Force Factor

Muscle weighs more than fat

Myth! One pound of muscles weighs just as much as one pound of fat. Both weigh…. one pound! So where does this myth come from? The truth is that one pound of muscle looks smaller than one pound of fat. This is because fat is bulky and lumpy. Adding an extra pound of fat to your frame takes up more space (volume) than adding a pound of muscle because muscle is denser. There is another major difference between a pound of muscle and a pound of fat: the pound of muscle will burn more calories at rest.

You shouldn’t eat after 6/7/8pm because it will make you gain weight

Myth! Eating too much at any time of the day will make you gain weight. Extra calories taken in at 10am or 10pm will be stored by your body as fat if they are not used for energy. Your metabolism is working all day long, even while you are sleeping. During sleep the body is repairing and growing muscles – activities that require energy. Cutting out calories before bedtime does result in weight loss for some individuals because the evening is a common time for people to snack on junk food in front of the TV or overindulge on a night out. Instead of cutting out any food past a certain time, make sure you are ingesting the right number of total calories throughout the day, including a meal in the evening that provides your body with complex carbohydrates and protein to keep it functioning optimally during your sleep.

If I stop working out, my muscles will turn to fat.

Myth! Muscle cells are muscle cells; they cannot transform into fat cells. (Similarly, fat cells can’t magically become muscle cells). However, if you stop working out, muscles cells can shrink and you are likely to lose muscle mass and gain fat. This is common particularly because individuals often stop working out but continue to eat as much (or more) as they did during times of exercise. Further, as you lose muscle mass, your body burns fewer calories at rest which can also contribute to gaining flab.

Focusing intensely on my core will help me lose fat there.

Myth! “Spot reduction” or losing fat from one specific area of the body cannot be achieved by working a single muscle group alone. Unfortunately, your body decides where it will store fat based largely on your genetics. Doing 1,000 sit-ups every day will burn calories and reduce body fat overall, but body fat will be lost evenly across the body for the most part. Instead, train every body part with equal frequency and intensity on a weekly basis to make the most of muscle building and toning.

If I exercise enough, I can eat whatever I want.

Myth (usually)! People typically have the tendency to overestimate how many calories they have burned through exercise. For example, a 160 lb man who runs for 30 minutes at 7 mph burns just over 400 calories. This can offset some of his daily calorie intake, but falls far short of negating a snack time Big Mac and medium fries (920 calories, 48g fat). Often, individuals will overcompensate with eating too many calories once they have started a workout routine. If you haven’t been seeing the results you expect from the gym, it might be time to take a closer look at how you’ve changed your diet since you’ve started exercising!