Mythbusting Kez Style !!!

Friday 13th September, 2013 (Day 33 ??? keep losing where I’m up to)

Well being Friday the 13th had be thinking about myths and urban legends so I thought I’d have a look at this closer. There are soooo  many fitness myths that we’ve all heard that it’s seriously laughable. These are my top 10.

1)  I’m a girl, I don’t want to do weights because I’ll look like Arnie – You won’t, end of story, you do not have the same amount of testosterone rolling around in your body like men (who have between 10-30% more). If you start looking like Arnie, call me, I want to know how you did it !!!

2)  Carbs are bad – Your body needs carbs to function, they are your primary source of energy…. But this does not include an entire loaf of garlic bread with a giant side of pasta an hour before you’re going to bed :(, simple carbs aren’t a very good choice here. Good complex carbs (oats, grains, nuts) of low GI take longer for the body to break down and give you a more even release of energy over a longer period of time (and keep you fuller longer). Unlike simple carbs like sugar, pasta, refined white bread and rice, they do not make your insulin levels take a giant spike and then a giant fall making you want more more more !!!

3)  Spot reducing (like doing lower body weights only to reduce the booty) – Think about it. No matter what you do your body will do it’s own thing and take fat from where ever it feels to convert it to energy to support your exercise, no matter what exercise…running, weights, step, pump, walking, squats etc etc doesn’t matter, body needs energy, it will burn what it needs.

4)  I weighed a kilo more this week, it must be muscle !!! – Well this does certainly change per person as a lot of factors like genetics, type of training, diet, gender and age have a play in this. Some people can notice gains quite quickly, others a lot longer, but generally it takes a relatively long time to build significant muscle like a kilo and it takes proper muscle building training and nutrition as well to facilitate major gains in a short period. With targeted exercise you could generally expect to see some changes in a 6-8 week period again depending on your body type. One website I visited (aworkoutroutine.com) has written an average up (the person writing the article that I read had 10+ years first hand experience (and observations) and has spoken with trainers/coaches) and they published the following guide for an average expectation of how quick you could gain muscle (and in my personal experience I think it’s about right, well for my personal story any way).

Average Natural MAN: between 113grams – 226grams of muscle per week (or about 450gms –     900gms of muscle gained per month).
Average Natural WOMAN: between 54grams – 113grams of muscle per week (or about 226grams –  450grams of muscle gained per month).

5)  Fresh Fruit/Veg is better than frozen – With shipping and storage, fresh fruit can often sit around for as long as two weeks before it hits your supermarket. In contrast, frozen fruit is often picked and frozen at the peak of freshness.

6)  I want abs so I’ll do heaps of crunches – Good ole crunches (or any other forms of ab exercises) will in fact help you build mean muscly abs….. but you will not actually see them if you aren’t lean enough. I know when I first started weights I could literally feel how hard my abs were, but they were well hidden under fat and it was only after I started to lean up that I could actually see them and the leaning up had nothing to do with doing ab exercises in particular, it was my overall nutrition and varied training.

7)  I need to take supplements to get into shape – As the name implies, they are to supplement your nutrition. To pick you up in areas that may be lacking, like protein for bodybuilders as an example when they need to up their intake, or you may not be able to eat fish and can’t get enough Omega-3’s from other avenues…. But you do not need to just have shakes, pills and powders because you are now getting into shape…. They have their place to help you and you should seek advice on what would be best for you or beneficial to you.

8)  I ate crap food, but it’s ok I’ll train longer – One of my favourite sayings, ‘you can’t out-train bad nutrition”. It’s not just the energy in and energy out, all the ingredients can have their part to play, for example the fact that sugar is the ultimate enemy for stopping weight/fat loss. Your body will burn that sugar BEFORE anything else. So dig into your chocolate, and then the first hour or so of training (the more you’ve had obviously the longer you have to train) is WASTED burning off that sugar instead of your stored fat….

