So, this is my first steemit story.
As a nutritionist and long time fitness enthusiast i have come across a lot of myths that people actually believe, worst of all, i have seen colleagues stick by this long time "truths". I have heard from gym talk to professionals in the health and fitness industry, charge for this kind of advice and consults. In my head i thought "Either they are scamming these people, or they really don't know better" In any case, it is detrimental for people's health, wallet and at times, both.
1- Burn fat:
All of us are biological machines, sustained by a bunch of biochemical reactions, now, the term, "Burn" as a description of the lipid metabolism, as lingo is accepted, but we know now, what really happens to fat, a fat molecule is composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen like a lot of other tissue in our bodies, we use this molecules as energy storage in the form of chemical bonds, when broken, the reaction releases energy which we use. This is were it gets interesting. As stated early we are not exempt, from the laws of nature (biochemistry) in this case, i am talking about, the law of conservation of mass. So, where does this mass goes. What happens to my carbon, hydrogen and oxygen? Easy. Carbon Dioxide and water. Yeap, is that simple...well not that simple it actually involves quite a few metabolic pathways, but long story short, we exhale the "leftovers" of our fat molecules . So next time u hear someone say "Burn fat" and wanna sound like a brainy, say "Actually you oxidize it, this basically means you combine it with oxygen and breathe it out".
2- Sweat Fat:
Ok, this might have been 1.1, as it is related to number one, but it has so much to cut from i decided to give it it's own number.
This probably came from a logical fallacy called "Affirming the consequent". Goes something like this:
If i exercise i lose fat
If i exercise i sweat
Therefore if i sweat i lose fat.
This is false, sweating is a mechanism from the body to keep the temperature in a safe range, while exercising puts stress on the body (the good kind) it promotes the use of lipid molecules as a source of energy. "But i have seen boxers and mma fighters do it" Yes some people do sauna or sauna suits to lose weight...water weight! For the weigh in before the competition, what purposely cause excessive sweating does is dehydrate the body, this is dangerous as it thickens the blood, creating trouble specially in the kidneys.
3- "Toning" the muscles
I have heard this in the gym countless times, "do low weight high reps to tone the muscle", or "I don't wanna get too big, just wanna get tone and definition", here's the thing, the muscle (skeletal muscle), in regards to that, can do 2 things, get bigger, or get smaller, small when not used, bigger when stressed, how does it get bigger is interesting, in regards to getting bigger it can do 2 things
It can do Hypertrophy and hyperplasia, to not deviate too much from the subject, i am only gonna explain it in simple terms, Hypertrophy is when the muscle cells get bigger and hyperplasia is when you create more cells, so one affects size, the other affects the number of the cells. That said, a "tone body" is usually one with some muscle developed and low body fat, there lies the key! The reason those bodies look "toned" is because they have low body fat, which translates to, the muscle pressed tighter against the skin, there is a saying in fitness modeling that goes "A Cover shot is 20% model 80% lighting" while this people are to be admired for their hard work and discipline, most of the bodies you see in magazines are photograph by professionals and even photoshoped after that, creating a somewhat illusion of the body image...ok i digressed.
So what can you do, to get closer to the image that is in your mind of a toned body, simple, lower your body fat percentage. You wanna look like you gain 4lb of muscle, lose 2lb of fat.
4- Lose belly fat
I have seen this so many times, and it is probably one of the most searched, along with "Lose love handles", "lose saggy arms" well, you can't. Thanks for reading, appreciate the comments, and if....what? yo wanna know why? ok let's do this one.
This is known as "Spot reduction" Let's start with this "How many times have you seen someone with a six pack and love handles?, or a well defined back but belly fat?. There is no way (nonsurgical at least) to remove fat from a certain part of your body, no amount of crunches will "define your abs" if you first do not remove the fat tissue that covers them, that applies to every part of the body. The body is adapted to survive, not to look like a model's and as such it uses the lipid tissue as it is needed, from all around our body, even internal organs. When you exercise and control your caloric intake, this tissue slowly reduces, as it gets used as energy, from all over your body. So please don't fall from the scams of the "Ab-whatever". Theres no easy way out, just diet, exercise, discipline and patience. What takes us to...
5- Lose fat Fast!
Where do i begin with this? Has you may have seen by now, losing fat and creating muscle, is a complex biochemical process, which can not be rushed by killing yourself doing cardio, eating X shake, doing X workout, popping X fat burner pill or with X regimen...and don't get me started with detox. Well think about this way, how long did it took to get you to your current weight, we all see pictures of ourselves from 3 or 6 years ago and say, back when i was thin, right. My point is, it took you about that time, to create all that fatty tissue, which granted, you did not purposely gained the weight, now if you purposely direct your actions to lower your fat percentage, it can be done faster, but these chemical processes can not be alter in such way that you lose 10 lbs of fat in a week. So, how long? The realistic expectation is about 1 lb per week, 2 lb tops, for it to be healthy, there are ways to lose weight faster nut none are healthy, there are diseases, accidents, infections that will make you lose weight, BUT NOT FAT weight. A lot of people get sick or injured when taking what they think is a shortcut, is great if you are on the path to better your body, health or even self image. But do it safe. Like i say "Someone telling you that you can lose 10 lbs of fat in a week is like saying you can get from New York to Paris in an hour, it can't be done" Maybe someday, but as of now, Eat healthy, workout and be patient and be safe.
Thanks for reading, i hope you enjoy it, and i'm sorry if some of this is disappointing or discouraging, but it is the reality and i do this in the hopes that you don't waste your time and hard earned cash in products or ideas that are plainly, lies!