The 8 Biggest Fitness Myths You Still Believe

 by Jay Cardiello for SHAPE.com

There is no shortage of opinions on the best ways to lose weight and get into shape. Over my career I have heard some fitness myths over and over again, and still hear them today! To help decipher fact from fiction, here is some more information about eight persistent assumptions that might be holding you back. 1. It's better to use a machine. Machine-only based programs train your body in a single, linear motion. These one-dimensional forms of exercise make you more susceptible to injury. Think about it: We live in a multi-dimensional world. Completing multi-joint exercises such as weighted squats, lunges, and deadlifts will prepare your body better for real life. 2. Losing weight only happens in the gym. It takes 250,000 crunches to burn one pound of fat. I believe that 80 percent of all fitness success happens in the kitchen, not the gym. If you spend one hour (or just four percent) of your day working out, you have the rest of you day to nullify your hard work. Nothing you do in the gym is going to combat the rest of the equation when it comes to weight loss. That equation of course includes fitness, as well as diet, sleep, hydration, and stress management. RELATED: 10 Unbelievable Diet Rules Backed By Science 3. You can spot reduce. This is a myth that has withstood the test of time, even after it's been reported time and again as being completely false. So I repeat, you cannot select certain places on your body to reduce fat. Crunches are not going to target the fat in your core region. Fat is burned through a combination of cardiovascular and strength training that decreases your body's overall fat content when coupled with a healthy diet. 4. Running is the best form of exercise for weight loss. A lot of people think steady-state cardio is best form of exercise to lose weight, but strength training combined with short spurts of high intensity cardio creates more damage on your muscles and thus a better after-burn effect due to more required repair. Read: More calories burned at a faster rate, even after the workout is over. 5. Staying fit takes up a lot of time. Speaking of which, science has shown that high-intensity interval training really works when it comes to building muscle and burning calories in less time. Also, there are simple exercises, like jumping rope, that burn major calories in not a lot of time. (One minute of jumping rope burns 11 calories!) The long drawn-out days in the gym are over. Try one of my JCORE workout DVDs and you'll see what I'm talking about. They're just 20 minutes long-you have time for that! RELATED: 8 Benefits of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 6. Women will get "bulky" if they lift heavy weights. This is another misconception that I've heard many times over the years and still hear over and over again. Enough! Heavier weights will not make you bulk up and they are not just for men. Reason: Women and men are not created equal. It's cliché, but it's especially true when it comes to our biology. Testosterone is a key component to muscle building, and women have up to 20 times less testosterone than men. Because of their low levels, it's almost impossible for women to get that bulky effect. 7. You need a gym membership to stay in shape. Bodyweight exercises and workouts are all the rage lately, and for great reason. You can get a better workout more safely when you use just your body to challenge yourself than when you use a machine or equipment you may not know how to use correctly. Also, this style of exercise allows your body to work on all different planes and challenge muscles from all angles. So forget the idea that you can't get a workout if you don't go to the gym. Pull out a mat in your living room and get to work! 8. If it works for her, it's going to work for me. Everybody's body is different. I hear many people talk about a certain celebrity's favorite workout or quote someone else's trainer about a new training plan or workout they should try. However, the main reason anyone finds success in their fitness routine comes down to more than just what type of workout they're doing. It's because they've adapted it into their lifestyle, it keeps them committed, and they're comfortable with it. Find a workout that does the same for you and you will reach your goals.

Community Resource Champion (CRC) Training - Fulton County Health & Wellness, Division of Health Promotion

Friday, Jun 14 9:00a to 5:00p

The Villages at Carver Family YMCAAtlanta, GA

The Health Promotion Action Coalition (HPAC) is launching the first community-based training series designed to connect citizens to health and economic resources. Please join us to become a Community Resource Champion (CRC).

The tools given to CRCs will allow them to distribute hundreds of health and economic improvements. We hope to successfully implement the grassroots CRC training. Register at http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e7iawyp7hgs8ucrt/start

Phone (404) 613-1243

Price Free

Age Suitability 18 and up

5 eating styles that can lead to weight gain

www.BeHealthConscious.Org

• by The Editors of Prevention, 

Photo by Thinkstock

The last dish has been washed, and as you sit back and watch Modern Family, what’s in your hand? A pint of Haagen-Dazs or a cup of tea? On weekends, do you watch your calories as carefully as you did Monday through Friday, or do you take a healthy eating vacation and go to town?

