1. Crunches
will get rid of your belly fat. False. "You can't pick and choose areas
where you'd like to burn fat", says Tyne. "In order to burn fat, you
should create a workout that includes both cardiovascular and strength
training elements. This will decrease your overall body fat content".
2.
Stretching before exercise is crucial. False. Some studies have
suggested that stretching actually increases muscles' susceptibility to
injury. They claim that by stretching, our muscle fibers are lengthened
and destabilized, making them less prepared for the strain placed upon
them by exercise. "You might want to warm-up and stretch before a run,
but if you are lifting weights wait until after the workout to stretch
the muscles," adds Tyne.
3. You
should never eat before a workout. False. "Fuel" coming from food and
fluids is required to provide the energy for your muscles to work
efficiently even if you are doing an early morning workout. "Consider
eating a small meal or snack one to three hours prior to exercise. Load
up your tank with premium 'fuel' and choose some fruit, yogurt, or
whole wheat toast," says Bender.
4. Lifting
weights will make women bulky. False. "Most women's bodies do not
produce nearly enough testosterone to become 'bulky' like those body
builders on TV," says Tyne. If you do find yourself getting bigger then
you would like simply use less weight and higher repetitions.
5. Fat is
bad for you, no matter what kind. False. Contrary to popular belief,
there are plenty of "good fats" out there that are essential to
promoting good health and aid in disease prevention. "They are the ones
that occur naturally in foods like avocados, nuts, and fish, as opposed
to those that are manufactured," says Bender. "Including small amounts
of these foods at meal times can help you to feel full longer and
therefore eat less."
6.
Restricting calories is the best way to lose weight. False. Both
cutting back on calories and moving more will help you lose weight and
maintain lean muscle mass needed to boost metabolism. However, often
individuals think they must take drastic measures to lose weight (ex.
eating less than 1200 calories), but this does not usually provide
adequate fuel for the body and may slow metabolism. " Drastic measures
rarely equal lasting results, so start small and eliminate 100-300
calories consistently from your daily diet and you will reap the
reward," says Bender.
7. As long
as you eat healthy foods, you can eat as much as you want. False. A
calorie, is a calorie. Although oatmeal is healthy, if you have 4 cups
of oatmeal, the calories add up. "Healthy or otherwise, you still must
be aware of portion sizes," says Bender. "You must limit your caloric
intake in order to lose weight, however, understanding how to 'balance'
calorie intake throughout your day can help you avoid feelings of
deprivation, hunger and despair," adds Bender.
8. Exercise
turns fat into muscle. Fat and muscle tissue are composed of two
entirely different types of cells. "While you can lose one and replace
it with another, the two never "convert" into different forms," says
Tyne. "So fat will never turn into muscle."
9. Eating
late at night will make you gain weight. False. "There are no 'magic'
hours," says Bender. "We associate late night eating with weight gain
because we usually consume more calories at night. We do this because
we usually deprive our bodies of adequate calories the firsthalf of the
day. Start the day out with breakfast and eat every 3-4 hours. Keep
lunch the same size as dinner, and you will be less likely to
over-indulge at night, yet you can enjoy a small late night snack
without the fear of it sticking to your middle," explains Bender.
10. You
have to sweat to have a good workout. False. Tyne says "Sweating is not
necessarily an indicator of exertion -- sweating is your body's way of
cooling itself." It is possible to burn a significant number of
calories without breaking a sweat: try taking a walk, or doing some
light weight training or working out in a swimming pool.
