You also have the hundreds of diets out there such as "The Zone", "Sugar Busters," or "The Atkins Diet." I'm sure you have heard of many of these yourself. You might have even tried some of them, but these products and diets are not the quick fix, or the miracles they are portrayed as. They are also usually very dangerous. Below are some common misconceptions among people with regard to exercise and nutrition.

1. You need to exercise to burn fat. The truth is you don't gain body fat because of a lack of exercise. You gain it because your blood sugar levels exceed what you are using. Basically, you are eating too many calories at one time.

2. Your metabolism slows down once you hit 30. WRONG! Actually, hundreds of research studies have shown that the slow down in metabolism is due to a loss of muscle tissue. And the loss of muscle tissue is directly related to a lack of hard physical activity!

3. Pasta and bread are fattening. Anything is fattening! Lettuce can be stored as fat! Any food or drink, which contains calories, can be stored, as body fat if it causes your blood sugar levels to exceed what the body needs at that time. Bread and pasta are actually great sources of complex carbohydrate! The key is how much you eat and when you eat it.

4. Eating after 7pm will make you fat. Absolutely false! It all depends on whether or not the body needs that amount of calories at that time. Keep in mind your body is constantly burning calories, 24 hours per day, just the amount varies.

5. Strength training will make you bulk up. Another NO! It seems as if mostly women are concerned with this one. Muscle size is primarily affected by genetics and hormone production; therefore, most women don't have the potential to build very large muscles. Muscle burns calories, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn which makes easier to burn fat and harder to gain it!

This is by no means a complete list! There are so many I could write a whole book just about them. The key is in education.

Copyright (c) 2007 Steven E