. Ratios have nothing to do about the amount of calories used, it is just a comparison.

When you increase your heart rate while doing cardiovascular training, you will burn more fat than you would a lower intensity. Ratios don’t matter. It’s quantity of fat you’re after and it just so happens that your training will also be more qualitative. Even if you were to think, “well I don’t want to burn more carbs, I want to burn more fat.” Well, don’t worry; you’ll still be burning more fat than carbs at a higher heart rate, so long as you’re not breaking what is known as anaerobic threshold (which you can’t sustain for long periods of time anyway). Besides, when you burn more carbs, that is less carbohydrate energy that will be converted to fat.

So, when you go to do cardio, get a sweat going and do something more than a “mall paced walk.” Of course, this all depends on your current fitness level. At some time though, you’ve got to push it.

Weight Loss and Fitness Myth #8: You should Cardiovasular Exercise (aerobic), before Weight Training

Somewhere years past, you might have been taught to do cardiovascular exercise before your weight lifting. Most likely, no reason was given; it was just what you were told to do. So, you accepted it because it came from someone else who exercised, or was a health club representative.

Now, we know that it best to do your cardiovascular exercise after your weight training. Even right now you may be saying, "that's not what I was told." To understand why it's the other way around is to understand how the body utilizes different sources of fuel (carbs, fat, protein) as energy.

While doing cardiovascular exercise, you are in an aerobic state. You are not only using fat as energy, but glucose, which is stored as glycogen in the muscle (think of it as stored carbohydrates). During cardiovascular exercise, you are increasing the intensity and need quick energy. Though fat will be utilized, it will be utilized very slowly and steadily.

Now, in weight training, you will only utilize glycogen as a source of fuel because it is anaerobic. So, if you use all of your glycogen stores during cardiovascular exercise, you run the risk of losing glycogen as energy, but something else more detrimental. You can lose muscle. Glucose can only quickly become available from stored carbohydrates (which is glycogen) and guess what else- protein. So, what is the most ready available source of protein in your body? Answer- muscle.

Your body will use muscle protein as a source of energy, as it will break it down into amino acids to create glucose. Because weight lifting it is anaerobic, it can't use fat as energy. As a result of losing muscle protein, you are effectively decreasing your metabolism. To put it simply, if you want to burn more calories and fat at rest, then you want to preserve muscle.

Do not confuse cardiovascular exercise with a cardio warm-up before weight training. At a moderate intensity between 5-10 minutes is advised to jump on a treadmill, bike, or elliptical. For such a short period of time and low intensity, it will not deplete your glycogen stores.

Weight Loss and Fitness Myth #9: You Must Consume Less Calories Than You Expend To Lose Body Fat

I remember when I was in high school chemistry class, the teacher had us take a potato chip and burn it. Though it took a few seconds, the chip burst into flames and disintegrated. The purpose of this exercise was to demonstrate the First Law of Thermodynamics.

The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed - only converted from one form of energy to another. When you eat food, you are basically transforming food into energy for your body. In order to do that, you use energy to break down the food. Kind of ironic, isn't it? You actually measure this energy in kilocalories, but you know it as just calories.

Now, here is the kicker. Not all calories are the same. Now listen carefully, I know no one can argue that 1 calorie doesn't equal 1 calorie. It does. That's like asking, "What weighs more, a ton of feathers or a ton of bricks?" However, the amount of energy that is needed to break down different food substances that have the same amount of calories can vary greatly. To give you an example, I want you to think of the difference between burning a piece of cardboard and a piece of wood. Imagine that they are equal in the amount of "calories" they have. Which would burn faster, the cardboard or the piece of wood? Even though they both have the same amount of energy, the cardboard will burn much faster. Why? Because the amount of energy released in heat does not have to be as great. It simply "breaks" down easier.

Just like that potato chip I mentioned earlier, it burned up quickly. Try taking a piece of raw broccoli and doing the same thing; you will have to stand there and hold the flame to it. (But don't try this, please take my word for it.) Compare the potato chip to the broccoli - which do you think will digest faster?

Unfortunately, you have been told that depriving yourself of food (that is calories) will optimize our weight loss efforts. You hear this from weight-loss centers, infomercials, and magazine articles. Weight loss might be initially achieved, but weight is nothing more than gravity pulling an object toward Earth. Most of the initial weight you lose is water and stored food in the digestive tract. Once you start decreasing the carbohydrate energy, you begin utilizing proteins as fuel. By eating less, it's really not fat you're losing but muscle and everything else that is important.

