Over the years I have worked and consulted in a wide variety of health care settings. Over and over, regardless of the setting or patient population, I have heard a rather large number of exercise and diet myths. And I keep on hearing many of these same fables, thus making them into mantra-like declaratives, almost devoid of any passion or substance.
Some time back – too long to remember, I’m afraid to say – I started compiling them. At any given time, some will become the favored wisdom du jour and then fade back, only to reemerge when conditions become ripe.
So, without any further ado, or perhaps I should say obfuscation, here are my current top five favorites:
1. You should never eat before a workout.
In fact, eating is beneficial before most exercise and in some cases lack of eating could be harmful. Think early morning workouts, especially strenuous routines. In general, I would recommend having a small meal or snack anywhere from 1-2 hours before your workout. Of course you should load up the tank with high quality foods, generally those with a low glycemic load. I may be giving away my age, but do you remember being told not to go swimming right after eating? I lived in fear of that one for so long. By all means, please go swimming after eating. It is one of the most beneficial types of exercise. Now if you have just downed a rather gluttonous meal, you might feel sluggish, but rest assured, nothing but your ego will be in any danger.
2. Exercise turns fat into muscle.
Here is another one that might date me, as I have not heard it as much in recent years. I sure wish this were true – it would be akin to some sort of biophysiological alchemy. The cells that make up fat and muscle tissue are of two entirely different types and one type just can’t turn into another. Now it is true that you can lose one type of body cell and gain another type of body cell, there is no such thing as a conversion.
3. You can eat as much food as you want as long as it is healthy, read “organic” food.
Repeat after me: a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. And you can add up calories just as easy eating so-called health foods as easily as with regular processed foods, sometimes more, especially if you believe this myth. Your body just does not care where those pesky calories came from and will convert the excess to stored fat, read pounds. The bottom line? You must limit caloric intake in order to lose weight, although even this does not guarantee success. And what is the biggest drawback in today’s environment to cutting calories? The answer is portion control. This is the secret behind any successful diet. See this previous post for more about the devilish trickery and outright fraud that is part of magnifying portion sizes over the years.
4. Restricting calories is the best way to lose weight.
Did I really mean what I said in the previous myth? You bet. Folks who take drastic measures, such as severely cutting down their food intake for some number of days, or even weeks, are not only hurting their overall health, but are doomed to failure. Since your body can’t meet normal energy requirements, it goes into starvation mode and cuts down basal metabolism. This effect is often referred to as the “plateau” effect and has been observed frustrating countless numbers of dieters over the years. The answer is to cut back on caloric intake, utilizing portion control, and increasing energy expenditure to boost metabolism through extra activity. Not all of this energy output needs to come from scheduled exercise. While of course that is beneficial, if not necessary, it is also very helpful to increase movement of all types. Examples abound such as taking the stairs instead of an elevator, walking four blocks to the store instead of driving, and so forth.
5. No pain, no gain.
This is another one I believed for the longest time. But gradually this old canard has been has been seen on its last quacks. Evidence upon evidence has been piling up about how seemingly small amounts of exercise can confer not minimal, but substantial, health benefits. Have a look at this previous post for some of that evidence.