Test your fitness IQ with these myths, facts

What would you be willing to do to lose weight?
Think about that question for a minute or two. What if I told you that you could lose weight and keep it off if you improved your fitness IQ?
Well, that is exactly what I am telling you. Stop believing all the hype out there concerning weight loss. Arm yourself with the truth about health and fitness. Last week, we dispelled six common myths concerning weight loss. Let’s look at five more today:

1. You should eat less than 1,200 calories per day to loose weight.
Answer: False. In fact, it can have the opposite effect. When you eat too few calories per day, your body will adapt to the smaller amount of food and actually slow down your metabolic rate. The body will go into its starvation mode and will hold onto every bit of food to ensure survival.

2. Drinking water will help with a weight loss program.
Answer: True. Water can play an important role in weight loss. A healthy diet includes a good amount of fiber, and fiber needs adequate fluids in order to digest properly. Without adequate water, it can cause constipation instead of helping to eliminate it. Also, water plays a vital role in flushing toxins (caused by burning calories) out of your body. Your metabolism requires an adequate amount of water to function at an optimal level. 

3. You can lose and maintain weight without exercise.
Answer: True. When it comes right down to it, weight loss is about calories in and calories out. Although exercise is not a necessity for weight loss, it certainly is the best approach for long-term weight management and good health.
Research has proven that groups that both maintain an appropriate calorie intake and also exercise have much greater successes and are better at maintaining their weight loss. Exercise provides numerous other health benefits and should be included as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Exercise can also boast your willpower when it comes to making healthy food choices.

4. A safe weight loss is 5-7 pounds per week.
Answer: False. Losing 1-2 pounds per week (it may be a little more than that at first) is actually an excellent and appropriate weight loss for most people. When you lose at rapid paces, you end up losing water weight and muscle weight.
Your goal is to lose body fat. To loose a true pound of fat, you have to deficit your body of 3,500 calories by burning more with exercise and eating less. That happens cumulatively over several days.

5. Lifting heavy weights will make women bulky and big.
Answer: False. First of all, women do not have as much testosterone as do men, and that particular hormone is responsible for muscle hypertrophy (growth) in men. A man can increase the size of his body considerably when he lifts weights. A woman, on the other hand, can shape and tone her body but typically cannot become big and bulky (without the help of steroids). 
Lifting weights is very important for women to help build strong bones and also help keep the metabolism functioning at its optimal level. It will also shape your body as no other type exercise can do.

Now, how did you do on your fitness IQ test? I hope you learned a little something you did not know and can now put it into practice. See you in the gym.

LINDA STOLLINGS is a personal fitness trainer in Bristol, Tenn. E-mail her at or visit http://www.fitprescriptions.com.