7 Weight Loss Myths

Ever find yourself following every rule in the book yet the scale won’t budge?
You feel as if you’re doing everything you’re supposed to but still look the same? Let me tell you, we’ve all been there. Unfortunately there is a lot if misinformation out there that may be throwing a roadblock in front of your weight loss. We all seem to believe that the same rules apply to everybody, yet we are all different in our own ways. Some have slow metabolisms while others (the lucky ones) have fast ones. Some benefit more from cardio while others find success in strength training.
Below are seven of the most common misconceptions women believe to be true about weight loss.

#1
You Have to Work Out to Lose Weight
While it’s true that exercise burns calories, many are able to shed pounds without it. “Weight loss is a simple matter of calories in versus calories out” (Karen Ansel). For some who lack restraint, exercise may cause overeating from feeling hungrier. Weight loss aside, all experts agree that working out it good for you in more ways than one. To create a healthy balance is to consume filling foods that are healthy and lean. Veggies, complex carbohydrates, and lean proteins will leave you full for longer and more energetic.

#2
Eating After 6pm or 8pm Causes Weight Gain
There is no evidence out there stating that eating after a certain time causes weight gain. The truth is that eating oversized portions at night usually indicates that you ate badly throughout the day. The best way to control how much you eat at night is to manage and space out your meals evenly throughout the day.

#3
Your Metabolism Slows With Age
Although most people tend to go up on the scale with each passing year, age is not the cause of weight gain itself. Most people pack on the pounds/fat mass due to muscle loss. Our metabolic system is consistently adjustable. This is why strength training is so important as we age. It will help protect our muscle mass while refining our diet.

#4
Carbohydrates Make You Fat
With so much fuss going on about cutting carbs or not eating them at all, it’s so hard to know what to believe. The confusion stems from the fact that many Carb foods are comfort foods that are very high in calories. However we find ourselves in a world of scientific research claiming that “cutting carbs under 130 grams a day can affect your brain function due to the lack of serotonin production.” The best way to eat carbs is to eat the healthy ones like fruits, veggies, and whole grains.

#5
Drink Water and Lose Weight
Water is essential but not a magical way to weight loss. It is commonly believed that the intake of water will flush toxins and fat from your body, but “the toxin fat connection does not have a scientific basis.” What happens is that consuming water replaces other beverages, reducing caloric intake.

#6
Just Eat Healthy Food and Lose Weight
Eating high portions of high-quality foods such as olive oil, some fish, brown rice, or nuts can cause just as much damage on your body as eating butter, pizza, fries, or cookies. The lesson in all of this is portion control. When you are not hungry, stop eating! Many people think they are hungry but really are dehydrated. Balancing is the key to weight loss. No one says you can’t have a slice of pizza here and there but don’t eat the entire box!

#7
Eating Small, Frequent Meals will Boost your Metabolism.
News flash! While the messege is right, the reasoning is reasonably off. We hear it and think, “oh yeah, it makes sense, in order to keep things moving you have to have them working.”
Wrong.
Eating portion controlled meals every three to four hours doesn’t actually boost your metabolism. It only helps prevent cravings that make healthy food choices more difficult. However eating small meals has many other benefits. It fuels your body in short intervals keeping it alert and awake. When we are deprived of food we become cranky and lack energy. Eating healthy and frequently in smaller amounts make you happy while creating a positive energy- increasing the chances you’ll make healthier choices!

Learning how to properly lose weight is tough. With the amount of diets, books, and misconceptions we have out there, no wonder we have an obesity epidemic. When it comes to yourself and your meal of choice, ask yourself will you be happy after the meal is over?
Another thing to keep in mind no matter how short or long a workout is, a workout and your body can only benefit!
Love yourself, love your body, and treat it well- it’s the only one you have.

Why Do We Insist on ONE Hour Workouts? Quality over Quantity!

Where did this misconception come from that we must workout for exactly ONE hour? I’m going to do weights for 30 minutes then hop on the treadmill for 30 minutes… Or I’m going to take a 45-minute class and then do 15 extra minutes of cardio…or I’m going to divide up my 1 hour of cardio into 20-minute segments on different machines, so I don’t get bored.. we’ve all been there, but do we know why? Why do we think we didn’t have a great gym session unless we stayed on the elliptical for at least 60 minutes? This is a very common misconception with people who exercise regardless of if their goal is to lose weight, get healthy, stay healthy, tone, etc. Let’s crack this weight loss myth!

First, it is important to realize that no workout is a bad workout. If you’re debating coming into W3 to workout, and you decide not to for reasons other than an injury or sickness, you will most likely regret it later (but you’ll never regret a workout). So, coming to the gym for 30 minutes is definitely better than not at all. But the question is still “why do we think that 60 minutes is necessary?” Maybe it was a goal that you decided to work up to, starting out at walking at 10 minutes and now you can do the elliptical for 60 minutes- great! But it may not be necessary. Quality over quantity in exercise oftentimes fares better than thinking how long you exercise is going to allow you to achieve your goals. Especially for weight loss, lifting a 10 lb dumbbell 10x over a 2 lb dumbbell 30x is going to get you results a lot faster. The quality of lifting a heavier weight will build your muscle, increase your metabolism and therefore, aid in your weight loss a lot faster.

Lastly, to demonstrate our point that a longer workout (such as 60 minutes) vs. a shorter workout is not necessarily better is the concept of HIIT- high intensity interval training. A lot of W3’s small group functional training is based around this concept of bringing your heart rate up for quick intervals and then back down again. The benefits of high intensity interval training and the speed at which this helps you achieve your goals far outnumber other types of exercise, such as steady state cardio on a treadmill. (and these workouts are definitely less than 60 minutes!) The benefits of HIIT, such as Tabata training, include time- efficient workouts, fat-burning during and after workouts, healthy heart, and weight loss (not muscle loss!) The fact of the matter is that during these short, intense workouts, most of your weight loss is coming from fat stores whereas steady-state cardio usually burns at least some muscle. If you’re looking to lose weight, just remember that longer does not always mean better, and you don’t have to stick to any specific (60 minute) rule. Get a good, strength training, fat-burning workout in, and you’re good to go. If you haven’t already, just try one of our functional training workouts. Don’t be intimidated. There are levels and modifications for everyone. Just try it- you’ll be amazed by how you feel afterwards and the results your body will see, too!