Weight Loss Myths - Know the Facts

by Martha Edwards (Subscribe to Martha Edwards's posts)
Jan 9th 2009 4:00PM

Before you can follow through with your New Year's Resolution to lose weight, it's important to know the facts. So over at the Daily Mail, they put together a list of weight loss myths that you should know. Here are some you might be interested in:

Spot training doesn't work. Don't like your upper arms? Sticking only to arm exercises won't help -- you need to work your whole body. Same goes with sit-ups. You may have a six-pack, but you have to blast the fat on top to notice it.
You don't need exercise. You do. Accept it. Diet alone isn't enough to sustain weight loss in the long run.
Weight training makes women big. Uh-uh -- it tones your body, and you'll really like the results.
Olive oil will help you lose weight. Olive oil is a healthy fat, but it's still a fat, and it's still full of calories.
Running is bad for your joints. Why are there so many lifelong runners who have been doing it for years then? Shouldn't they all be laid up in the hospital getting knee surgery? With the right sneakers, running could be your ticket to fitness.

Click here for more excuse-busting weight loss truths.

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Comments (1)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

u262f 1-09-2009 @ 5:26PM

Each human is unique.

Some humans want to build muscle in certain areas rather than lose fat, so spot training is useful for them. Furthermore, spot training can help with certain aches and pains. Spot training works. It just doesn't work if people only want to lose weight.

Running might be bad for some people's joints but not others.

Likewise, women don't all have the same amount of all hormones, so some women might bulk up with weight training but not others.

I think one major myth they missed is that people should lose weight. Weight loss is a very poor goal because it's very easy to trick the scale by doing things that are bad for you. Dehydrating yourself and starving yourself will also take off weight quickly without exercise -- by destroying your body. Good things like building muscle will add weight. If people aim to lose weight, then a lot of stupid and dangerous gimmicks out there will do it. Such gimmicks will also destroy your body and ruin your health.

Fitness and weight loss are not the same thing. The worst myth of all might be the idea that weight loss is necessarily good.