Fitness & Food: Fact or Fiction
by Jeremy Gentles, MA, CSCS
You could probably fill an entire Encyclopedia Britannica with all of the fitness and food folklore spewed from the pages of popular health and fitness magazines. Since I don't have the option of spending the rest of my life dispelling all of the myths out there, here are a few that come across my desk most often.FICTION: Low intensity exercise is better for burning fat than high intensity exercise.
Nearly every treadmill, elliptical machine and stationary bike display a graph of the different training zones. One of those training zones listed on the graph is the "Fat Burning Zone" which corresponds to low intensity exercise such as walking or light jogging. These graphs are not actually incorrect, but the way this information is interpreted often is. When low intensity exercise such as walking is performed, the majority of the energy used to fuel that activity does indeed come from fat (this is what those graphs imply). The way this is often interpreted is that low intensity is actually better for burning fat than higher intensity exercise. This is not the case.
As exercise intensity increases, the percentage of fuel from fat decreases. With that said, just because the percentage of fat used decreases, DOES NOT mean less fat is utilized during exercise or after exercise is complete. Three things to keep in mind in regards to the fat burning zone:
- 60% percent of 200 is equal to 30% of 400. Just because the percentage of fat decreases as intensity goes up, does not mean that less fat is utilized.
- Higher intensity exercise can cause greater and longer lasting post exercise increases in metabolism than low intensity exercise.
- At the end of the day, it honestly does not matter whether the majority of energy used during exercise comes from fat or carbohydrate. Total caloric expenditure is most important when it comes to weight maintenance and weight loss.
Unless you personally know the individual growing your food or you take it upon yourself to grow your own, it is difficult to know exactly what chemicals/pesticides are used on your food. The benefit of shopping at local farmers markets is that the farms are generally close enough to visit and you can actually see how your food is grown regardless of whether it has the USDA organic stamp of approval.
FICTION: Cardiovascular exercise is best for weight loss.
There is no evidence that cardiovascular training causes greater weight loss or more beneficial body composition changes than strength training.
FACT: I can divide my exercise sessions throughout the day and get the same results.
FICTION: Protein is the most important nutrient to fuel and recover from exercise.
FICTION: High repetitions and low weight are best for "toning".
First, let me say that I can't stand it when I hear "tone" and strength or resistance training mentioned in the same sentence. High repetitions and low weight are NOT best for "toning". There are two ways to make muscle more visible. You either need to decrease body fat % or increase muscle size (generally a combination of both occurs). Heavier weight and lower repetitions are best for increasing muscular size and strength. For those of you who are concerned about "bulking up" too much if you lift heavy weight, don't be. For the most part excessive "bulking up" is not even an option after weight loss surgery. In fact, it’s all you can do to retain muscle tissue.
FACT: Low levels of physical activity can dramatically improve health.
About 60% of the reduction in cardiovascular disease associated with regular physical activity are achieved through low to moderate levels of physical activity. Higher levels of physical activity can certainly provide additional benefits but don't be frustrated with yourself if you are only able to perform a small amount of activity at first. This is still great for your health.
