5 Exercise Myths: Why You Can't lose those Extra Pounds

Over ninety percent of gym goers are guided by the wrong information about exercise. Exercise myths have persisted in society for decades, and these false beliefs are the main stumbling blocks to losing weight. If you don't ditch these myths immediately, they are likely to frustrate your zeal and prevent you from losing those extra pounds.

Consider this: if thirty minutes of exercise doesn't kindle the fire you need to burn those extra pounds, you are likely wasting your time, much better spent relaxing in front of a television screen snacking on beef jerky.

It's time to wake up to the facts about exercise and lose weight!

5 Exercise Myths You Should Ditch

Myth 1 : You Must Exercise to Lose Body Fat

To lose body fat, you must create a calorie deficit to trigger fat burning. This simply means eating less calories. Adding exercise to your standard diet will not initiate fat loss. A growing number of studies are showing that people who do cardio or strength training but who do not change their diet, see no changes in body fat.

Myth 2 : The More You Exercise, the More Fat You Will Lose

Actually, the more you exercise, the more you eat! It gets worse: the hungrier you get after exercise, the more you think you deserve to eat a sinful meal. This includes the fallacy of having that medium-sliced cheesecake or that 4-stacked fluffy blue-berry pancakes because you've earned it.

Myth 3 : You Can Burn off a High Calorie Meal via Exercise

Not true. A high calorie meal gets stored by your liver as fat. Burning stored fat is not easy. It is a complex mechanism that not any old exercise will do. Two effective ways to burn body fat are to:

• Cut your carbohydrate intake to 50-60 grams per day, and
• Intermittent fast for at least 12 hours a day, few times per week

Myth 4: You Should Exercise Six Days a Week to Lose Weight

This is an arbitrary figure not based on science. Perhaps four days a week might be better to keep you energized while burning calories throughout the day, whilst a six-day-a-week drill is bound to leave you tired and less able to function for the entire the week.

Myth 5 : Weight Loss is 90 Percent Exercise and 10 Percent Nutrition

On the contrary, weight loss is primarily 90 percent nutrition and 10 percent exercise. What you eat is so important to your weight loss goals that you could be bedridden for a year and still lose a substantial amount of weight by avoiding high carbs such as grains, sugars, sodas, and fruit juices.

The bottom line is, if you want to lose body fat--focus on what you eat--not on exercise. A low calorie diet with good dietary fats is the perfect start. Afterwards, you can incorporate exercise a few times a week to tone muscles, improve cardiovascular health, and stay fit.