‘CRUNCH’ING YOUR DIET MYTHS
Magic pills, crash diets, miracle fruits, and tummy-fit oils are hell-bent on proving that there are indeed shortcuts to success. But you know better. You know fitness is a continuous effort, and not a one time investment. You know it requires perseverance and motivation, not incentive. You know it’s for health, for an active life, and a longer existence; and you know best. Or do you?
While there may be no shortcomings in your effort towards achieving the ‘perfect’ body, there’s a chance that a few possible misconceptions are holding you back. You aren’t to blame; long-standing fitness beliefs, validated by some random ‘veterans’, have turned gospel and are ruining fitness routines for everybody.
Here are 4 popular beliefs that are definitely not helping your journey to fitness.
“I can out-exercise a bad diet”
If there ever was a misconception regarding exercise, it’s this. Exercising doesn’t give you the license to eat anything you want. While it’s acceptable to ‘treat’ yourself once in awhile, a consistently bad diet can essentially undo your workout. For it to be truly effective, your exercise routine needs to be paired with clean eating habits.
Make sure you’re giving your system good amounts of fibre and protein, among other nutrients. Choose whole grains over refined (brown bread over white), water or green tea over sugared beverages, and fruits over desserts. The key is to not starve yourself. Eventually, the lesser junk you eat, the lesser junk you’ll want.
“I need to avoid all carbs and fats”
This generalization is a punishable offence in the dietary world. Because it’s your diet, and not the nutrient that’s ‘bad’. While some carbs are bad, there are in fact good carbs which are essential for your system. The same goes for fats. You can’t (and shouldn’t) completely cut them out of your diet, as they can actually aid your fitness goals.
Fruits, vegetables (including potatoes, in moderation), oats, nuts, olive oil, avocado, and whole wheat bread among others contain good carbs and fats. Apart from being essential nutrients to your body, they keep you feeling full; preventing cravings. An excess of any macronutrient can cause weight gain, so eating habits are more to blame than the nutrient itself.
“It’s best for me to workout on an empty stomach”
You might burn a greater percentage of calories on an empty stomach, but this isn’t sustainable; this weight is very easy to gain back. The idea is pretty straightforward ﹘ the tank needs fuel to function. When you exercise with no ‘fuel’, you tire out way faster than you otherwise would have. You then workout at lower intensities and, in turn, burn fewer calories.
Your new POA should be to have a modest, carb-rich snack to fuel you up for improved performance and an intensive, effective workout. So grab a fruit, granola bar, oatmeal, or a fruit-filled protein shake, and you’re good to go.
“I should learn to ignore my hunger”
Unfortunately, despite the effort it takes, you’re not helping your fitness regime by staying hungry. The notion, that you need to tolerate mild hunger, is completely unfounded. The lesser you eat, the more your metabolism gets affected. With decreased metabolism, your body gets used to little food, causing faster and increased weight gain when you do eat.
For steady fitness, your workout demands that you stay fed. Needless to say, you must remember to stay fed with the right things. Putting the 3-meals-v/s-4-or-5-small-meals debate to rest, we can assure you that it’s purely a matter of personal choice; calories don’t notice which meal got them in the body. Follow whatever floats your boat, but starving is a definite no-no.
Essentially, it’s all about directing your efforts towards the correct tangent. The amount of effort you put (or don’t) depends on you; at the end of the day, it spirals down to feeling good about yourself.
Magic pills, crash diets, miracle fruits, and tummy-fit oils are hell-bent on proving that there are indeed shortcuts to success. But you know better. You know fitness is a continuous effort, and not a one
