Comments on Cranky Fitness: Unicorns, Fairies....and Fitness? Top 10 Fitness...

Love it! But just an FYI I wear my underwear over ...

2009-11-10T12:57:53.322-05:00

Love it! But just an FYI I wear my underwear over my clothing cause I'm a super hero! ;)

looks like I'm out of excuses ;)

2009-11-09T21:56:20.404-05:00

looks like I'm out of excuses ;)

I love # 7, it's one of those scare tactics. If I...

2009-11-08T15:39:29.399-05:00

I love # 7, it's one of those scare tactics. If I am correct you are born with the same amount of fat cells that you will die with, the cells just expand and contract(unless of surgery). SO in other words your muscle will not turn into fat cells, you might just start feeling fat.

Not sure I would call this a myth, as I may be the...

2009-11-07T14:31:53.498-05:00

Not sure I would call this a myth, as I may be the oddball here... but I have never been able to lose weight through cardiovascular exercise, whether combined with diet or not. Actually, I've only lost weight through intense experiences of grief and loss (my father died, my LTR ended aka "the divorce diet.") And in those times I was definitely not getting to the gym. I used to joke that my New Year's resolutions were to STOP exercising so I could lose a few pounds.Still, I work out, because it makes me feel alive, but I sometimes wonder if there's a point of diminishing returns.

Number 5 made me laugh out loud :) had to explain ...

2009-11-07T09:41:40.074-05:00

Number 5 made me laugh out loud :) had to explain to Hubby why I was laughing at the computer screen...he laughed too!

Great post...love the humor. I gotta say, like ot...

2009-11-06T17:41:25.006-05:00

Great post...love the humor.

I gotta say, like others, the intensity and length of exercise myths get me, too. Logically I know anything is better than nothing, especially if it's consistent, but I habitually think exercise has to be unpleasant to be beneficial...which is discouraging...then nothing gets done.

I'm finally getting over number 9, the intensity t...

2009-11-06T15:26:24.824-05:00

I'm finally getting over number 9, the intensity thing. Not that it isn't sometimes fun to be intense, but it doesn't have to be.

It amazes me that after all these years that we kn...

2009-11-06T14:07:10.311-05:00

It amazes me that after all these years that we knew these were myths, people still believe them!

The whole if I do abs, they will show.. NOT, burn the fat over them. I get this question all the time even though the true answer has been out there forever!

And the whole muscle.fat thing.. they are 2 different things.

All the rest too.... great to post here & hopefully people will pay attention!

A couple of my favorites are: 1. You can sweat aw...

2009-11-06T12:42:41.210-05:00

A couple of my favorites are:

1. You can sweat away your fat. Uh, no. Walking loops at the track in summertime while wearing heavy clothing only gets you heatstroke. Once you rehydrate, any pounds you "lost" will come right back. Sweat is water, not fat.

2. If you're skinny, you can eat whatever you want. Actually, most skinny folks are that way because they don't eat whatever they want, and/or they're very active.

As for the muscles-to-fat myth, I think it's a garbled understanding of the fact that the first place you store fat is in your muscles. Think marbled steak. After your body runs out of those in-between spaces, you start storing fat subcutaneously. Fat tissue and muscle tissue are not interchangeable, though. One doesn't convert to another.

Metabolically, muscle needs more fuel than fat. If you gain muscle, your metabolism speeds up and burns more fat (assuming you don't increase your calorie intake). If you gain fat and let your muscles atrophy, your metabolism slows, causing you to gain more fat unless you decrease your calorie intake.

Love the list and love the way you wrote it. The...

2009-11-06T11:25:59.942-05:00

Love the list and love the way you wrote it.

These myths are so common and when I try to explain to others they are not true they think I'm crazy....but hey what do I know I only have lost 100lbs and kept it off. ;)

I'll tell you my secret for rock hard abs - get th...

2009-11-06T11:08:24.399-05:00

I'll tell you my secret for rock hard abs - get the flu :)
My abs are seriously defined and after a week or so of rediculous coughing. :)

I have friends who swear by never lifting more tha...

2009-11-06T11:03:10.565-05:00

I have friends who swear by never lifting more than five pounds or their own body weight. It's craziness how attached some people are to these myths.

