1.) You have to eat 5 to 6 small meals every 3 to 4 hours.
There is actually no scientific evidence supporting this statement as far as your metabolism is concerned. I’ve heard this statement numerous times in the fitness industry and never thought to ask if there was any scientific evidence to support it. This is usually told to people by their trainer or coach. I can tell you that eating this way, for me personally, is best at keeping my hunger at bay and in turn helps me stick to my diet. It also helps maintain my blood sugar levels. However, not everyone has the same schedule that I have. Not everyone gets hungry at the same times that I do. I feel that if you’re busy between 2-5 each day, and you don’t get hungry during that time, then don’t eat. Wait till you can/want to eat. Periods of intermitten fasting are not going to wreck your metabolism. Just try to stay consistent about it and don’t allow yourself to become so hungry you then get “hangry”. That usually leads to poor food choices.
2.) Muscle weighs more than fat.
If I hear this statement one more time, I think I might scream. How does the old riddle go? “which weighs more 100lbs of gold or 100lbs of feathers?” Whatever it was, the point is that they weigh exactly the same because they’re both 100lbs. 5lbs of fat weigh exactly the same as 5lbs of muscle. Muscle is more DENSE than fat, meaning it will be taking up less space on your body. If you lose 10lbs of fat, but gain 10lbs of muscle the number on the scale will be the same but I guarantee you that your clothes will fit you better in all the right places.
3.) Women lifting weights will make them “bulky” or “manly looking”.
This is a BIG one right here! I could rant for hours about this one in it’s own blog post but I will try to keep this as brief as possible. Long story short, LADIES! YOU WILL NOT GET MUSCLES AS BIG AS A MAN FROM LIFTING DUMBELLS!!!!! Most people have no idea how incredibly ignorant that statement sounds until they start lifting weights and TRYING to increase muscle mass. I lift very heavy weights/dumbells 5 days a week and have been for over a year now. No one has told me that I look like a man or that I have manly muscles. Not yet anyway…….. best analogy I can give you in regards to lifting weights and building muscle is this. Imagine an empty glass jar. Now wad up a piece of tissue paper and put it in the jar. OK, now do that until the jar is full of wads of tissue paper. Now, did the jar get any bigger? No, it didn’t. That is basically what you are doing when building muscle mass. Over a LONG period of time with the correct nutrition, training, hydration, rest, consistency, etc. you will start to gain and increase muscle size. But for a woman this will most likely take a very LONG time. The average man has at least 16 times the amount of testosterone that the average woman and testosterone plays a very large role in building muscle mass. Again, I could go on and on about this but I will stop right there. Just know this ladies, the benefits of resistance training outweigh the benefits of simply doing cardio. Ladies, it does us so much good to increase our muscle mass on our bodies. Muscle is metabolicly active so by having more muscle on your body, you will be burning more calories even at rest. When choosing weight training over cardio, think of it as depositing money into your savings account rather than into your checking account. (this goes for men also). So next time you find yourself walking into the gym, trying hitting the weights first before jumping on the treadmill.
My passion is to share my knowledge from my experiences to help others. My every hope is that anyone reading this finds this information enlightening and helpful.
I am proud to be crazy, healthy and happy! 🙂
Leanna
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