Health and Fitness Myths

Its time to cut through some of the most common and destructive health and fitness myths. In this article we are going to expose some of the most common mistakes made in getting health and fitness on track.

Myth #1: Artificial sweeteners promote weight loss and are safe to consume.

Not long ago we dove into some of the most destructive chemicals on the brain. Artificial sweeteners made that list as a top contender. The ironic thing is that so many consume diet sodas for a healthy reasons and yet are causing more destruction to their bodies than traditional sugar. In 2005 the San Antonio Heart Study collected 25 years worth of data related to the consumption of diet soda. What they found was that the average consumer had a 65 percent increase in becoming overweight in the next 8 years, 45 percent chance of obesity. Personally me, i don’t like those odds.

Myth #2: Eggs are bad for your heart.

Eggs have so many wonderful benefits for those who choose to consume them. With recent studies it has been learned that the primary catalyst to heart disease is saturated and trans fats. So picking up some eggs and dropping the potato chips might not be a bad idea. But don’t go making waffle size omelets just yet. Your body can handle an average of 300 mg daily of cholesterol without any negative impact. Do the math and keep it to an egg or two a day tops.

Myth #3: Exercise can delete bad food choices

NO. This is very far from the truth. You cannot out train a bad diet. No matter how many lifts, squats, or miles you run. You will be left with what you consume. There is of course the inverse if you want to push past plates in which case i do recommend having a cheat meal every so often to spike insulin levels. This is perfectly okay. Just don’t bury your face in a box of donuts and expect that you can run it off later. Doesn’t work that way. Garbage in, garbage out.

Myth #4: I only want to tone my muscles.

This one is kind of funny. Toning muscles is rather redundant. If your body wasn’t already consisting of tone muscle you wouldn’t be able to move around to begin with. The main struggle hear if you want to define muscle but not grow muscle is that you have to lose that layer of fat on top. This should not be read to discourage anyone from building muscle. Especially the women reading this article. Physically it is ten times harder for women to put on muscle than men, so don’t be afraid of really challenging your muscles in the weight room. You won’t leave with balloon arms.

Myth #5: If i do a bunch of crunches i will get flat abs.

Nope. This is not how it works. Crunches are known to burn very few calories and if you have a pooch belly you won’t see that flattened any time soon with a bunch of crunches. You need to engage your whole core to do that. From your shoulders all the way down to your butt. This isn’t to say that you can’t get any benefits from doing some crunches. Sure you will be able to feel the abs tightening up a bit underneath the layer of fatty tissue. But lock in some serious core exercise and you will burn it away much faster.

Myth #6: Do Cardio before weights

When i say cardio i am speaking more of the treadmill, the row machine, and other such methods. Doing any body resistance training like push ups, squats and lunges are different. But here is the logic for all this. When you do cardio first you will burn up a lot of the fuel, glycogen, that you need to carry through your next work out. But doing weights first will give you the boost in testosterone and cortisol levels that will make you an animal when you sprint out on the track. Give it a try.

Myth #7: Eating fat makes you fat

There are several types of dietary fat and several body fats in which they can be stored. But restricting fats are a very unhealthy way to preserve your health. You need fat to burn so that you can function with energy. So logically you would want to choose a fat that burns quickly and gives your body what it needs then flushes out what it doesn’t. This is Monounsaturated fat. A quick study of the Mediterranean diet and you can see why healthy fats are good for you. On another note, your brain is comprised of fatty tissue. Feed your brain too.

Myth #8: Cooking with olive oil is healthy

Absolutely not. When you heat up olive oil it turns carcinogenic. Though adding olive oil to a salad is perfectly okay. This is part of that Mediterranean Diet we just mentioned. For a healthy alternative to cooking oil, try using coconut oil. It holds up under intense heat and doesn’t turn into an enemy of your health.

I hope you found this article on Top 8 Health and Fitness Myths helpful

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