WHAT I EAT IN A DAY | WEIGHT LOSS MEAL PLAN FOR WOMEN

Fitness Myths - Separating Fact From Fiction

Whether you are looking to drop 10-15 pounds of fat or add 10-15 pounds of lean muscle mass, it's important to first come to grips with some of the biggest lies/myths in the fitness industry. Otherwise you may end up wasting your valuable time and could even damage your long-term health.

For starters, the myth/belief that muscle turns to fat is totally erroneous.

Myth 1:

Muscle never turns to fat.

They are two totally, separate types of tissue. Just as your heart is different from your liver and you wouldn't worry that it could become your liver, your muscle cannot turn into fat. It would be like watching an apple convert to an orange right before your eyes. Not going to happen.

So, what does happen to someone who was once very muscular and fit but stops working out? If muscle does not turn to fat as many believe, then why does their once fit and trim body now appear fat, flabby and unhealthy?

The reality is much worse than turning to fat. Muscle is not being converted to fat, it is being lost. It is literally, wasting away.

Because the body uses a lot of energy maintaining lean muscle mass (which is why having more muscle is great for preventing fat gain), when the body believes it no longer needs to maintain muscle mass, it eliminates it. Whatever muscle mass is not being stressed (used), starts catabolizing (breaking down).

Muscles shrink from non-use and fat pockets grow bigger. Soon, what was once an attractive, trim, fit body now appears flabby and fat. It is really that simple.

Because muscle burns more calories than fat, whenever workout habits change or slow down, changes in diet must follow. If diets are not adjusted to align with a less active lifestyle, if food intake remains the same but total calorie expenditure decreases, guess what? The excess surplus of calories (that are no longer being burned through activity) gets converted into body fat.

It's pretty simple science - when you exercise less, you burn fewer calories and therefore, you must eat less.

The good news is, it only takes about 60 minutes of strength training weekly at the gym (or your preferred strength training workout) to maintain muscle once it's built. It takes far less effort to maintain muscle once it's built than it did to build it in the first place.

Myth 2:

Exercising daily is optimal. Wrong.

Many people believe that if they fail to see the progress they are after, it's because they are not training hard (or long) enough so they immediately start pushing their body harder which is the exact opposite of what should be happening.

Every time you train your muscles hard (at the gym or elsewhere), you are creating micro damage to the muscle tissue and time is needed for this to be rebuilt to withstand the same level of force once again. If the time and energy needed to do this is not provided, muscles won't get stronger and in fact can cause loss of valuable muscle mass.

Reality - when actively working out, the body requires and needs rest days in a well-planned protocol to have the time needed to get stronger than it was before. Ideally, one day off a week should be allowed, if not two. But, even that is not hard science. Some people require more. In fact, three to four days rest for beginner trainees or those who do intense training is not at all uncommon.

Remember, as the intensity of your workouts go up, your total rest required to recover from that workout will also increase.

It's very important to recognize when it's time to work harder and when it's time to rest. Understanding the difference and giving your body exactly what it needs is what gets you to that end goal.

Honor your workout, but balance it with rest.

Myth 3:

Cardio is a great way to get thinner - False.

Cardio - (referencing steady state cardio sessions) - the workouts that people dread yet do daily after hitting the gym. Jumping on a piece of cardio equipment and going at one pace for 20-60 minutes.

These workouts do very little for anyone. What these extended cardio workouts achieve is to increase the appetite, causing us to eat more. In fact, many people, who are classic "cardio bunnies," report ravenous appetites that just won't go away.

Cardio training can even cause loss of lean muscle mass. When the body knows it must go for long periods of time at a moderate intensity pace, it does what it can to be more efficient. Since muscle tissue is energy-intensive to maintain, it is better for your body if you have less of it.

Couple this with the fact that many are on a lower calorie diet while doing cardio and now you have a body ready and willing to drop lean muscle. So, fat is not really being lost in the process, but rather, lean muscle.

The body may appear smaller after months of cardio workouts because of lost weight, but, unfortunately, it is due to an unhealthy, change in body composition. The body now contains more fat mass in proportion to lean muscle mass and the result is not pretty. The look is soft, jiggly, and anything but fit.

If you're looking to create a fit, lean, firm body, cardio training is not the way to get there. Strength training is the only thing empowered to reverse unhealthy, muscle loss.

"I help clients take charge of their health before circumstance removes the option. If your quest for a life of true physical and mental well-being is a journey I'll put you in the driver's seat."

For tools and resources to achieve this, visit:

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How I Lost Belly Fat In 7 Days: No Strict Diet No Workout!

Weight Loss: How Meal Timing Affects Results

If you have wondered whether it's best to exercise in a fasted state, before eating breakfast, or to eat breakfast and then have your workout session, I will weigh in here.

