I probably mentioned it a dozen times but never explained it - don't listen to generic, stereotypical, generalized advice about losing weight/building muscle given to you by someone who doesn't particularly train, diet or read about the matter. Some friends that I've advised to do so replied, "But Wee Kiat, it makes sense!". Well, most of these advices make sense because the person giving them hasn't thought about them deep enough. And most of these people have never been through a diet themselves. No, "I eat only once a day" is NOT a diet. Their only source of weight loss knowledge is called the TV and THAT can be very very misleading and commercialized.
Eat Lots of Fruits to Lose Weight
Fruits have a very highly-propagated image of being a healthy, somewhat perfect food. PARTIALLY true. Yes, they do have their share of vitamins, but when you're aiming to sculpt your body, your main concern should be your macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fats). And honestly, fruits have plenty of fructose, which is a carbohydrate, which you should limit in order to lose weight. I'm currently cutting now and the only fruit I'm having is an apple post-workout.
Follow a Balanced Diet
Firstly, what on Earth is a balanced diet? Is it a diet which you juggle with your hands while balancing an egg on your nose? Ok, don't worry, that's as much sarcasm as I could possibly squeeze out of my fingers while they are typing. But seriously, I heard this when someone who knew nothing about losing weight saw me eating only chicken breasts and broccoli, couldn't stand seeing me just eating that and told me how "unbalanced" my diet was. So I asked him, "What is a balanced diet?". And he said, "You should have rice, fruits, noodles and add some variety in your diet". Well, that, my friend, is not a weight loss diet. That's an Asian diet! And the only reason an Asian guy will tell you that is not because it's the best advice to lose weight, but it's because Asian food is so gooooooood and hard to give up. In short, if you want to lose weight, something's gotta give. And if you want to lose weight, you have to consume less calories than you burn. Therefore, your diet is actually "out-of-balance".
Girls, Don't Weight Train Or You'll Look Like A Guy
Normal testosterone levels in men are 200-1200 ng/dl while 15-70 ng/dl are normal in women. As you can see, men's testosterone levels are significantly higher than women's. If we look at the median or mid-range testosterone levels in men and women, men = 700 and women = 42.5. So on an average, men have 16 times more testosterone than women! And have you seen plenty of guys who weight train their ass off and has just a slight bit of muscle? Now, if those test-filled guys can just build that tiny amount of muscles with so much more testosterone, how about you ladies? So to say, it's far-fetched to assume that a lady can be too masculine by weight training. If you look at the physique of IFBB Pro Bikini competitor (yes! They have such a category now!) Nicole Nagrani, it is curvy, perky, feminine and yes, build on a combination of weight training and cardio. Plus, weight training increases post-workout metabolism and metabolism in the long run, which burns fat a lot effectively than cardio.
Nicole Nagrani
Do Lots of Cardio If You Want to Lose Weight
Again, partially true. The problem is when someone does ONLY cardio without and high-intensity training. Here's the problem with doing ONLY cardio. One of my interviewees, World natural female bodybuilding champ Lilian Tan told me that when she first started training, she did only cardio, and lots of it. Her weight went down significantly, but when she took a bodyfat test, her bodyfat levels stayed the same! Now, I know most of you girls are not aiming to be bodybuilders but if you think about it, losing muscles instead of fat will make you smaller... but still fat. Plus, you'll be weaker and because your metabolism is lower, you'll gain back the weight faster than you lost it.
Lilian Tan
Simple (very simple) explanation why you lose muscle if you just perform cardio:
Your body adapts to your needs. When your workouts are mainly high-intensity workouts, your body builds up strength for it. Body fat? Not really needed because workouts are short. Fat, after all, is stored up energy, ready to be used for long periods of energy expansion. On the other hand, long and low-intensity workouts doesn't require much muscle. In fact, your body would burn muscle to lower your metabolism so that it can last the entire cardio session (if it's long enough). AND it'll store up bodyfat so you'll have enough energy.
