Top 10 Fat Loss Myths
Fat Loss De-Bunked

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We are well into the New Year now. Congratulations. Right now you’re head is still, as ever, full of the rubbish you see in the celebrity magazines that you spend about £10 a week on, with how to get the perfect body, and the magic Tinsel Town weight loss formula.

Well. Some news for ya. That magic weight loss formula that the beautiful people achieve is a very simple formula. It’s called the “I get paid $10,000,000 a film’ formula. Or the ‘I can pay a chef to live in my house, have a PA to organise my life, and hire the worlds best trainer for 5 sessions a week’ formula.

We’re gonna us this blog to de-bunk some of the biggest weight loss myths for the average person. We’re not Hollywood movie stars, after all. We’re real people, with real world problems. Some of these are gonna be more in depth. Others straight to the point. We’re gonna list 10 of the hundreds of bullshit things you hear, read, and try.

Ready?

Ok. Let’s do it. 

1. The muffin top. The bingo wings. Only a couple of the endearing names we give to the parts of our body that we religiously kick the living arse out of. Tricep dips until your eyes fall out. Crunches until you would be permanently fixed in the position if the wind changed. Stop! Spot reduction is the biggest weight loss myth you will come across. There is no such thing. Just the same, another common myth is that a high number of repetitions will burn more fat when in truth, fewer repetitions with a heavier weight will actually cause you to burn more fat in a shorter amount of time than a higher number of reps with a lighter weight.

Spot reduction is the attempt to remove subcutaneous fat from a given area of the body. Yes, it will strengthen the area being worked, but it will have negligible impact in terms of ridding the area of unwanted fat. We often hear the term ‘melt the fat and it will turn to muscle’. No. No. No. Fat doesn’t melt. Whilst we will increase lean muscle tissue around the area, it will not magically turn into muscle. You’re not a Disney princess! Fat is taken from our fat cells for energy, but unfortunately, not always from the areas we desire. Plus, the areas we usually target i.e. the triceps (back of the arms), are small in size compared to larger muscles like the trapezius (upper back) .

Instead, use ‘compound’ movements. Movements that use more than one joint, and in turn, use more muscles. Focus on larger movements like squats, dead lifts, press ups and pull ups, whilst combining these with smaller isolated movements like the shoulder press and bicep curl. More bang for your buck, so to speak. This helps to develop muscle in more areas , and influences fat loss more than the myth of ‘spot reduction’. So, by increasing your overall fitness, you will reduce body fat and the percentage you carry, more efficiently. 

2. Drinking cold water is a very common myth that actually is believable, if you look at it’s reasoning. 

The myth tells us that because our body needs to heat up the ice cold water we religiously consume, it automatically begins to burn calories whenever you drink it. Your body then goes bat shit burning calories until it has adjusted the water temperature to that of your regular body warmth.

Drinking water is an important part of daily living, never mind weight loss, but in reality, don’t expect to lose weight just from drinking ‘high quality H20’ to quote ‘The Waterboy’ . The reason, I hear you ask. It’s because the energy we use to heat up that water is actually very little, so it will have negligible effect on weight loss. You need it, but you will not torch calories just from living off a liquid diet.

3. Madagascar. A good movie. The scene where Alex keeps seeing everyone as meat resonates with the next myth. The myth of cutting out elements that make up our macro nutrients. Our essential nutrients. Look at all the diet plans that are around in today’s market. 5:2. Dukan. Paleo. Atkins. Don’t believe everything you read. Yes, all these trends have a place in the market. That said, many of them will not work for you. Instead of cutting out macro nutrients, you need to change habits. Bad ones. This is the first thing you need to understand. You create new habits that provide the building blocks to success. Nutrition isn’t a one size fits all scenario. Change one at a time. Gradually, you begin to learn what works for you and what doesn’t. You’ll begin to understand yourself a lot more. Minimise foods that are high in sugar. These are the devil. Carbs? They are not, and neither is fat. Again, some elements of both are bad, but there are plenty of healthy options that are crucial for a balanced diet. 

4. If you begin to resemble the big, green character from comic books when you don’t get to work out at the same time every day, then chill. It’s all good. Exercise, no matter what time of the day, is exercise. It’s the same as eating 500 calories at 10am, or 10pm. It’s still 500 calories. 

