Weight Loss Myths -- Test Your Fitness IQ

You've tried virtually every "diet" you can think of andstill haven't lose weight. Or, perhaps you've lost weight only toquickly gain it back. You feel like you are in a never-ending battle that you just can't win. Does this sound familiar? Stop beating yourself over the head in frustration! More than likely you just aren't armed with the right informationto help you be successful in reaching your weight loss goals. There are so many diet misnomers floating about that it's easy to feel like your drowning. The first step toward success is distinguishing fact from myth and using the power of knowledge.To help you get started on the path to permanent weight loss and health living read below to learn what's true and what'sfalse in the world of dieting. Take the quiz below to test your knowledge and you'll learn what it really takes to beat the scale. Read each question and answer true or false. Then read below to find out whether or not you guessed right.
1. Skipping Meals Is a Good Idea
2. You Can Spot Reduce Certain Parts of Your Body
3. Eating Late At Night Makes You Fat
4. If Something Is Fat Free, You Can Eat As Much As You Want
5. Eating Less Than 1200 Calories Will Accelerate Weight Loss
6. Salads Are Always A Great Eating Out Choice
7. You Can Lose and Maintain Weight Without Exercise
8. If You Only Lose One Pound A Week You Need A New Diet
9. You Shouldn't Exercise Every Day
10. You Should Wait To Strength Train Until You've Lost Weight
1. False. The idea behind this myth is that you'll consume fewer calories in the entire day. The reality is that you probably will consume at least the same amount, if not more. Skipping a meal lowers your blood sugar. Low blood sugar usually makes you very hungry. In return you end up eating quickly and probably making poor food choices when those hunger pains come a knocking. Eating several small meals per day helps you stabilize blood sugars and control your appetite.
2. False. If you slave over 200 sit ups a day, it still isn'tgoing to get rid of your spare tire. Fat is lost evenly throughout the body. You can't focus on one body part and only work it in an attempt to reduce that fatty area. To help a trouble spot you must focus on overall fitness – aerobic workouts, strength training,good nutrition and more. That's the only way to reduce extra fat.
3. False. Your body doesn't determine your weight based on WHENyou eat. It just cares how much you eat. What's important isdetermining how many calories are coming in versus how many are going out. You need to find the right balance based on how much your eating and exercising. If you take in more calories than you burn, then the extras will be stored as fat. That's true whether you eat atnight or not.
4. False. For the most part, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Sure, it is a little more complex than that but just keep in mind that for every extra 3,500 calories that you take in and don'tburn off, you will gain a pound. Does it matter if all of those 3,500 calories are fat-free. No! Your body just cares that the extra calories were consumed. Plus, fat makes you feel full. If youdon't eat enough of it, you may find yourself constantly hungry and you may end up consuming more calories than if you had eaten something with fat in it.
5. False. In fact, it may have the opposite effect. Too few calories per day causes your body to adapt to a minimal amount of food, and slows down your metabolic rate. The body may think it's"starving" and actually hold onto every bit of food to ensure survival. Then, when you begin to eat normally, your calorie needs are reduced and you end up gaining more weight even though you are consuming less food.
6. False. Sometimes you'd be better of eating a burger than asalad. Many restaurant salads are dripping in high calorie, high fat dressings. Plus, they often add fatty toppings like croutons and bacon bits. If you are going to choose a salad, be sure the dressing and extras don't sabotage your calorie counting.
7. True. When it comes right down to it, weight loss is about the difference between intake and output. As long as you are burning more calories then you are consuming, then you should be able to lose weight. So, exercise isn't a necessity but it certainly isthe best approach. Study after study has proven that groups that both maintain an appropriate calorie intake and also exercise have better weight loss successes and are better at keeping it off. Plus, exercising provides SO many health benefits it would be crazy not to include it as part of a healthy lifestyle.
8. False. Losing 1 – 2 pounds per week is actually an excellent weight loss rate. If you lose more than that, then it's verylikely that it won't be permanent. You'll just end up gaining itback. When you lose at rapid paces, typically you end up losing water weight and muscle weight. You want to lose fat. So, even thought the scale may show less, you won't be as healthy and won't look as good.
9. True. It's not necessary to exercise every single day of the week. Sure, it's great if you can get some type of physicalactivity in on a daily basis. But, it also is important to give your body rest time to recover and improve. For example, you don't want to lift weights every day working the same muscles. They need time to rest. And, intense cardio workouts daily can wear you down. Resting one day a week can actually help you.
10. False. Strength training is an essential part of good fitness. Virtually everyone should include some type of strength training in their weekly workouts regardless of whether they are wanting to lose weight, just maintain it, or build muscle. And, muscle actually helps your metabolism (e.g. helps you burn calories), so you should do it as part of a weight loss program.


About the author: Lynn Bode is a certified personal trainer specializing in Internet-based fitness programs. She founded Workouts For You, which provides affordable online exercise programs that are custom designed for each individual.

How to Get in shape without going to the gym

You can get back into shape without the embarassmentof going to a gym or a fitness center.You can lose weight, get stronger and become fit withoutgoing to a fitness center or doing exercise videos at home.The solution is hill walking and bodyweight exercises.Don't stop reading because it sounds too good to be true.Your body was designed to move, so all yo need to do isto make it move by doing simple things that are a naturalpart of what God intended you to do before TV and videogames were invented.Don't know where to start? Try this simple program to getyou started. It only takes 12-14 minutes per day.Find a hill near your home that is not too steep and isabout 400 feet long. Walk briskly up the hill and back downto make 1 repetition. Do this 5 times, up the hill and downand you will get your heart rate up. Once you are done, youwill have walked around 3/4 of a mile. Can't do 5 reps? Doas many as you can, but be smart. Listen to your body andstop if you get light headed.Your hill walking should take you around 15 minutesdepending on your fitness level and how fast you can walk.Once you can do the 5 repetitions without being winded, youshould start jogging up the hill and then eventuallyrunning. Finally you will want to sprint at 3/4 speed upthe hill.Something about sprinting up a hill releases HGH into yourbody and helps you lose weight faster.Walk the hill every other day and be sure to take off oneday per week from exercise completely.On the days that you don't walk the hill, do some pushupsand some deep knee bends. Take your time on both and onlydo 4-5 of each, if you can. Take it slow, if you are likeme you haven't exercised in a while so it will be hard. Ifyou are having a hard time with either the pushups or theknee bends, don't go down as far.Don't understand what I mean? On knee bends only go down5-6 inches like you are getting ready to sit down in achair and then go back up. Very quickly you will noticeyou are getting stronger. Wait a week or so and startfocusing on going a little deeper each week.Only do the pushups and knee bends twice a week.After a week or two, you will start to feel better and seesome changes to your body. They will not be dramatic atfirst, but very soon, everything will start to tighten up.In review, it doesn't matter what exercises you do, juststart doing anything. But start slowly and build. And bepatient. You did not get out of shape overnight and youwon't get back into shape overnight either.Adestratore Didoneita is the author and president ofAllen Fitnesswhich is one of the best websites on the internet forinformation about getting fit. If you want moreinformation please go to: http://www.allenfitness.com