9)  I need to basically live on lettuce leaves and starve to lose weight – The idea is a balanced, healthy and proportionate nutrition plan. You do not have to starve or be a rabbit. The reason most educated people reach for the salad bag when they are serious about losing weight and starting a healthy lifestyle is that you can have an entire bag of mixed veggies or salad leaves which will have more nutritional bang for your energy (calorie/kilojoules) buck than say a quarter of a mars bar. Your tummy will be fuller longer from the fibre…. Geez there are so many reasons for reaching for some greens when you want to lead a more healthy lifestyle and starving is not one of them. Yes you do need to lower your energy input to lose weight, but this shouldn’t mean that you have air for snacks instead of good wholesome food. Basically you can fit a bucket load of healthy choice food on your plate for the same calories as a small amount crap food.

10)  I have to do cardio to lose weight – ALL EXERCISE WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT, energy in, energy out. Nutrition has a large part to play in your weight loss journey. Simples.

WOW – thinking of 10 was actually harder than I thought, but there are quite a few myths about and all you need to do is listen. We believe so many untruths because a) they are told and say them ourselves time and time again without even checking if it’s true and b) they suit us and make us feel better about ourselves, eg gaining a kilo in a week and telling yourself it’s just muscle is far more acceptable mentally than truthfully looking at your nutrition and exercise or even other reasons like “that time of the month” or water retention etc.   Well I’m all typed out after all that, so stay healthy.

References
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/tips/strategy/top-10-fitness-myths/
http://www.gymjunkies.com/fitness-myths/
http://well.wvu.edu/articles/10_dieting_myths
http://howtobuildmuscleask.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-build-muscle/
www.livestrong.com/…/213868-how-long-does-it-take-to-gain-lean-muscle-mass/
www.musclebuildingdaily.com/muscle/how-long-does-it-take-to-build-muscle.php
http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-much-muscle-can-you-gain/

21 Days

Monday 9th September, 2013 (Day 29)

 So it has been said that it takes 21 days to break/change/create a habit so my goal is to make it through the next 21 days with no eating issues and no skipped training sessions. Having a chat with a loved one on the weekend made me realise that I’m letting my goals swamp me and actually gain more focus from me than they deserve in the sense that they are everything I think about every single minute and I’m pressuring myself to reach them in the shortest time frame available instead of being reasonable with myself. Complete and utter stupid behaviour that cannot be maintained !!!

 My ultimate goal is getting back to 60kg which right now seems so so very far out of reach it hurts my soul. I know I can get there as I’ve been at that weight (well around it anyway)  for a few years. But being over 70kg and looking at that goal, holy crap it’s a long way away. So it’s time to really break it down and not just the weight. I’ve already made smaller (more attainable??) goals like be 66kg in the first 4 weeks etcetera and so on, but seriously, even that seems just ridiculous right now.

 So I’ve had a shift of focus to simply getting it right. If I can get my nutrition and training correct then the rest will fall into place right ??? SO for my first goal I’m going to make it through 21 days of good habits J . I’m actually feeling pretty good about this as it feels more like a positive goal whereas I’m finding a weight goal quite negative, pressuring and depressing. Don’t get me wrong I’ll still be weighing in and watching the numbers but I need to stop letting it control me. Just getting back to basics I guess. One day at a time. Still frustrating how I’m having to bring out these basic principles to get me back on track when I use to be so gung ho with my active lifestyle and normal in regards to eating. So frustrating.

Information Overload

Tuesday 13th August, 2013 (Day 2)

Ever noticed just how much information is out there for weight loss, fitness, healthy lifestyle even for the definition of “clean eating” ????

Here’s my thoughts – DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU !!! Just be smart about it. I was witness to an interesting debate about the old rice cracker or rice thin. That puffed round thing that breaks if you spread PB straight from the fridge onto it !!.

A lot of people weighed in on this discussion with most saying the it is indeed a healthy alternative to say, a bag of chips or a chocolate bar, and others were completely of the mind that it is the absolute worse idea for a snack ever.

