Women's Exercise and Diet Mythology 101

Let's call this exercise and diet mythology 101. What you are about to read may shock you. People everywhere are falling victim to the same myths when it comes to dieting and exercise. It is time to finally set the record straight.

Myth #1- Eat less, lose body fat. Wrong. Yeah that's right...eating less actually causes you to store fat and burn up muscle storage. It makes me really sad to see my friends and family fall victim to this myth. I know people who live their lives on one or two meager meals a day. Oddly enough, these people are obese or bordering obesity. They sometimes ask me "how can you eat so much and stay so skinny? You must have a really high metabolism. ", In fact I do have a high metabolism, but it is because I eat five to six meals a day. The mentality of most people is that if you eat less...you will lose weight. That may work in the beginning. As soon as your body adapts to the new change in eating habits and it becomes your daily routine...your body will stop losing weight. What happens to the body is it finally says hey...am I going to get fed again? Am I starving?

Your body actually goes into what is known as a CATABOLIC STATE or simply put "starvation mode" Your body actually slips into a sort of hibernation mode and stops burning fat to fuel your body. Instead your body starts eating its own muscle storage to survive. The best way to overcome this myth is to try eating more. Eat the right kinds of foods frequently throughout the day. Space your meals two to three hours apart. Just try it for a few weeks and see what happens. You will be kicking your metabolism into high gear, turning it into a fat burning machine. When you don't eat much or often your body actually forgets how to burn fat efficiently. Which leads to my second myth....

Myth #2 -Cardio is the only exercise I need to lose body fat! Test out your theory and see how far it gets you. Have you been doing cardio only for the past five years and your body still looks the same? Your weight hasn't fluctuated at all and you end up yo-yo dieting to help your body shed off body fat. Cardio is great, don't get me wrong. You need to participate in cardiovascular activity at least three times a week for twenty to thirty minutes each session. But, you need to more than just cardiovascular exercise if you really want to be a fat burning machine. Try doing a combination of weight lifting and cardio. Here is the kicker though, Lift your weights FIRST then do your cardio. You will burn up to 30% more fat doing it this way. The reason is you will burn your sugar off when you lift weights so when you start your cardio session your body must burn fat for more fuel.

Remember myth #1 when I said your body forgets how to burn fat? This is where you start tricking (or forcing) your body to start remembering how to burn FAT! When you lift weights you actually burn calories for up to 8 hrs AFTER you end your workout! However with cardio you only burn calories while you are actually doing it. Lifting weights three times a week will help you build muscle that is needed to burn off the excess body fat. Try skipping the 3 day a week full body workout circuit and try splitting your body up (in the beginning try a upper body Monday legs on Wednesday then upper body again on Friday, but instead of going back to upper on Monday lift legs. Keep rotating your workouts) your muscles need up 96hrs to recover from a workout (up to 4 days!) so rotate things and give your body a fighting chance to build. The more muscle your body has...the more fat and calories you will burn every single hour of the day.

Myth #3-A woman who lifts weights will look like a man- A woman who lifts weights will NOT look like a man. That is of course if she is doing it naturally, free of steroids. How many women do you see on the cover of fitness magazines that look like men? I have yet to see one. I see women who are toned, lean, healthy and strong. These are women that dedicate their lives to lifting weights, eating clean, and participate in cardiovascular activities every day of the week. A woman's chemistry is not like a man's. Women are not full of testosterone- a hormone that increases muscle development and growth. Women also don't have as much muscle as a man, on top of that it takes a LOT of calories to gain muscle. Ever hear that guy at the gym who eats like a horse and works out all the time and isn't getting very big? It takes the right genetics, nutrition, and hormones (not to mention the right workouts and rest) to get BIG. So you can lift weights as often as you like without fear of growing man muscles. Don't be afraid to lift heavy weights. I often see women in the gym lifting the little skinny 2 lb, 3lb, 5lb weights. You probably pick up heavier things all day long. I see women at the grocery store carrying a 4 year old in one arm and 30 pounds of groceries in the other! Still think that 10lb dumbbell is kicking your butt? How can lifting the light weights be doing anything to push your muscles to strengthen and grow? If you want defined muscles and a lean physique, you will have to lift weights. You will have to break a sweat if you want to see real results.

Myth #5- You shouldn't eat right after you workout.- Wrong again! Eating after a workout is the most important thing you can do to encourage muscle growth and maintenance. Eating after you workout is like the breakfast meal to your workout. It is so important to take in a meal especially after lifting weights. You need to eat within 20-45 minutes ideally, but try to get food within 60 min. after lifting weights. This time frame is called an "open window". It is imperative that you consume complex carbs and a lean protein in that time frame. You do not want to burn up the muscle you have been working to achieve by starving it. Eating a meal with complex carbs and lean protein like chicken, fish, or lean turkey...will help restore lost glycogen levels. Glycogen helps your muscles restore and maintain themselves by curbing muscle breakdown. Glycogen is your sugar. The complex carbs help restore the glycogen, but also help increase your blood sugar so your body can absorb the lean protein and turn it into amino acids and rebuild your muscles.)

Learning the myths and changing your mindset will help you to get on the right track. If in the past you have been fooled by these myths, take notice. Keep the end goal in mind and you will eventually achieve the results you have been working so hard for. Remember that losing a significant amount of body fat takes time, patience, and a serious amount of dedication. Knowing the truth and debunking the myths about diet and exercise will ultimately help you achieve the best results possible.