I think the myth I'm most likely to hang on to is the "Losing Weight is Easy" myth. Because when I have no motivation and working out just seems too hard, I always end up thinking to myself "but, it should be easier than this! It's easier for my skinny friends who eat what they want whenever they want (damn their fast metabolisms). Why can't it be easy for me?"

Instead I have to make my brain refocus and reassure it that maintaining my weight (not just losing) will be hard sometimes. On those days, I try to find an activity that is actually fun to do: Play on a playground, take a walk with the bf to grab some tea, go sledding, or try and hit a drop-in dance class at the gym. It helps remind me that maybe its not quite as hard as I was making it out to be.

Good list! I tend to fall prey to the "intense ex...

2009-11-06T10:54:21.439-05:00

Good list! I tend to fall prey to the "intense exercise" feeling. I like the mental effects of a real intense cardio session, but as to if it's necessary for weight loss? I always feel like an hour of kickboxing burns more fat than 4 hours of hiking, but when I look at it logically, it's probably not true.

It seems harsh to say, but I think a lot of these myths are perpetuated by people who are trying to assuage their guilt. "I don't have (or am not capable of) 30-90 minutes in a row of exercise, so the 10 minute walk to the store won't help-I'll just drive"

That list is a keeper! So very true especially ab...

2009-11-06T10:46:54.259-05:00

That list is a keeper! So very true especially about sweating and workout intensity. I've dropped more pounds (sometimes) by doing moderate intensity exercise than by killing myself for 20 minutes with, say mountain climbers and crazy weight lunges, that totally tore me up.

Now, tell me more of this mac 'n cheese omelet of which you speak.

Yeah, another myth is that you need to do two or (...

2009-11-06T10:45:32.978-05:00

Yeah, another myth is that you need to do two or (egads) three sets of each weight lifting exercise to see results. The studies I read said their was as little as a 4% increase in strength after 3 months of one set vs 3 sets. That is what got me to go back to lifting weights. I can do my workout in 20 minutes instead of the 50 minutes I hated and then quit....

Great points! And how many of them do people so of...

2009-11-06T10:26:33.933-05:00

Great points! And how many of them do people so often use as an excuse to not even bother to move just a little bit....

Great job at myth busting! (And hilarious too). It...

2009-11-06T10:24:07.108-05:00

Great job at myth busting! (And hilarious too). It's amazing how commmon these misconceptions are.

Even fitness magazines encourage the idea that you can "spot reduce" fat by exercising a particular area, and they know better, but they sell more copies that way.

The myth I (unconsciously) fall for is the idea that exercise has to be intense to burn fat. There are lots of benefits to intense exercise, but that doesn't mean that long walks and gardening etc aren't great for weight loss too.

So underwear doesn't go on the outside? Good to kn...

2009-11-06T09:34:39.481-05:00

So underwear doesn't go on the outside?
Good to know.
lol

Terrific list.
I especially love the small bits of exercise one. It really, really, really does add up & doesn't have to be done in one big ol' chunk of time.
That one kept me down for the longest time. I could never carve out 60-90 minutes each day to exercise. pffft, I have 2 kids - finding that much time for myself must mean it is the middle of the night & everyone is asleep...including me! :)

Have a great weekend!
Lynn

Good blasting.

2009-11-06T08:39:15.091-05:00

Good blasting.

I'll never understand the muscle-turns-to-fat one....

2009-11-06T07:40:57.040-05:00

I'll never understand the muscle-turns-to-fat one. That's just insane.

The only way crunches will burn fat off your abs is if you're able to do them while running on a treadmill or using the elliptical. Either way, I wouldn't recommend the motion as you just might end up with your face planted to the floor.

And as far as "And why, yes, I am a sore loser Red Sox fan - no redundancy intended." goes, I'll do you one better: I'm a Cubs fan.

-Joshua

GOOD LORD you nailed em. and all the ones which p...

2009-11-06T07:03:57.806-05:00

GOOD LORD you nailed em.

and all the ones which people seem NOT to wanna let go of (and by people I do, indeed, mean my parents :))

I am pleased to see that exercise does not have to...

2009-11-06T06:43:37.961-05:00

I am pleased to see that exercise does not have to be painful in order for it to be working. My secret is a little exercise every day.