With all the thousands of “rules” about how to get fit and stay healthy, it’s hard to know what’s right. For the most part, there really are no rules. It’s all about trial and error and figuring out what fitness routine you can stick with. If you work out best in the morning, work out in the morning. Sure you’ll read contradicting stories–one today saying that morning workouts are best because working out on an empty stomach = fat loss, and one tomorrow saying working out in the afternoon is best because it’s when you’re most alert so you’ll give it your best effort.  There’s no winner when it comes to googling weight loss. You’ll just end up feeling more frustrated than when you began.

 I came across a cool image the other day, highlighting common myths about exercise.  While I don’t think it should be seen as a group of rules to live by, most of the myths/facts are good things to keep in mind when you want to commit to a healthy lifestyle.

In other words,

• drink water
• perform high intensity exercises
• pick some types of protein that you like and eat those to supplement a workout
• don’t count on your cardio machine to be correct when it comes to burning calories
• eat a balanced diet (but never supplement a “bad day” with a crash diet day–talk about a yo yo effect)
• don’t rely on the scale to tell you what’s what (I’m 10 pounds heavier than I was 5 years ago but guess what? I feel great!)
• don’t try to spot reduce

Most importantly: don’t give up!

Sometimes I think our bodies are designed to test us. You might work out for a month and step on the scale and see nothing, or even a weight increase! Or you might feel bloated and terrible because you’ve been stuffing yourself full of extra broccoli in an attempt to be healthy. Whatever you do, don’t give up. That’s your body’s way of saying “are you sure this is a new lifestyle?” If you stick with a new and healthy routine, eventually it will become your lifestyle and your body will react accordingly.

I hope you find these tips helpful!

Question:

• Which myth have you been guilty of believing?

I’ve always thought that working out on an empty stomach leads to more fat loss. And while it might not be directly related to fat loss, it’s definitely what works best for me personally. Morning workouts get me on an endorphin high all day!