Supplements Are Dangerous
Actually, this is cause by a stigma that protein supplements will actually blow your muscles up to a huge unimaginable size against the user's own will. Well, I kinda wish, actually. But no, not at all. Whey, as defined by Wikipedia, is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. And if you think about the point of supplements in the first place, which is to synthesize/filter out the good nutrients from food, make them into a concentrate without the unwanted nutrients, supplements aren't supposed to be bad after all. Think about it, a scoop of whey has the same amount of protein as 3.5 eggs, minus the cholesterol and need for cooking.
Another thing I noticed is that some people don't think it's "natural" to take supplements and actually take pride in being able to build muscle without them. About the "natural" part, let's just say that if you know what goes in your other processed food, supplements will seem a lot more "natural". And whenever someone told me that they intend to train without supplements, I tell them to go ahead and try working out without them. Few weeks later, they either give up trying to get in shape or they'll ask me for recommendations of what supplements to get. Nuff' said.
You Should Miss Meals to Lose Weight
Ouch! If you believe in this advice, your body is really gonna punish you with less energy, lower metabolism and fluctuating weight. Seriously, this is not just ineffective, it's also dangerous. Hunger actually puts your body in an emergency state, making it hold back fat. Read this previous post to find out more - The Right Way to Lose Weight.
Avoid Fats
I seriously hate the media and food producers who propagate that fat is bad for the body. A study which I stumbled upon once showed that study participants who ate a high-fat, low-carb diet used more fat for their energy needs, as opposed to the control group who took in a high-carb, low-fat diet. In short, your body adapts to the food you give it. Give it fat, it'll burn fat. Plus, fat doesn't increase insulin release in the body, which is the enemy of fat loss and it fills you up, so you don't go hungry while on a low-calorie diet. In fact, I'm currently on a cutting (weight loss) diet and my fat intake is 80g per day, which isn't low. Your dietary fats should come from vegetable oils (especially olive and canola oil) and nuts, not junk food. These fats will the be fat that will not clog your arteries and improve your cholesterol profile. Oh, there's one fat which you really should avoid. If you see "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" or "trans fat" on the label, don't eat it, at all! I'll explain next time. Promise.
Alright, now that you have the skinny on some common weight loss misconceptions, check out this guide to weight loss - How to Lose Weight Fast.
And for future weight loss articles, click here to subscribe to Fabodylous!
Eat Lots of Fruits to Lose Weight
Fruits have a very highly-propagated image of being a healthy, somewhat perfect food. PARTIALLY true. Yes, they do have their share of vitamins, but when you're aiming to sculpt your body, your main concern should be your macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fats). And honestly, fruits have plenty of fructose, which is a carbohydrate, which you should limit in order to lose weight. I'm currently cutting now and the only fruit I'm having is an apple post-workout.
Follow a Balanced Diet
Firstly, what on Earth is a balanced diet? Is it a diet which you juggle with your hands while balancing an egg on your nose? Ok, don't worry, that's as much sarcasm as I could possibly squeeze out of my fingers while they are typing. But seriously, I heard this when someone who knew nothing about losing weight saw me eating only chicken breasts and broccoli, couldn't stand seeing me just eating that and told me how "unbalanced" my diet was. So I asked him, "What is a balanced diet?". And he said, "You should have rice, fruits, noodles and add some variety in your diet". Well, that, my friend, is not a weight loss diet. That's an Asian diet! And the only reason an Asian guy will tell you that is not because it's the best advice to lose weight, but it's because Asian food is so gooooooood and hard to give up. In short, if you want to lose weight, something's gotta give. And if you want to lose weight, you have to consume less calories than you burn. Therefore, your diet is actually "out-of-balance".