For years we have been told breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you must eat a good, nutritious breakfast in order to have the best exercise session. But is that really true? Here are a few benefits of exercising in a fasted state which just means, before you eat your breakfast or whatever your first meal of the day ends up being if you intermittently fast, as I do.

Fasted exercise improves levels of glucose and insulin, lowering risk of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes;

As I explain in Today is Still the Day, exercising in a fasted state is particularly effective for fat loss as it lowers both total body weight and body fat percentage. Exercising after eating only reduces body weight;

It curbs food intake for the remainder of the day, resulting in an overall energy deficit of about 400 calories;

It may boost growth hormone and production of testosterone, which prevents depression and optimizes tissue regeneration;

People who skipped breakfast and worked out on an empty stomach had better working memory in the mid-afternoon and reported less mental fatigue and tension later in the day than those who ate cereal before exercising.

It helps prevent depression.

Exercise and fasting together cause oxidative stress, which helps counteract muscle aging.

So I think it is safe to say if fat loss and improving muscle health is your primary goal, working out fasted would be the way to go.

Another huge bonus is that exercising while fasting for more than 14 to 18 hours (which you might do if you practice intermittent fasting) likely activates as much autophagy as if you were fasting for two to three days by increasing AMPK, NAD+ and inhibiting mTOR. Autophagy is the process whereby the body cleans out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells. It occurs during prolonged fasting.

So should you never eat before exercising? It is not appropriate for everyone. It depends on your age, when you last ate, whether or not you're pregnant, medication use, medical history, fitness level, whether or not you are metabolically flexible and the type of workout you engage in. If you feel weak, dizzy, nauseous or lightheaded, you probably should eat something before working out. I certainly wouldn't recommend a bowl of cereal, by the way. A light protein meal like a small whey protein shake is a good choice.

As with all things, it is always best to listen to your body and use wisdom to find what works best for you.

Do you eat before you exercise or do you routinely exercise in a fasted state?

Ann Musico is a holistic health coach and independent nutritional consultant. She has developed a "3-D Living Program" to assist her coaching clients in achieving vibrant health and wholeness - spirit, soul and body. Visit her website at https://www.threedimensionalvitality.com to learn more about the "3-D Living Program," her book, Today is Still the Day, as well as the coaching packages she offers. Subscribe for her free monthly newsletter and weekly email messages.

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What's the Best Diet? Healthy Eating 101

Take OWNERSHIP of your Weight Loss

Weight Gain From Fear and Worry - 3 Simple Solutions

The Amish consider worrying a sin! Makes sense to me, since worry, and fear as its evil twin, can only cause trouble and definitely weight gain. You probably know by now that when you are super stressed out, your cortisol levels hit the roof. Then, you want to eat more of the kinds of food that generally cause weight gain-carbs and sugars.

After eating all those carbs and sugars, how do you feel? Relaxed at first, but over the next few minutes (not just guessing here-I know from personal experience-you likely feel more stressed, right? Guilt is a kicker and I would say that definitely fits In with worry and fear as cortisol instigator.

So, how do you keep yourself from worry and fear? It's nearly impossible not to react with worry or fear at times, but you can try several things that may help you:

1. Herbs and other supplements. For example, Holy Basil (or Tulsi Tea) really helps calm my nervous system. It's supposed to be especially good for those of us who have abandonment issues like adoption (I was seven years old when adopted, so had lots of issues from before that time).

Some supplements, like B-12 vitamins and some amino acids, like tryptophan, may work well for you.

Be sure to check with your doctor, chiropractor, or other health practitioner.

2. Keeping the body aligned with good chiropractic or osteopathic care makes a world of difference! I had a friend who told me she knew when her atlas vertebrae was "out," since that's when she felt sick to her stomach and so depressed that she wanted to kill herself! She would never have done that, but it gave her a clue. Then, after her adjustment, she was her normal, happy self again!

3. Most Important: Remember you have a choice! Immediately shift to gratitude. Quickly think of the things that are going Right in Your Life! For example, my car needed an expensive repair. I started to worry and feel stressed until I realized that life had already given me a great solution. I had a speaking gig that would cover the expense! Yes, I had earmarked that money to pay some debt, but I could always do that later. The thing that was going Right in My Life was that I had a solution before I even had the problem.

It's been proven that most of the things we worry about never even occur! So relax and enjoy the ride.

Debbie Johnson is the Best-Selling Author of the original Think Yourself Thin. Think Yourself Young is a bonus eBook, available only with her new eBook, an updated version of the original Think Yourself Thin, available via https://thinkyourselfthin.com.

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