5 Weight Loss Myths

As a sportsman, I always see people thinking they know very much about weight loss, getting fit, fat loss and muscle building. However, most of these "knowledge" is coming from misconceptions about health and fitness. I want to mention 5 weight loss myths in this post.

1) 3,500-calories-equals-a-pound rule

The 3,500-calories-equals-a-pound rule is a well-known myth about weight loss. Every dieter on the world knows this. However, what most don't know is that this arithmetic comes from a study done in the 1950s.

Diana Thomas, a mathematician, said this formula grossly underestimates real-world weight loss efforts and leaves dieters disappointed.

The formula is wrong because: When your body loses weight, you carry less weight and you start to burn fewer calories for the same activities.

How can you fix this formula: You can use new prediction methods which take your age, height, body fat and sex into account. You can find them on Internet.

2) You gained it and you "can" lose it

The problem with this myth is that gaining weight is taking much less effort than losing weight.

You can consume hundreds of calories more than you require and this excess calories are stored as body fat.

Nevertheless, losing weight requires a constant daily effort. It takes a long period of time. What you need most is definitely patience.

3) Exercise is useless while you're trying to lose weight

Exercisers tend to compensate by eating more, but not enough to make up for all of the calories they burn during their workouts. That causes a negative energy balance for exercisers and they burn calories easily then other people. 

4) People Gain and Lose the Same Way

Every individual has a different metabolism thus they have different weight, height, body fat and muscle structure. 

It is obvious that everyone gains and loses weight differently. Even the twins are different in that manner.

5) Eating 6 small meals is the best

"Eating smaller but more frequent is the best." idea is not supported by lots of evidence. For example, a recent research suggests no weight loss difference between dieters who ate their calories in 3 versus 6 meals daily. In fact, another study suggests eating two large meals a day can be the ideal diet strategy for weight loss.

These 5 myths were very popular ones that I see everyday. Hope it is useful and you liked them.

Stay tuned!