In this post I’m sharing 7 myths about fat loss and what you can do instead! There are SO many myths about fat loss, this post will help you get to the bottom of them all.
Let’s get real for a few minutes!
We all have that friend who is always coming at us with the latest diet and fancy strategy to lose weight… and, these are normally the friends who tend to yo-yo diet… which means they gain the weight back as fast (if not faster) as they lose it.
The reality is, it is actually hard to know what is the actual truth! 😖 Especially when it comes to fat loss with all the conflicting information being published & posted on social media. People are left confused and ready to give up on their fat loss journey because it just feels impossible and out of reach!
As a coach with nearly 15 years of coaching experience, one thing that I have noticed with most people is that they focus too much on the trees and forget about the forest. What do I mean by that? 🤔
They focus on the little things that will hardly move the needle, instead of focusing on the bigger picture This is what is truly relevant and will give you the most results.
Let’s talk about that bigger picture… Explaining calorie deficit!
As I said above, fad diets promise the new & improved “secret to weight loss!” However, what it really comes down to is quite simple… calorie deficit. This means eating fewer calories than what your body is burning. 🔥
Calories are the body’s energy & fuel! When you eat, the calories are either converted into energy your body is demanding at the moment or it is stored to be used at a later time. Your body stores fat in response to calorie surplus (this is eating more calories than you are burning). So when you create a calorie deficit, it causes your body to burn fat that it had previously stored, causing weight loss. 💪🏽
An example of calorie deficit is if you burn 2,600 calories per day but you only eat 2,000 calories, you have created a deficit of 600 calories per day!
When you create a calorie deficit, it simultaneously lowers your body fat percentage & causes weight loss!
Managing your weight is all about balance. But it can be very simple!
If you eat more calories than your body is burning, you will gain weight.
If you eat less calories than your body is burning (TDEE), you will lose weight (Just keep in mind your TDEE is NOT a static number).
So, I have put together the top 7 Myths about 7 loss and what you should do instead:
Myth #1: You have to eat every few hours in order to ‘’speed up your metabolism’’
Eh.. no, cause ain’t nobody got time for that! For most busy moms it isn’t really sustainable and realistic to be eating every few hours. If your goal is fat loss, the number of meals you have is irrelevant as long as you are staying in a calorie deficit. If your goal is muscle gain (toning up), it is recommended to have at least 3 or 4 protein-rich meals a day.
The reality is that we should look at meal consistency instead of meal frequency. What that means is that the number of meals you have needs to stay consistent throughout the week.
Myth #2: Carbs are bad
Repeat after me: 🗣Carbs are NOT bad!🗣
I have no idea where the idea that carbs are bad comes from! But the reality is that most people lose weight when they cut out carbs because they end up reducing the overall amount of calories they are actually eating. So, cutting carbs is just a strategy to reduce caloric intake; however, this is not a sustainable approach for most people.
Myth #3: Eating after 6- 7 or 8 PM will make you gain weight
The reason why some people are actually successful by doing this is because by restricting the hours in which they are eating, it is easier to reduce the amount of calories coming in. So this is definitely a strategy you can use to create a calorie deficit. However, if you are in the deficit and eat after 8 pm, you won’t gain weight!
Myth #4: Fasted Cardio Increases Fat loss
This is one that I hear A LOT! The reason why this fad is so popular is that people believe that since you have not yet eaten (fasting), therefore you should burn more fat on an empty stomach while doing your cardio…Which in turn, you will lose more weight. Wouldn’t that be amazing if it was that simple?!
Overall body fat loss is a balance of fat storage (calories) and fat burn (burning calories). When you do fasted cardio, all it is doing is increasing your rates of fat oxidation during your exercise! (Fat oxidation is the process of breaking down fatty acids). So while fasted cardio does increase those rates, fat oxidation can be regulated at many levels and by different processes. So this is why the belief that a single way of doing cardio will significantly increase fat oxidation is not accurate.
Now.. I am not saying fasted cardio doesn’t work but it is not better or less than other forms of cardio. Any form of cardio is an effective way to increase the capacity of fat oxidation. Just keep in mind that it will not happen overnight. So depending on your workout/eating preference, eat or don’t eat before your cardio!
Myth #5: The diet that worked for your friend will work for you
There is no one “best diet”! The best diet is the one you can stick to… so, if a diet plan is not sustainable for your lifestyle, but it worked for your friend… it could be a crappy diet for YOU! Why? Because you won’t be able to stick to it. So stick to one that you can maintain with your lifestyle!
Myth #6: Diet A is better than Diet B
I often see people having serious arguments over which diet is superior: Keto, carnivore, vegan, low fat, intermittent fasting….
The reality is that since each one is so different, it really depends on your preferences!
For example, my mom LOVES carbs: bread, rice, cake, pizza… carbs are 100% her jam. She then called me one day saying she was going to try keto. I knew that wasn’t going to work for her in the long term because I am familiar with her dietary preferences.
Surely enough a month later she called me saying she had lost weight, but she was miserable. She then ate ALL.THE.CARBS and a couple of months later she had put on all the weight she had lost… not because carbs are bad, but because she overate all the things.
Remember, if your goal is fat loss, the different diets out there are just tools used to create a calorie deficit. There is no one diet that is superior to the other! You just have to find which tool = diet works best for you.
Myth #7: Your hormones are the reason you can’t lose fat
This is actually partly a myth and partly true and I will explain why.
Some people think that because they have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome), hypothyroidism, or are pre-menopause, it is their hormones that are making their clothes shrink! They also think that energy balance (Calories in vs calories out) is irrelevant.
The reality is that hormones do not magically make people gain weight. Hormones might affect their energy balance by either making them more lethargic or hungrier. This means they will move less (less calories out) and/or make them hungrier which means they will eat more (calories in).
If caloric intake and caloric output is watched, there is no reason why hormones would stop you from losing body fat.
You got this girl! The first step in creating a healthier lifestyle is your mindset! 🧠 YOU. ARE. POWERFUL. 🧠 You WILL do anything that you put your mind to! I can’t wait to help you along on your journey! Check come join my new and even MORE amazing 5 Week Super Shred Challenge program and get started with a fitness program that WILL give you the results you are after!
Always,
Nat
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Resources:
Mayo Clinic. 2020. The Best Ways To Cut Calories From Your Diet. [online] Available at: <https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/calories/art-20048065> [Accessed 17 October 2020].
