The Five Most Common Myths in Nutrition
MYTH ONE: Real men stick to their diet 365 days a year
A common understanding is that if you want to lose fat or build muscle then you have to keep to your diet for 364 days during the year, and relax on one day. This results in a binge that is not pretty. Instead, have a weekly cheat day. Try to eat the sweets and things you have been craving for in the morning, which then lets you burn it off during the day. If there are food items in your diet that you are not particularly fond of, then drop them on your cheat day. It will also do well for you to ignore the weight scale on that day.
MYTH TWO: Putting on 5lbs a week is better than 1lb
An above average intake of carbohydrates will only make you put on more weight. A common excuse is that they need the extra carbohydrates to give them more energy during training. However, this will result in only making you fat, as it is false. If your weekly weight gain tops 1.5-2 lbs, then the rest is just water and fat - both of which you do not need.
MYTH THREE: Eating anything that doesn’t move
Gaining muscle does not require eating large amounts of food. Working out to gain muscle does increase your rate of metabolism, but too many calories will only end up being stored as body fat. Instead, a better strategy is to work out maintenance levels and then add on an extra 300 calories for muscle gain.
MYTH FOUR: Not eating enough
The secret is not to overeat or under eat as well. Of course, you can cut down on food to minimize fat storage in your body, but experts recommend that you consume around 250-300 calories over and above your maintenance level. If you do not eat enough, your body will shift into a catabolic state - and the muscle build-up will decline instead of the instance where in eating enough, the food will be used for the same.
MYTH FIVE: Following diets from magazines
Diet programs in magazines do not work. They are generic and not tailor-made to suit particular needs and thus do not have proven success rates. They should only be used as a mere guideline.
