Archive for the tag - myths

5 Nutriton Mistakes “Healthy” People Make.

April 16, 2015 By

a-shirtless-friday-5A healthy diet can improve the quality of your life. And it can help you achieve your fitness goals. But with so much marketing hype and misinformation, making smarter decisions isn’t always easy - even for people who consider themselves healthy.

In fact, here are a few nutrition mistakes that “healthy” people commonly make.

  1. You salads are covered in shit. There’s no doubt that a salad full of lettuce and vegetables is a great start. Unfortunately, many of us cover all the goodness in things like cheese, creamy dressings and bacon bits. Make a salad that tastes like salad - and not a 1,500 calorie gut bomb.
  2. You’re juicing. Fruit juices have become increasingly popular; in Los Angeles, there’s a cold pressed juice stand on almost every corner. And while eating fruits is a smart decision, most fruit juicing processes remove the fiber that helps give fruit its nutritional punch. You’re left with a sugary beverage that is marginally healthier than soda. If you want a healthier and cheaper choice, opt for water, water and more water.
  3. You fall for misleading labels. Marketers are geniuses when it comes to misleading consumers. Words like detox, low-fat, fat-free, reduced-fat, low calorie, low carb, all natural, organic and gluten free all seem to convey a nutritional benefit. Unfortunately, they don’t. These are misleading buzz words; instead, determine whether or not a food is healthy by reading the nutrition label and ingredients.
  4. You eat energy bars and consume sports drinks. Except for grueling physical activity like an intense workout or hike, there’s really no place for energy bars or sports drinks. The former is often a glorified candy bar with just as much sugar and the later is a mixture of water and sugar. Only consume these products to power through intense physical activity.
  5. You avoid all carbs. Obviously, simple carbohydrates like those found in candy, energy bars, sugary drinks and refined grain products like white bread aren’t a smart choice in most situations. But, carbohydrates aren’t entirely bad. In fact, complex carbohydrates like those found in quinoa, whole grains and beans are absolutely part of a healthy diet - and something that your body needs to function properly and power through a workout. Workouts are powered by carbohydrates, not by protein; don’t get it twisted.

What are some other nutrition mistakes that healthy people make? Share them in the comments below!

P.S. If you want a clear, simple and science-based approach to eating smarter, download Davey Wavey’s Insanely Easy Guide to Eating Smarter and get started TODAY!

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: , , ,

5 Worst Nutrition Tips EVER!

April 11, 2014 By

badideaThe only thing more astonishing than the amount of misinformation about nutrition the willingness of people to follow it. Over the years, there’s been no shortage of terrible nutrition advice - and these are some of the biggest offenders.

  1. Don’t eat egg yolks. Why this advice sucks: It’s no secret that eggs are high in cholesterol and that most of the cholesterol is contained in the yolk. But dietary cholesterol tends to have a fairly low impact on the cholesterol levels in blood. Some people with high cholesterol diets have low blood cholesterol and some people with low cholesterol diets have high blood cholesterol. Beyond cholesterol, the yolks are packed with other important nutrients that are essential for your diet. Unless you have high blood cholesterol, eating the egg yolk is a actually nutritional benefit.
  2. Eliminate fat. Why this advice sucks: Decades ago, reduced fat diets and low-fat foods became extremely popular. Unfortunately, much of the low-fat hype and low-fat foods have survived through present day. In reality, fat doesn’t make you fat. Consuming more calories than you burn results in weight gain. Our bodies need healthy, essential fats - like those found in avocados and nuts and extra virgin olive oil. While fats are very calorie dense and should be consumed in moderation, opting for low-fat foods won’t do much to help the cause. In addition, many reduced fat foods are loaded up with sodium or sugar to help replace the favor. And that’s definitely not a good thing.
  3. Don’t eat carbs. Why this advice sucks: Carbohydrates, as it turns out, are crucially important to proper bodily function. Instead of reducing or eliminating all carbohydrates, it’s much wiser to eliminate simple carbs (i.e., sugar, candy, white rice, white bread, etc.) in favor of complex carbs (i.e., brown rice, whole wheat bread, etc.). By eliminating carbohydrates entirely, you won’t have the energy to power through your workout or any other physical activity. In addition, a lack of blood sugar from a low-carb diet can severely slow and limit brain function. Opt for complex carbs.
  4. Don’t eat after 7PM. Why this advice sucks: Science just doesn’t back this claim up. Studies have found that what you eat - and how much of it - is far more important in determining weight gain than meal timing. There’s nothing wrong with eating late at night. If you are eating late at night, pay special attention to what you’re eating. It’s not a green light to mindlessly snack on a bag of chips. Instead, continue to make smart nutritional choices all hours of the day.
  5. Detox your body regularly. Why this advice sucks: Detox diets are a marketing gimmick, plain and simple. Your liver and kidneys detoxify your body naturally. This isn’t accomplished by a packaged juice product that’s devoid of the essential nutrients your body needs. Not only are detox diets unhealthy and counterproductive, but they’re also downright miserable.

What’s the worst piece of nutrition advice that you’ve ever heard? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Filed Under: Nutrition, Tips, Uncategorized Tagged With:

8 Popular Six Pack Ab Myths.

September 28, 2012 By

True story: No two six packs are alike.

If you ask anyone about their fitness goals, six pack abs or a flat stomach are likely to be somewhere on the list. But despite the popularity of this goal, there’s a huge amount of misinformation and a number of popular fallacies.

Today, I’m going to shoot down a number of popular six pack myths to help keep your training program effective and on track.

