Healthy Weight Loss and the Myths That Sabotage It
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One of the definitions of myth in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary is: a widely held but false notion. Our world is full of them, such as the children’s myth that all dogs are male and all cats are female. I remember believing that one as a child, but now know it’s simply not true. Myths are like bad advice, we incorporate them into our lives, but in the end, they don’t help us.

Whenever I’ve done talks with various weight loss groups over the years, I’ve come across this biggie a lot: the you-shouldn’t-exercise-until-you-lose-the-weight myth. Here is the reasoning behind it. Anytime anyone began an ambitious walking, aerobic, weight, or any other type of physical activity program, that person found at the weigh-in the following week that they’d actually gained weight, not lost it. This weight gain was consequently thought to be caused by exercise and so, end of exercise.

Myths are myths because they are untrue. I tell you it is absolutely essential to be active when you work towards weight loss and healthy living.

This still doesn’t explain why many people experience that initial tiny weight gain when they begin exercising. A number of factors could come into play, such as the fact that muscle weighs more than fat. And when you exercise more, the body gains lean muscle mass, which also requires the body to store more fuel and water to supply those muscles. Which may explain why there is that slight weight gain and no significant weight loss in the first week for some people.

But here, the magical thing about being active and building more lean muscle mass is that the body requires more fuel, everyday, all day. The body also begins burning more fat as fuel than it did when inactive. Lots more.

So, if you begin to exercise, while maintaining good nutrition, within a week or so your weekly fat loss should exceed any muscle gain. And you’re all set. Your furnace is burning full force and using your fat stores as fuel for the fire. All you have to do is maintain the physical activity and healthy eating.

But what happens if you’re doing just that and you still reach a weight loss plateau? At that point you can either increase the time you exercise or the intensity level you exercise at. So if you walk, you can walk farther or you can walk faster. And you don’t have to walk faster the whole way, instead you can intersperse short spurts of faster walking throughout your walk.

In most cases, these techniques will give you a furnace that burns more, and so gets you over that plateau.

Some people prefer to change their food intakes rather than their exercise program. Do this sensibly by following the intake levels suggested in Canada’s Food Guide or America's Food Pyramid Guide.

Please note that a good caloric intake for most women, especially when moderately active, is not 1200 calories (another myth). It’s 1800-2200 approximate. Follow the guides. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Eat complex carbohydrates, such as rice and other grains. Eat lean meats. And keep your fat intake to about the 30% recommended level. Check food labels. If the fat level is rated above 30%, eat it sparingly. And finally, drink at least two litres of water over the course of the day. Measure it to make sure you’re drinking that much.

Exercise, weight loss, and healthy eating all go hand in hand. So don’t be afraid to exercise. For a true measure of your weight loss get the measuring tape out instead. When you notice the inches dropping away, you’ll understand that the pounds don’t mean a whole lot.

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Photo Credit: Sanja Gjenero
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