Myths and Truths of healthy living

Greetings to you all from the sunny south! To those who don't know me yet, I hope we can become fast friends now that we are Health Challenge buddies. I will be posting every week and hope to help out on your journey to living a healthy, happy life! So please feel free to contact me with any questions concerning exercise and health. This will help give me insight to what topics you would like discussed.

Myth – Have you ever said this? “ I really need to do some abdominal exercises because my stomach is getting fat.” OR “ I need an exercise that will get rid of this flab on the back of my arms. “
Truth – You cannot reduce fat over any body part by specifically targeting that body part!

Reason: This is known as spot training and it does not help reduce body fat. The good news is God designed our bodies to be much more efficient, the result being, whenever we exercise muscle is being burned throughout the entire body. Therefore, the bike ride you did yesterday burned some fat from your arms. When you did those squats and lunges you burned some fat from your stomach. The best weight lifting routine works all your muscle groups! The best cardiovascular routine includes 3 or more modes of exercise (swimming, running, cycling….).


Myth – Fat is not good for me, it’s unsightly, and I just want it off of my body!
Truth – Fat is fantastic!!! Fat is your friend!!!

Reason: I can imagine you exclaiming “what, Fat is my friend?!?!” This phrase was repeated over and over during my exercise physiology classes. I must have heard it 100 times. In reality, fat is fantastic and it is your friend! It is because of fat that our bodies are protected from the cold, vital organs are cushioned from hits. With fat our bodies can undergo aerobic metabolism. Also, fat is very energy efficient compared to protein and carbohydrate. A gram of carbs or protein produces less than half the amount of energy than a gram of fat produces. This means that fat gives us the energy to perform amazing feats with our bodies, such as running marathons. Simply put: without fat we all die! But sadly, because fat is so energy efficient it must be limited. The key is to make sure 15-20% of your total calories eaten are fat calories.


Myth – If I lift weights then I will get bulky muscles! (Commonly heard from female clients)
Truth – No need to worry about becoming the next Mrs. Olympia! Also, if you don’t lift weights then you will never accomplish your Healthy Challenge goals.

Reason: Everyone that has a weight loss goal always wants to lose body fat. I have never had a client tell me “I want to increase my body fat %.” The best way to decrease your body fat is to increase your lean weight; this is done through lifting weights. Don’t worry though, one building block of muscle is testosterone, most ladies don’t have enough to build bulky frames. To all the guys, this means that we have no excuses to be over fat because God blessed us with the tools to build muscle.


Myth – If I have reached my desired weight then I am healthy.
Truth – Your weight alone is not indicative of your health!

Reason: Even though your weight is desirable, your body composition may not be (Most anorexics are obese). The truth is, weight loss can be achieved two ways; losing fat mass or losing muscle mass. But, the healthy way to lose weight is obviously through losing fat mass! It is important when starting an exercise routine to know your baseline fitness level as well as your body composition. Most fitness centers will perform a fitness assessment for a small fee. Fitness assessments are also important when determining success of a program, so they should be repeated every few months. Keep your fitness assessments and your body composition in mind when writing your goals (short and long-term).

Healthy body compositions-
Women: 17-26% fat mass
Men: 7-16% fat mass

*Please contact me if you have questions about what’s posted or fitness/health in general and I will do my best to respond in a timely manner. Have a blessed week!