  1. Myth: You can crunch away the fat on your abs. For most people, the biggest obstacle standing between themselves and a six pack is a layer of fat. Even a thin layer of fat will hide the most developed of abdominal muscles - and doing crunches will do nothing to spot-reduce stomach fat. In fact, the whole notion of spot-reducing fat is a complete fallacy; fat comes off according to its own agenda. Crunches can build your abdominal muscles, but they won’t reduce stomach fat.
  2. Myth: Feeling the burn is all that matters. For individuals looking to build up their ab muscles, it’s important to remember that soreness isn’t required for muscle growth. In fact, soreness is usually simply the result of a new workout routine. Subsequent workouts won’t result in as much (or any) soreness, but that doesn’t mean your muscles aren’t growing. An effective ab workout isn’t measured by how sore you are the next day.
  3. Myth: You need strong abs to have a six pack. Ever see a guy or gal who doesn’t workout, but who sports a fantastic set of six pack abs? For many of these individuals, their chiseled midsection is the result of low body fat percentages. More than developed abdominal muscles, visible six packs have a lot more to do with low body fat - and these individuals were blessed with good genes.
  4. Myth: Fat or diet pills will help you get a sick pack. It’s not worth spending any time on this myth. If you could buy a six pack in a bottle, there would be a lot more people walking around without their shirts on.
  5. Myth: There are shortcuts. Sorry, there aren’t. Depending on your current state of athleticism, your journey to a flat stomach may be longer or shorter - but there really are no shortcuts. Chiseled abs are the result of a workout program designed to target a low body fat percentage (usually the 6% - 13% range) and larger abdominal muscles. There’s no potion, pill or magic spell.
  6. Myth: You can get your six pack to look like that of Christopher Fawcett. Or Ryan Reynolds. Or Colton Haynes. While the models and actors we see in magazines can be great motivators, just like snowflakes, no two six packs are alike. The structure of your abdomen is determined by your genes. And while you can change the size of your muscles through exercise, you can’t change the fundamental layout or structure of your midsection. Your six pack will be uniquely yours.
  7. Myth: You can’t eat carbs if you want a six pack. Carbs are one of the most under-appreciated aspects of a balanced and healthy diet. Indeed, we need carbohydrates for our bodies to function properly, but many people mistakenly believe that carbs load our bodies up with excess body fat. The real emphasis should be placed on eating good, whole, natural and unprocessed carbs - like those found in whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, etc - rather than the bad carbs found in sugary drinks, white bread, cookies and cakes.
  8. Myth: You need to do hours of cardio to get a six pack. You don’t need to take up marathon running to lean down and showcase your six pack. In fact, as I’ve said before, high intensity interval training - which can last for as little as 10 or 15 minutes - is the best way to boost your metabolism and drop body fat. It takes minutes - not hours.

In life, knowledge is power - and the same can be said for fitness. Just because you’ve heard something, it doesn’t mean that it’s true. It’s important to question everything and to do your research based on real science - rather than what you overheard at the gym.

In the comments below, I’d love to hear some of the true or untrue things that you’ve heard about six packs. Perhaps I’ll do a part II.

Filed Under: Abs, Exercises, Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,

Popular Fitness Myths Exposed! [Video]

September 14, 2012 By

I love busting fitness, exercise and nutrition myths with real science, studies and data. Just because you’ve heard something - even if you’ve heard it A LOT - doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily true.

Today’s video features some of the most popular and most pervasive fitness myths that I’ve posted about over the years. I bet you believed at least two of these myths. If I’m right, let me know in the comments below!

Check out the video via my Davey Wavey Fitness YouTube channel.

Filed Under: Exercises, Tips, YouTube Tagged With: ,

5 More Fitness Myths Busted!

June 2, 2011 By

It takes a lot more than protein to create a body like this.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: There’s so much misinformation when it comes to health, nutrition and fitness. Today, let’s bust a few of the most common and most pervasive myths.

Myth #1: Soda is bad for you - so drink fruit juice instead

It’s true that soda is bad for you, but fruit juice isn’t much better. Sure, it may have some additional vitamins. But even fruit juice is loaded with sugar and calories. As a response to sugar, the body releases insulin - which triggers increased fat storage. Instead of drinking soda, drink water. The only time when drinking sugary beverages make sense is immediately following a workout when the body is craving carbs - and it needs them quickly. Simple sugars get absorbed the fastest.

Myth #2: A fat-free diet is good for you!

Definitely not. Your body needs fat. Essential fats help facilitate many of your body’s functions, and help promote a healthy heart and joints, among other things. If you cut out all the fat from your diet, you’d become very, very sick. Instead, focus on consuming the healthier fats - like those found in fish and plants.

Myth #3: A high-protein diet will make your muscles grow

Not true. A high-protein diet does help support muscle growth; muscles need protein to grow. But muscles will only grow if they are forced to do so - and it takes exercise (and increasingly heavier amounts of resistance) to make that happen.

Myth #4: Drinking lots of water makes you gain weight

Actually, drinking lots of water helps boost your metabolism and burn calories. In fact, numerous studies have shown that the opposite of this myth is true - that if you don’t drink enough water, you’re more likely to gain body fat. When the body is dehydrated, it is under stress - and the body’s reaction to stress is retaining fat. If you aren’t getting enough water, you’re selling yourself - and your results - short.

Myth #5: Brown eggs are more nutritious than white eggs

Actually, the color of the egg has nothing to do with the nutritional content. The breed of the hen determines the egg’s color. This myth likely resulted from the nutritional differences between white and wheat bread - but it has no scientific foundation.

There you have it! Five more health, fitness and nutrition myths finally busted! Stay tuned for more. 🙂

And on a related side note, another fitness myth is that you need to use fancy equipment to make big fitness gains. Not true. In fact, I created my brand-new Jock Workout to be an equipment-free workout that you can do at home (or at the gym) without anything else to buy. Check it out today - and watch the free preview. Use discount code “blog” before June 7th to save 25% during checkout. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Tips Tagged With: , , , , , ,