Certain ingrained habits—even seemingly minor ones—have a significant effect on your weight. The hard part, too, is that even when you make the decision to, say, eat more fruit or hit the gym one more time a week, past behaviors can sneak in and undermine your best efforts. Those patterns can be grouped into five basic eating types. Chances are, you’ll identify with one or more. Once you recognize your type (or types), you'll be able to develop strategies and solutions tailored specifically to your needs.

5 worst eating habits for your waistline

Type # 1: The Weekender   You live "by the book" all week, only to throw it out the window on Friday night. Or maybe you travel a lot for work or pleasure, and as soon as your surroundings change, so do your eating and daily calorie-counting habits.
Fix It: 
Go (mildly) wild on Wednesday. It's hard to resist going nuts on Saturday and ordering the mac ’n’ cheese when you've been buttoned up for 5 days straight, so consider working one splurge night into your week. If you inject a little food-related fun into the weekdays, you'll be less likely to "reward" yourself with major damage on the weekends.

What to eat to lose weight on the weekend

Type # 2: The Calorie Drinker One of the biggest diet mistakes is thinking that if it's something you sip, the calories won't stick. Unfortunately, liquid calories are stealth fatteners—they go down quickly, making it easy to drink more and rack up the calories—fast.
Fix It: 
Make smarter switches. Whether your weakness is sweet coffee drinks or soda, there's a way to alter your particular poison so it doesn't sabotage your progress. Skip the sweetener (and whipped cream) in coffee and drink seltzer instead of sugar-packed soda. You’ll save hundreds of calories and barely notice the change.

4 health reasons to stop drinking soda

Type # 3: The Low-Hanging "Fruit" Grabber  These days we're confronted with calories everywhere we go, from bagels in the conference room to king-size chocolate bars in the checkout aisle. In an environment with such an abundance of cheap, easy calories, temptation lurks around every corner and chips away at your willpower.
Fix It: 
Track every single bite. It's always important to track your meals, but in this case, it's extra important that you take note of everything that slips between your lips. Until now, you probably haven't been "counting" all those free samples at the supermarket, but they can easily cost you 100 calories or more. Seeing how all those extra bites add up is motivation enough to make you say no to the free muffin sample.

Try this free tool to help you track calories, portions and fat

Type # 4: The Stress Eater  Do you find yourself looking for solace in a red velvet cupcake after a long, stressful day? Do you empty a bag of tortilla chips whenever your mother-in-law is in town? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then stress eating is a part of your life--and probably a major hindrance to your weight loss.
Fix It:  Name that theme.  Are there any common themes among your stress-related binges? Do they generally occur at work? Do they happen mostly in the evenings, when you’re dealing with family, bills, or housework? If you know that a certain situation or person tends to push you over the edge, prepare yourself for the stress that will inevitably come. Just being aware that a binge-inducing situation is on the horizon can help you brace for it and lower the chances that you'll give in.

Never gain stress weight again

Type # 5: The Judger  Do you wonder why you're not losing weight when you seem to be doing everything right? You may be falling for healthy buzzwords on a package of high-calorie processed food. Even actual "healthy" foods--some of which offer many benefits--can be calorie bombs.
Fix It:
Don't buy into marketing gimmicks. Read every food nutrition label and decide for yourself whether or not something makes sense for your calorie budget. Also, stop personalizing your food choices. Try not to categorize them as "good" or "bad"--and definitely don't apply that black-and-white thinking to your character. Eating an apple does not make you a "good" person any more than eating a cookie makes you a "bad" person! If you're an ecoconscious eater, "good" and "bad" have other connotations for you. While your efforts to green our planet are applause-worthy, don't forget that words like organic, sustainable, and grass-fed do not necessarily mean "low in calories." Being good to the Earth doesn't automatically mean you're making good choices for your waistline.
Finally, beware of healthy calories. If eating larger portions of lower-calorie foods is your thing, that's fine, but some foods can throw you off your budget when you indulge with too much abandon. For example, almonds are often touted for their nutritional power--and they do pack lots of protein and a nice dose of vitamin E and monounsaturated fats. But if you eat just 1/2 cup of almonds (easy to do in one sitting), you're taking in 400 calories.