Feeling good mentally and physically is key to a happy life. Below you will find four fitness myths BUSTED.

Myth: Cardio will help me lose weight faster

Cardio exercise is great for your heart and great for your body, but it’s not the best nor most efficient way to burn off fat. If you’re going to do cardio, your aerobic cardio exercises should be intense, brief, and varied to maximize your fat burning efforts. Start with walking and then speed up every week. Walk, jog, run, and then eventually sprint. Lifting weights yields much better results of losing body fat long term. How is that? Lifting weights builds muscle, which boosts metabolism, which then helps burn off fat. My personal favorite is lifting weights faster, or with less rest time, so that my “cardio” is better movement with less rest time while keeping my heart rate up. HIIT training, which stands for High Intensity Interval Training combines both weight training and cardio training and is quicker, faster, and more efficient for fat loss than traditional boring cardio.

Myth: Fat-free foods will help me lose fat because they have fewer calories.

Fat-free foods are not always better. Marketing teams are great at making the consumer think that they’re getting something healthier by eating something free of fat. However, when you take away the yummy tasting fat, you have to replace it with something else in order to make the food taste just as good. Most of the time it is either replaced with sodium or sugar, and sometimes it’s both, which is a double threat. Add in a little processing and preservatives, and you will be well on your way to preserving your waistline, instead of shrinking it. Learn to read nutrition labels before purchasing your next “fat free” item. Stick to all-natural or organic foods. Shop the perimeter of the store and stay away from boxed and processed foods.

Myth: Doing ab exercises will slim my waistline

Just like when you work your legs or arms, when you do ab workouts, you are working a muscle that is hiding under a layer of fat. That layer of fat can prevent you from seeing progress. So, the focus should be on how to get rid of the fat so you can expose these muscles. First, nutrition is key. Track your nutrition, either old school style by writing it down in a food journal or go online and join the nutrition application, ProDiets (approved by registered dietitians). With this app, you can customize and get approved meal plans that are geared to help you lose body fat faster. Secondly, burn more calories doing total body exercises to bring your “sexy back”. Keep your body moving by doing exercises such as jumping jacks, jogging, running, burpees, and other exercises that require the use of your entire body.

Myth: No-carb diets are the best solution

Have you ever done a “no-carb diet”? How did it make you feel? Perhaps you felt sluggish, couldn’t think straight, and had no energy. Am I right? The body and brain need carbohydrates to function properly. It’s one of the three main nutrients that the body prefers to use for energy, and you need it to burn unwanted fat. So put down the devil’s food cake and try some healthy deviled eggs. Timing, balancing, and planning your carbohydrate intake will be key to a hotter body. Try having your starchy carbohydrates earlier in the day instead of at dinner. This way, you’re able to conquer your workouts with maximum effort and have all day to burn it off so you can lose body fat and weight.

Written by: Kri Chay

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