Surprising Slimming Truths: Part III

The last installment of this topic continues debunking some common myths about nutrition and exercise as they relate to weight loss. Thanks for reading along! If any of these posts leave you with specific questions or general thoughts, please leave a comment and we'll keep the dialogue rolling. I'll do my best to field any questions you might have and point you in the right direction. I just love being able to engage people in these kind of conversations because, as I've said before, this blog and what I do is all about quality of life, not just weight loss. We have the chance to improve our lives for the better, to live stronger, healthier, and more balanced daily, and in doing so to be happy with who we are and enjoy those around us to the fullest. So jump into the last discussion on this topic with me and we'll keep the motivation up to live well!

#9. Weight Lifting Will Only Bulk You Up
The Truth: Lifting weights makes you stronger, builds endurance, and burns calories - it's a great way to shed those extra pounds (contrary to the idea that you'll just gain weight from muscle and "bulk up"). Many people ignore resistance training in favor of cardio, but lifting weights actually burns more calories than a cardio session and boosts your metabolism by 11%! Remember, muscle is metabolically active than fat at rest, as it takes extra calories just to keep muscle. So pump that iron, keep squatting, try some push ups, and see the fat melt off faster than on cardio alone!

#10. Running on Empty is a Smart Way to Burn Extra Fat
The Truth: Beware of falling prey to this weight-loss temptation! Exercising on an empty stomach is like trying to drive your car without gas; we need carbs in our system to start that engine up and to keep it going strong to keep burning more total calories. Plus, your brain runs on carbs, and trying to perform a hard workout with your mind in a fog reduces intensity and increases risk of injury. About 30 minutes before a morning workout, try some easily digestible carbs (like yogurt, dried fruit, or a piece of toast with peanut butter). In the long run, your workouts are more effective, allowing you to train harder and helping to curb overeating post-workout.

#11. You Can Spot-Reduce Fat
The Truth: If only we could! You can do crunches until you're blue in the face if you want to lose your extra stomach fat and you still won't see that weight disappear. The only way you can spot-reduce is with liposuction! When you exercise, your body taps into energy stores from everywhere, not just one place. To lose unwanted fat in on etrouble area, you have to work your entire body. That's why functional, total body moves (like a squat press-up with weights or a burpee) are the most effective calories burning, muscle using exercises around.

#12. Longer Exercise Sessions Equal Better Results
The Truth: It's actually possible to accrue more fitness and fat loss by occassionally breaking your normal cardio pattern of 30 minutes at a steady pace on the ellipitcal trainer or your usual 45 minute trail run into two half-hour or twenty minute sessions. You can run faster and harder if you're tackling two shorter runs instead of a single long one. The same is true of weight training: high-intensity workouts can be much shorter (think: 18-30 minutes of hard exercise) because they are tougher than a drawn-out session in the gym. Try bursts of cardio sprints, or going fast on a treadmill up a hill and then bringing your intensity and incline down to an easy pace, 30 seconds hard, one minute resting; 30 seconds hard, one minute resting; etc. Or, squeeze in a high-intensity morning run and hit the weights later on in the evening - exercise is cumulative, so every little bit counts! It doesn't all have to be in one long go.

#13. You Can't Overcome Your Genes
The Truth: While it is true that some people are moe predisposed to have a slower metabolism and others put weight on in certain areas like their family members before them, staying trim is not a hopeless war. You can actually outsmart your genes and maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. A study in Finalnd in 2009 published in the International Journal of Obesity tracked 16 sets of same-sex twins for decades and discovered that the twin who was more active over a 32-year time frame had 50% less belly fat than the twin who didn't exercise. That's a huge difference! So stay motivated and encouraged: regular exercise and healthy eating puts you a step ahead in winning the battle against the bulge.

#14. Keeping It Off Is the Easy Part
The Truth: Maintaining your healthy weight isn't a one-time deal; as if getting there isn't hard enough, it's almost tougher yet to stay the course and do what needs to be done to maintain. This is exaclty why quick-fix "solutions" to weight-loss don't work: the weight comes back and comes back hard, normally leading to more weight-gain in the long run. Stay motivated with others, do what you love, enjoy, and can incorporate into your lifestyle, or spend a bit of money on a trainer who can help refresh a stale program and keep you excited about fitness. You can do it!

Thanks for tuning in for this fun series and again, all credit to the April 2010 issue of Runner's World magazine for their great article putting some of these myths about weight-loss to rest. If you have your own tips, write in and share them! Any struggles or current successes? Share those too! Keep it up everyone, and let's keep getting strong together. Live well,

-Bonnie