I have the privilege of working with someone who buys into a lot trendy weight loss fads and even makes up their own weight loss theories. I say it’s a privilege because it inspires me to do my research. As I’ve mentioned in blogs past, I am on a slow journey to weight loss. I recognize that in my twenties, the weight comes off much slower than it used to which has led me to really delve into the dos and don’ts of losing weight. I’ve come across some maddening trends and I wanted to share with you both my research and my opinions about the biggest myths about losing weight. At the end of this blog, I’m also going to be sharing my best tips.
Myth 1: Cardio
Cardio is an excellent thing to do for your overall health and you need to implement it if you’re exercising to improve heart health, but if you’re trying to drop fat and reveal some muscle definition, you should be strength training. That means lifting weight with the goal of getting stronger. If you’re really aiming to change your body shape (ex: I’m trying to get a booty) you have got to add weight training into your workout routine. I would suggest as a loose guideline to do strength training twice as much as you do cardio. That might mean doing two days of cardio a week, and doing strength training four days a week.
Myth 2: Keto Diet
I have a visceral Italian grudge against this diet. I’m not interested in pizza with cauliflower crust, but I still tried it. It made me feel like crap and I got gastrointestinal issues for the entire time I tried it. Upon further research, I’ve read that it’s not a diet that healthy people should attempt. It’s designed to help people struggling with epilepsy. It eliminates foods that humans really should be eating and is not researched enough to rule out possible damage to your heart when it comes to the amount of fat (albeit healthy) that this diet calls for. I do not suggest that this diet be your first attempt at weight loss.
Myth 3: Intermittent Fasting
Here’s the thing. You will probably lose weight if you do intermittent fasting, but this is not a sustainable form of weight loss. We are not mean to jam all of our calories into an eight hour window. In fact, it goes against nutritionist-recommended advice. Grazing is a far better thing to try if you’re aiming to lose weight and keep it off. The idea of intermittent fasting is to put yourself in a calorie deficit. My opinion is that this kills your metabolism. It’s not researched enough, but I trust nutritionists who have told me that grazing is a great way to feel fuller throughout the day and to keep your metabolism up. Also, it is said that the longer you go without food, the more likely you are to be so hungry that you over eat. I’ve personally found that to be true. If I wait too long to eat, the next time I sit down for a meal, I find myself wanting to double my portions.
Myth 4: Juice Cleansing
No. I really do not like the idea of a juice cleanse. It is absolutely not a sustainable way to lose weight. You are essentially starving yourself of nourishment. I also hate seeing advertisements that claim you’re going to drop 10 pounds in 10 days with a new juice of an exotic fruit. You should never be losing weight that quickly if you want to be able to keep that weight off. I also don’t like juice cleansing because, while the juices may have tons of vitamins, if you’re not eating the fiber that comes with the whole fruit or vegetable, you’re not benefiting from that food. Want the benefits of the foods you’re juicing? Make a smoothie. It’s far better for your nourishment. You need to be patient with how fast you lose weight. Juice cleansing is not a good idea if you want long-term results.
Myth 5: Weight Loss Pills
You see the ads on Instagram all the time. A beautiful woman standing with a bottle of pills offering you a coupon code. My advise? Keep scrolling. When I was feeling particularly impatient while trying to drop pounds, I looked into weight loss pills. Thank God I brought it up to my doctor before I started them. She told me to steer clear of them. She had recently found out that there may be a strong link between weight loss pills and heart problems. That’s a definite no-go for me. There is no benefit to getting thin quickly if you’re going to wreck your body in the process.
Myth 6: Sit Ups Gives You Abs
Truth: Sit ups make your abs stronger but won’t make them visible if you’re only doing sit ups. I’ve been wanting my abs to return for almost two years. Most recently, they’ve peeked out. Why? Because I’m losing fat. I really don’t dedicate whole workouts to my abs. That’s not how you get them. You get them by eating right. When you can manage your diet and start losing fat, then you should train your abs to be stronger which will make them more defined. Note to the wise: don’t obsess over getting abs. It’s not the epitome of health. It’s just a cherry on top of a healthy body.
Myth 7: Chugging Water for Fat Loss
This one has good intentions. It’s true that you probably do not drink enough water. That certainly does not mean you need to lug an enormous jug of water with you and chug it all day long. Scientifically speaking, you only need water when you’re thirsty. I’ve had people tell me that you should have one glass of water every two hours that you’re awake. What I’ve landed on as a good guideline for water intake is half your body weight in ounces. For example, I’m 150 right now. I would need 75 ounces of water everyday. That’s about five glasses per day. That being said, simply drinking the amount of water you need every day is not going to take weight off of your body. Which leads me to my tips.
My Weight Loss Tips
I’ve been going at this for many a month trying plenty of new things. I recently hit a lull in my journey, and it forced me to research more and implement tried-and-true weight loss methods and I’m finally seeing progress again. Here are my tips for sustainable weight loss.
Calorie Deficit
This is the best way to lose weight. A healthy goal is to drop one pound a week. You can figure out your calories with the MyFitnessPal app and keep track of your calories there or with any other similar app out there. Please note that you really should only be in a deficit for about three months and then maintain for a bit. But the great thing is that by becoming accountable for your calories, once you’ve hit your goal weight, you can change your goals in the app to maintain your weight and you should be able to keep the body you’ve worked so hard for.
HIIT & Lifting
I had been previously lifted weights with no real goal in mind, but recently I’ve made it a priority to get stronger and it’s been a great change. HIIT was something that I hadn’t ever taken too seriously until recently. Right now I’m doing it once a week and my Fitbit actually says I burn more calories doing that than I do when I bike at a moderate pace for the same amount of time. It’s a great form of exercise that is good for anyone at any level. It’s a period of high intensity workout broken up by periods of rest. That resting period allows for you to make your next high intensity round count even more. I highly suggest you give it a try.
Tracking Your Macros
That means making sure you keep in your target percentage of how much carbs, fats, and protein you’ve eaten that day. Macros are a way to keep yourself on a balanced diet. Carbs are good for you and so are fats, but they need to be kept in their own percentages. Everyone’s macros might look different, so it’s important for you to research this further.
I really hope this helped, inspired, and informed someone today. As you can tell, I’m pretty passionate about being healthy. If you really love any of the diets I’ve talked about, more power to you. If you’re looking for a more sustainable way to lose weight, I hope my tips are useful for you. If you really cannot get weight off no matter what you do, I highly suggest you get in touch with someone like a trainer or nutritionist and seek out ways to get healthy.
As a reminder, weight loss is not the most important thing in the world. Being healthy is what matters and that means something different to everyone. There is not one perfect body type we all need to strive for. Love your body and treat it kindly.
Until next time,
Julia
Fly with Time 