Now, what does this really mean? It means you need to eat regularly throughout the day to keep burning calories efficiently. You see, by eating regular meals throughout the day you are constantly providing fuel to your metabolism, your body. This keeps the thermogenic engines burning, or that is, your metabolism will be working in high gear. However, you still have to eat the right kinds of food with the right consistency. Even if your caloric intake is low, when you eat hamburgers, French fries, and Pop-Tarts as the staple of your diet, you are going to have problems.

The main point to take from this article is that you must eat and eating less is not always the answer. You must eat regularly and it still must be healthy foods. These foods are lean proteins (e.g. grilled chicken, canned tuna), starchy carbohydrates (e.g. sweet potato, brown rice), and plenty of fibrous carbohydrates (e.g. broccoli, pepper, and any green leafy vegetable). Supportive nutrition, combined with weight training and cardiovascular exercise will guarantee your body fat loss efforts.

Weight Loss and Fitness Myth #11: Doing Something is Better than Nothing

Commonly, I hear the phrase "doing something is better than nothing." Though this may be a little true, it’s usually just a abdication for the efforts of the person who says it.

Now, before I get chastized, I want you to hear me out and unsderstand what I am getting at. I understand that there is a starting point that everone must start. However, if you want to make progress and reach your goals, you have to do more than just "do something" every time you go "do something."

If you expect to improve your fitness levels, lose weight (build a body that burns fat), and become healthier, you have to implement a principle known as progressive training.

Progressive training is nothing more than the understanding that if you want to make improvement in your physical fitness/weight loss efforts, you’re going to have to push it a little. More specifically, it means that you must make changes in your frequency, intensity, and time of your training. Progressive training includes a concept known as overload.

In weight training, overload is the understanding that you must lift heavier weights than what you are accustome to in order for you to get stronger and increase lean muscle tissue. You can implement this same methodology to your aerobic/cardiovascualr fitness. If you walk 3 miles for the same amount of time every time and at the same speed, you will not improve your fitness levels. You must try to at least walk those first two miles in a faster time.

My examples are vague, but all you need to understand is that you must not be afraid to push it if you want to make progress. You were already meant to do activity by design. So, doing something like going on a walk all the time is not sufficient enough if you want to get results. You have to steadily increase what you do if you want to get results.

Weight Loss and Fitness Myth #12: Carb's are Bad for You

Actually, carbohydrates are not bad for you. You need carbohydrates for energy. The problem with carbohydrates is related to the type of carbohydrates that you consume and how often you consume them.

There are 3 types of carbohydrates. There are simple sugars, complex (starchy) carbs, and fibrous carbs. An example of each is as follows:

1. Simple Sugars - most fruits, all fruit juices, yogurt, candy bar, and soda.
2. Complex Carbohydrates - potato, pasta, beans, rice, and oatmeal.
3. Fibrous Carbohydrates - broccoli, celery, lettuce, and apples.

Now, how all of this relates to how your body reacts to these foods is based upon what is known as the Glycemic Index (GI). The GI is basically a table that helps you determine how quickly your digestive system can breakdown carb's to be released as glucose into the blood stream. The faster they breakdown, the quicker your glucose levels increase in the blood. The table starts at 0 and goes to 100. Between 0-50 foods take more time to digest, while 50-100 foods breakdown fairly fast to extremely fast. Here are some examples:

• Apple - 35-45
• Peanuts - 25-35
• Wheat and White Bread 80-100
• Grapes - 60-80
• Donuts, French Fries, Cheerios, Grape Juice, corn chips - 100+

As you can see, the last few foods exceed 100. This means that they breakdown very fast, thus, increasing your blood sugar fast. Most high glycemic foods are simple sugars and complex carb's. This does not mean that those kinds of carb's are bad for you.

Interestingly, most high glycemic carbs are foods that are packaged, fried, come in a bag, squeezed in a bottle, come in a can, a plastic wrapper, etc. I think you get the point. In other words- JUNK FOOD! Though potatoes and bananas are high on the GI, most people do not over indulge themselves with these types of foods. Also, the junk food carb's have no nutritional value and in most cases are loaded with additional calories from fat.

Naturally occurring higher GI foods (meaning that they have not been processed) are usually very good for you and are not loaded with fat (especially trans-fat or saturated fat). However, this does not mean you can consume huge amounts of them and you may have to be careful as to what time of day you eat them.

To help you understand, a banana with some oatmeal is good for breakfast (combined with lean protein) as they will get your blood sugar up to get you going. As the day progresses, you need to consume less simple and complex carbohydrates. Instead, you will begin to increase your consumption of fibrous carb's (e.g. romaine lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) which are low on the GI. Here's an example of how it might go:

• Breakfast - Oatmeal and/or Banana
• Snack - Apple or Grapes
• Lunch - Salad
• Snack - Peanuts
• Dinner - Mixed Vegetables

Now, the example is only about carb's, so other types of food (for example from meat) to get you necessary requirement of protein. Protein also slows down the breakdown of the carbohydrates. Know that carbohydrates are your primary source of energy. Without eating the necessary amount of carbohydrates, you can run the risk of losing muscle and training your body to hold fat better (refer to mythbust #2: diets will eliminate fat).