Girls, Don't Weight Train Or You'll Look Like A Guy
Normal testosterone levels in men are 200-1200 ng/dl while 15-70 ng/dl are normal in women. As you can see, men's testosterone levels are significantly higher than women's. If we look at the median or mid-range testosterone levels in men and women, men = 700 and women = 42.5. So on an average, men have 16 times more testosterone than women! And have you seen plenty of guys who weight train their ass off and has just a slight bit of muscle? Now, if those test-filled guys can just build that tiny amount of muscles with so much more testosterone, how about you ladies? So to say, it's far-fetched to assume that a lady can be too masculine by weight training. If you look at the physique of IFBB Pro Bikini competitor (yes! They have such a category now!) Nicole Nagrani, it is curvy, perky, feminine and yes, build on a combination of weight training and cardio. Plus, weight training increases post-workout metabolism and metabolism in the long run, which burns fat a lot effectively than cardio.
Nicole Nagrani
Do Lots of Cardio If You Want to Lose Weight
Again, partially true. The problem is when someone does ONLY cardio without and high-intensity training. Here's the problem with doing ONLY cardio. One of my interviewees, World natural female bodybuilding champ Lilian Tan told me that when she first started training, she did only cardio, and lots of it. Her weight went down significantly, but when she took a bodyfat test, her bodyfat levels stayed the same! Now, I know most of you girls are not aiming to be bodybuilders but if you think about it, losing muscles instead of fat will make you smaller... but still fat. Plus, you'll be weaker and because your metabolism is lower, you'll gain back the weight faster than you lost it.
Lilian Tan
Simple (very simple) explanation why you lose muscle if you just perform cardio:
Your body adapts to your needs. When your workouts are mainly high-intensity workouts, your body builds up strength for it. Body fat? Not really needed because workouts are short. Fat, after all, is stored up energy, ready to be used for long periods of energy expansion. On the other hand, long and low-intensity workouts doesn't require much muscle. In fact, your body would burn muscle to lower your metabolism so that it can last the entire cardio session (if it's long enough). AND it'll store up bodyfat so you'll have enough energy.
Supplements Are Dangerous
Actually, this is cause by a stigma that protein supplements will actually blow your muscles up to a huge unimaginable size against the user's own will. Well, I kinda wish, actually. But no, not at all. Whey, as defined by Wikipedia, is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. And if you think about the point of supplements in the first place, which is to synthesize/filter out the good nutrients from food, make them into a concentrate without the unwanted nutrients, supplements aren't supposed to be bad after all. Think about it, a scoop of whey has the same amount of protein as 3.5 eggs, minus the cholesterol and need for cooking.
Another thing I noticed is that some people don't think it's "natural" to take supplements and actually take pride in being able to build muscle without them. About the "natural" part, let's just say that if you know what goes in your other processed food, supplements will seem a lot more "natural". And whenever someone told me that they intend to train without supplements, I tell them to go ahead and try working out without them. Few weeks later, they either give up trying to get in shape or they'll ask me for recommendations of what supplements to get. Nuff' said.
You Should Miss Meals to Lose Weight
Ouch! If you believe in this advice, your body is really gonna punish you with less energy, lower metabolism and fluctuating weight. Seriously, this is not just ineffective, it's also dangerous. Hunger actually puts your body in an emergency state, making it hold back fat. Read this previous post to find out more - The Right Way to Lose Weight.
Avoid Fats
I seriously hate the media and food producers who propagate that fat is bad for the body. A study which I stumbled upon once showed that study participants who ate a high-fat, low-carb diet used more fat for their energy needs, as opposed to the control group who took in a high-carb, low-fat diet. In short, your body adapts to the food you give it. Give it fat, it'll burn fat. Plus, fat doesn't increase insulin release in the body, which is the enemy of fat loss and it fills you up, so you don't go hungry while on a low-calorie diet. In fact, I'm currently on a cutting (weight loss) diet and my fat intake is 80g per day, which isn't low. Your dietary fats should come from vegetable oils (especially olive and canola oil) and nuts, not junk food. These fats will the be fat that will not clog your arteries and improve your cholesterol profile. Oh, there's one fat which you really should avoid. If you see "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" or "trans fat" on the label, don't eat it, at all! I'll explain next time. Promise.
Alright, now that you have the skinny on some common weight loss misconceptions, check out this guide to weight loss - How to Lose Weight Fast.
And for future weight loss articles, click here to subscribe to Fabodylous!
