99% of the hundreds people I have coached over the last eight years have wanted to lose weight. I have coached at three different fitness facilities during that time and I continue to hear the same weight loss myths over and over which are:
You can’t spot reduce fat in a particular area of your body. aka, doing sit-ups will not “tone your core”, triceps exercises to get rid of your "bat wings", or the thigh master type exercises to "tone your legs". The only way to "tone" your body is to drop your body fat percentage (usually around 13% or lower for men, 20% or lower for women)
Exercise doesn’t burn that many calories relative to your overall calorie consumption. Exercising away calories or “banking” burned calories is typically an ineffective or unsustainable approach to weight loss.
Sometimes I joke that we could probably get more people to lose weight if we ran a daily nutrition presentation and taught people to grocery shop and cook instead of whooping their asses in a workout.
Also, if your goal is to lose weight and you spend more than one hour in a session (you stay after to do extra cardio because you want to burn more cals), that extra time would be better spent on grocery shopping, meal prepping, or just flat our resting so you weren’t so damn hungry later on in the day.
Yes, however, it is true that doing some exercise (especially strength training) is a good way to raise your basal metabolic rate (number of calories you burn at rest), improve your mood, and can be a “lynchpin habit,” one that leads to other good behaviors. But attempting to lose weight through exercise alone is a Sisyphean task.
If you want to "tone", lose weight and body fat contact me to learn more about my nutrition coaching program! Email me at cyril@beboldexelfitness.com or call or text (734) 725-2119.
Dedicated to your success!