Are you sick of not progressing at the rate you would like or not at all? Well here are some busters that might help you. The internet is full of tons of crap, it is hard to sift through all that, amiright??? I remember how daunting it was to begin my fitness journey and here are some things I wish I knew.
1. "4, 6, 8, week challenges," change your body forever!!!
It didn't take you that little of time to get where you are so it will take longer than that to reverse it. Those challenges are a great way to get started, but if you really want to change it will take altering habits and making your health a priority and fitness a lifestyle. It takes some people years to get where they want and be able to maintain it. This buster isn't meant to discourage you. It is meant to be a reality check and to make attainable, sustainable changes and goals.
2. "You can spot reduce fat"
WRONG. You can't work out your abs and all your stomach fat goes away. The only way to lose fat is consistency in diet and exercise. Over time, more specifically longer than 8 weeks..(refer to above)...patience is key.
3. "Lifting weights makes women bulky"
I haven't heard this in awhile, but I HAVE and that's the point. Women have significantly less testosterone than men making it virtually impossible unless they're taking performance enhancing drugs. The physical benefits of weight lifting for women is actually incredible.
4. "Peanut butter is a good protein source"
False, peanut butter has some protein, but it is a high-fat source. Fats are essential in an everyday diet, but you would need a ton of it to get a sufficient protein amount and at that point you would consuming a ton of fats (refer to macros blog to understand more on this.)
5. "If I work out really hard, I can eat whatever I want because I earned it"
Exercise is not a punishment and food is not a reward. Binge eating post exercise will regress you not progress you. Fact of the matter is you have to be in a deficit to lose body fat, none of which happens when you eat crap all day because you had a killer workout.
6. "Skinny tea, waist trainers, and fat burners will help me lose weight"
ALL OF THIS IS BULLCRAP. I fell victim to it when I was 16 and not only can I tell you from knowledge about products, but from personal experience, this stuff is just a money sucker. Supplementation can assist your goals, but it will never do the work for you7. "My program doesn't work because my weight isn't going down"
AHHHHH. Wrong the scale is ONE way to measure progress and is actually one of the least accurate. The scale doesn't measure your body's composition or training capacity. It is just your gravitational pull to the earth. Your weight can go up as you build muscle and your clothes will become looser. So many factors go into weight, it's hardly a way to measure progress at all.
8. "I can't go out to eat or enjoy time with my family because I will go off my plan"
The hardest thing to realize sometimes is that the gym and your diet is important, but it usually isn't life or death. Being ALL in or ALL out is easy, extremes are easy. Balance is the real overlooked trick. How do you do both? How do you keep progressing while not missing out? Easy. It's prioritization. You can enjoy holidays and birthdays and vacations as long as you realize they aren't free for alls. Adopting a LIFESTYLE allows you to stop yo-yo dieting because you have something sustainable.
9. "If I eliminate carbs, I'll lose weight"
THIS IS THE ONE I HEAR SO OFTEN. It makes my ears bleed, if you want to gain muscle you are going to have to eat..yes...CARBS. Carbs have such a bad reputation, but please know they are necessary for bodily functions, let alone a training/workout aspect. If you haven't heard of reverse dieting, look it up. It is this crazy concept that you can eat more carbs while maintaining your weight, and even losing sometimes.
10. "Muscle weighs more than fat"
Yeah, I think someone must've misspoken once and it just stuck. Muscle and fat weigh the same it is just that Muscle is more dense meaning it takes up less space in the body at the same weight. This is proof that you can weigh more and be smaller proving that the scale is trash for measurement again. Also while I am here muscle does NOT turn into fat or vice versa. You can lose fat and gain muscle, but one does NOT turn into the other.
I hope this helps you avoid mistakes I've seen and made myself! If you can think of any more-Send Them My Way! Best of luck on your journey, SENDING ALL MY LOVE AND SUPPORT XOXO.
