WELLNESS
The 7 Most Common (and Ugly) Misconceptions in Fitness
By Sunny Ayala
As a personal trainer and life coach, I see many people frustrated with the lack of results they see in their fitness
efforts. “I eat right, I work out, but I can’t lose weight!” It’s not uncommon to see people who have literally tried everything from the cayenne pepper cleanse to the grapefruit and lettuce diet to the run- in-90 degree heat-in a garbage bag-workout. While it may be surprising to them why they’re not losing weight, it’s not surprising to me. In fact, I’d be sur- prised if it worked.
The media and the internet have done some great things to feed misconceptions about diet and exer- cise to our culture. There are so many philosophies out there that are pumped into us everyday, it’s hard to distinguish fact from fiction. Some of us have adopted entirely outrageous behaviors believing that they will help us meet our weight loss/management goals. Even the sound doctrines of diet like, “eat less and workout more” are not always the right thing for an individual to do to lose weight.
Everyone’s body responds and performs differently. However, there are a few standards that are simply wrong for all of us. I’d like to expose 7 of the most common and downright ugly misconceptions that I come across in my business. As you read the list, ask yourself if you’ve bought into any of these, or if there is some variation or spin that you’ve believed.
Myth # 7 Calories are bad. I need to keep them as low as
possible. I’m amazed everyday at how many people I come across who believe that a calorie in and of itself is something to be feared or avoided. Calories are our friends. They fuel our brains and our bod- ies. We need them to live and they are a wonderful measure of energy. We need to understand them. We need to identify the different kinds. Then, it’s a beauti- ful relationship.
Myth #6
If it says “diet”, it must be healthy. Most foods that say “diet” can be even more harmful than foods that don’t. Artificial sweeteners are used in many foods to reduce sugar, carb and calorie count, and many times sodium and other preservatives are added to make up for lost flavor. Be sure to read labels and find out why it’s “diet”. If they’ve added these other things or strings of words you can’t pronounce, this diet is not a good one.
Myth #5 Working out two hours a day will be better for me
in reaching my goals than one hour a day. The old addage “if one is good then two is better” does not necessarily apply here. Our bodies are amazing machines. They program themselves based on our habits. So when you begin to work out twice a day (or two hours a day) then your body begins to think that is normal. Therefore when you begin cutting your workouts down to one hour a day; which is more sustainable in the long haul, your body thinks you have slacked off. You can begin to gain weight again because your body has already adjusted to twice the amount of exercise. Keep in mind a new addage, “if
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