Me – I say do what you want to suit your lifestyle and goals… if a snack of a rice cracker with a smear of PB or some turkey and sprouts on it stops you from having a high fat etc bag of chips then go nuts !!!

Every single person has their opinion about it all. How many calories to eat, how much training to do, when to train, when to eat, to supplement or not to supplement, fruit or no fruit, zero sugar, diet soft drinks.

Do what works for you. And when I say what works for you I don’t mean people saying “yup I’m cool eating 2000 calories a day as 1200/1500 is too low for me. 2000 works better for me” and you gain weight and the opposite is actually your goal….. I know you’re out there…. I’ll be clear, do what works for you that is conducive to your goal…

I work very well on 1200 cal of highly nutritious and tasty food. People say it’s too low all the time. I run like a well oiled machine and I lose the weight I want to lose, and if I’m hungry I’ll up it. It’s not for everyone but it’s what works for me.

So when you need information believe nothing of what you hear and half of what you read…. OR simply try it out if you don’t know, or hit the forums. People are more than willing to share their stories !!!!

Reassess…….

30^th July, 2013 (Day 19)

Well sorry for not being around last week but it wasn’t the best really. I did not train all week and ate pretty much anything I wanted with a small smattering of healthy goodness.

 So I simply took some time to reflect on the “WHY?”……. Why am I pushing myself, why have I selected the goals I have, why have I told myself I HAVE to train twice a day, WHY no treat meals ???

 Why??

 Time to reassess………

 Yes I want to ultimately get back to my happy weight of 60kg. It’s where I feel my best, my clothes fit and I can do chin ups. I feel pretty freaking awesome. BUT I do not have to get there in a sprint fashion. I want to change my lifestyle, my beliefs, my control of food, my connection with my emotions and the result of eating or not training….. This does not have to happen in the absolute shortest period of time and I do not have to be perfect every single day. I can take a couple of months if I have to and if it takes longer so what right ??

 AND I’m not the fit little critter I use to be. I simply cannot go at the same level I have been since 2011 as I’m not a crazed 57kg little ball of energy. Simple as that. I’m 68 odd kg now and a chin up carrying that extra weight sucks big hairy goats balls !!!! So does walking to be honest. Think of carrying around a couple of bags of potatoes each day.

 So it’s time to be real, to be kinder to myself, to be honest in my current abilities and say “I can’t do that right now”. I will in time (far out I’m determined !!!) but right now I am really really really tired. Exhausted tired. Not just feeling flat but more “holy crap I hope that light was green” tired. So baby steps. Not forced giant leaps which make me want to throw in the towel.

 On the tired line of thought, I treated myself to a fun little gadget called a “Fitbit Flex” (Website). Highly recommend this bad boy to anyone wanting to challenge themselves a little when it comes to simply getting extra steps in the day. It’s an activity monitor that counts steps, distance, calories etc as well as sleep patterns. I’ve found it very interesting that in my 8hrs of bedtime that I’m at best accomplishing only about 4hrs of actual rested sleep. I seem to spend the rest of the night turning and tossing about. So maybe I need to focus on fixing this instead of cramming even more into my day and getting up early to train and working and training and fitting in the rest of the usual general daily duties and prepping extra meals and simply stressing and thinking of nothing else except my training and food. There needs to be limits, I’m truly exhausting myself and need to be kinder to the body and mind I have right now at this present moment.

 So this week I’m trying to simply reset the habit of hitting the gym after work. AND it isn’t a gruelling “lift as much as you can” workout. It’s what ever I feel like. So Nike Training Club was a smash for me yesterday and I actually felt quite ill towards the end.

 Tonight I think it might be NTC again as I simply love the workouts and I find because I’m jumping between exercises the time flies by.

 August 12^th I’m going with Michelle Bridges 12wbt, and by gosh I’m so determined to make it through 3 months of MB training and nutrition. Looking forward to her guidance and butt kicking talk. So for now, time to enjoy my training and food with out being crazy and set up new habits instead of beating myself up over old ones.