Weight Loss and Fitness Myth #14: Weight Training Can Hurt Kids and Stunt Growth

Obesity in children is at an all-time high. One in three children are now considered obese. Lack of activity, poor nutritional habits, and lack of guidance (parents and schools not being effective role models) are the primary culprits. Unfortunately, just like adults, many children are placed on restrictive diets and exercise programs that don’t motivate or cause serious injuries.

When a child is obese, he or she would be better served being placed on a “treatment” program that involves weight lifting, a “fun” cardiovascular program and a supportive nutrition plan. Some believe weight lifting can stunt growth and break bones that are still developing. But scientific studies have proven the contrary. Lifting weights can actually increase bone density and enhance bone development. In a 10-month study involving 9-10 year-old girls, bone mineral density increased 6.2% compared to about 1.4% to those who did not strength train at all (Morris et al.).

Parents may prefer calisthenic exercises such as push-ups over lifting weights. But calisthenic exercises can be very hard to complete (one of the reason’s I wish they would abolish the old President Councils Test) due to the child’s lack of strength to push or pull his or her own body weight. Lifting lighter loads with dumbbells can be less intimidating and easier to accomplish.

You may want your kids just to walk or run. But most kids (even if they like to run) like to run in fast, but short intervals. Sustained activity, such as walking on a treadmill or walking at the park can become tedious and tiring. Injuries are also more likely to occur in these type of activities as well. The second problem is that aerobic exercise will not strengthen muscles or increase metabolism.

Like adults, kids also are more likely to lose weight and keep it off through weight lifting. Start out slowly. Then increase the weight once an exercise becomes easy at 15 repetitions. It is also more important for your child to work out on non-consecutive days. Kids need more time to recover to prevent fatigue.

Typically, children at any age can lift weights 2-3 times a week, every other day. Usually, the earliest age is 8-9 years. Other activities can be included, such as cardiovascular exercise. However, kids need encouragement to stay motivated. Most importantly, they should be supervised by a professional.

Weight Loss and Fitness Myth #15: Detox and Fasting Flushes out Impurities and Helps you Lose Fat

The popularity of detoxifying has had it’s peaks and valleys over the past few decades. Usually, the popularity is created by those who do it in the entertainment industry. For those of you who don’t know what a “detox” is, let me explain.

Detoxifying is the idea of radically restricting caloric intake in order to “flush out” impurities that are left in the body. According to detox-diet books, these impurities come from our current food supply and suppress the immune system. The most popular detoxification plan at this time is the Master Cleanse. The Master Cleanse involves only drinking a mixture of lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper, plus a laxative tea and salt water for 10 days.

Though, there are a few people out there who actually do this fasting plan to get rid of impurities, the bottom-line truth is that most people do it to lose weight. I will pick on the weight loss thing in just a second, for now, I will pick on the “detox” part. There is absolutely no evidence that going on any kind of fasting or detoxification flushes out impurities, nor does it improve the immune system. As a matter of fact, the opposite has been shown. When you fast, you actually deplete your body of vitamins and minerals. By the way, you can’t simply replace them by taking vitamins, as you need food to absorb micronutrients. You also lose “good” bacteria when you fast. Once again, taking something to replace it is not ideal, when you should prevent it to begin with.

As far as weight loss is concerned, there is no denying that you lose “weight.” However, most of the weight loss is not from fat, it is from a loss of water, a depletion of food in the digestive track, and eventually muscle. If you’re told that you don’t lose water because you’re drinking water, that’s a lie too. The “cleansing” part is more a result of the constant going to the bathroom, as the concoctions used usually operate as laxatives. You also lose water by depleting foods, mainly carbohydrates (this is not a good thing folks). Inevitably, studies show that going on restrictive calorie plans of any kind can cause you to gain more weight over time.

I already know that there are many people that will disagree with what I am telling you. Many of which are a part of my industry. The only problem is that there is no scientific evidence to support detoxification or fasting. (The only time I support fasting is for religious purposes. In this case, the purpose of fasting has another meaning). One more time, let me share that the opposite shows to be true. When you detox or fast, you are going to mess up other physiological functions. The body does an excellent job of expelling impurities on it’s own. Whether you’re trying to detox or lose weight, the best policy is to include a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and drink plenty of water.

Kelly Huggins, B.S., ACSM HFI
The Fitness MythBuster
404.303.8305 kelly@kellyhuggins.com