The only thing you should try to get right is your consistency. Don’t get bent out of shape, if you don’t work out at 6pm every day. Focus on getting it done. Your body doesn’t care what time of the day it is. It will burn calories any time you light the fire. Just. Get. It. Done.

5. Sharon on the recumbent bike with the T.V. has cycled from John O’Groats to Land’s End five times this year whilst watching a whole series of Downton Abbey. She believes that the key to fat loss is there somewhere. On that bike. At a snails pace. It’s not. Whilst low intensity long duration cardio might help you lose some weight in the next four years, the larger amount of that will be muscle.

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (or BMR) is the number of calories your body burns at rest to support your lean muscle mass. When your lean muscle increases, so does your BMR.

Whilst you’re losing lean muscle, the affect on your hormones is negligible during low intensity long duration cardio. As soon as Sharon jumps off the recumbent bike, she stops burning calories. Instead, use the HIIT method (high intensity interval training) of training to burn calories, elevate your metabolism for longer,  and save time. EPOC (excess post exercise oxygen consumption) is higher than steady state cardio meaning your body will burn calories for far longer. Booooooooooom. 

6. Eating after 7pm will cause you to spontaneously combust! Don’t worry. It won’t. Another one of the many myths attached to the weight loss game. Eating too many calories causes weight gain whatever time you eat them. Our growth hormone controls the fat that your body burns, and the muscle it builds. It has been shown, and proven, to peak whilst you sleep. Researchers have found that people who ate later in the day burn calories more effectively than people who eat earlier in the day. Consuming the largest amount of your calories at night is a good way to boost your growth hormone production. 

7. “Mr. Tupperware”. The affectionate name you have for John in accounts. You watch him devour several animals between 09:00 & 17:00. The theory is that eating little, and often increases your metabolic rate, which very is true. But it doesn’t necessarily promote fat loss, which is what we are looking at here. Studies prove this theory. Researchers have found that there is no evidence of improved weight loss in those people who eat more frequently. They have found that there is no difference in fat loss between people who eat four 500 calorie meals, and those who eat two 1,000 calorie meals. There was no difference in weight loss.

The one thing it will elevate though is your cortisol levels, or your stress levels, to give them their Lehman’s term. Unrealistic eating habits lead to an elevation in stress levels if you miss feeding time. You’re not an animal!

8. ’Low calorie’. ‘Low fat’. ‘Chemical shit storm’ is how it should read. Fat loss myth number eight. Reduced-fat food should contain less fat than a full-fat version, but that doesn’t always make it a healthy choice. Low-fat foods regularly contain high levels of sugar. Instead, focus on healthy fats from salmon, avocados, olive oil and nuts. Stay away from bad fats. Processed, packaged foods.  Put it back on the shelf, and step away. This is the macro police. You will be arrested if you eat that crap.

9. “If I pick that weight up, I’ll have to walk out of the door sideways”. No. You won’t. Lifting weights has long been associated with men, and with size. As a result, this has often discouraged many a female to stay away from weight lifting.

Yes. We need to take into consideration structural, hormonal, and lean body weight differences, but women should not fear weight lifting. 

Lifting weights = More muscle

More muscle = Increased metabolism 

Increased metabolism = Weight loss

Simples! 

Five pounds of muscle will take up less space in the body, under your skin and between your organs, than that of the same amount of fat. Ask yourself would you rather have five pounds of lean muscle tissue, or five pounds of bulky fat. Increased muscle mass has far greater advantages to your health. One pound of fat weighs the same as one pound of muscle. The difference is density. One pound of muscle takes up less space than one pound of fat. Sherlock Holmes doesn’t need to be consulted for the answer to which you would rather have. Now. See that weight. Pick that bitch up, and put it down. Repeatedly. 

10. The final myth. Snacking. The rumble in your tummy registers 7.5 on the Richter Scale, as people in the southern hemisphere dive underneath their desks. You reach for the snacks. You do so again at least another two times before you finish work. Is this a problem? Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. The problem lies in the type of snack you are eating, and not the amount.. Most people snack to maintain energy levels. Many make the wrong choices. It’s simple. Choose healthier options. Choose fruit instead of crisps. Vegetables instead of chocolate. It’s not difficult. The difficulty comes in what you are eating. 

There you have it. 10 of the many hundreds of weight loss myths de-bunked or your viewing pleasure.

Comment below and we will help in any way we can.

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