10 Fat Loss Myths That Are Ruining Your Health

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10 Fat Loss Myths That Are Ruining Your Health

Most people get a gym membership to lose weight but how many of these people do you think achieve their goal and how many end up falling for the fat loss myths? If you don’t want to look into the stats, just look around yourself and figure out how many of your friends and family joined a gym but soon gave up on their new year’s resolution of achieving a six pack.

Fat loss isn’t as hard as it is made out to be. Most people fail to shed the extra kilos because of the ill-advice they receive from the bros at the gym and the fat loss myths that surround the process. Losing fat is a science mostly because people have different bodies, different goals and try a variety of diets that may or may not work.

The other thing about weight loss is that it is a process. You need to do a series of things right if you want to see progress. While many people get most of the things right, they mess up a few things which keep them from achieving their dream physique. Losing fat requires you eating calculated amounts of calories, a serious workout regimen and more sleep. Maintaining muscle will also require you to train hard at the gym and follow a strength building routine.

In this article, we will try to cover most of the aspects that play a role in helping you lose the spare tire. If you do nothing else but avoid falling for these fables, you’d be doing better than the average Joe at your gym.

Avoid These 10 Fat Loss Myths

Eliminate Fats & Carbs From Your Diet

When people start training, one of the first things they’re told is that fats and carbs are their enemies. Most noobs associate the macronutrient fats with the tire around their bellies and they make cutting fats out of their diets the sole mission of their lives.

Carbs are the second soft target. Don’t forget not all carbs and fats are created equal. Good fats and carbs are responsible for the health of your skin, nails, hair, joints, brain, energy levels, and overall proper functioning of the body.

Saunas Are Your Best Friend

Since sweating is related to fat burn, many people assume that sitting in a sauna for a few hours every week will help them trim down a few inches off the waistline. It is the reason you see overweight men socializing in saunas. After bars saunas are probably the second most favorite place for unfit men to hang out.

What you lose sweating your balls off in a steam room is not fat but water weight. Ever felt thirsty and dehydrated after a sauna? That’s because you got rid of a lot of the stored water in your body. Worst yet, the lost water weight will be added back as soon as you eat a salty meal or drink your favorite soda.

Fat Loss is Just a Matter of Few Weeks

People who start their weight loss journey overestimate what they can do in a short period of time and underestimate what they can achieve in the long run. Although some people narrow down the concept of weight loss to “calories in, calories out,” the truth is it is a little more complicated than that.

Each person has a different set of hormones, metabolism, environmental factors, and potential underlying health issues that could all play a role in how much weight you lose. A newbie should never give their weight loss process a deadline – unless they want to be disappointed. Together with a strategic diet, fat-burners can accelerate fat loss by enhancing metabolism, reducing cravings, and increasing intra-workout energy.

Combining daily exercise with lean proteins, lots of fiber, good fats, and fruits and vegetables will be key to your fat loss goals. A good fat burner will accelerate the fat loss process and maintain quality muscle.

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You Can Target Fat Loss – Probably the Biggest Fat Loss Myth

Sport reduction remains to be one of the biggest fat loss myths. Some people join the gym with very specific demands. They either just want to lose their love handles or the cellulite on their thighs. The sad news is, no matter how much spot reduction is promoted and how many products for it are introduced, it’s never going to work.

You can lose overall weight and body fat by eating the right foods and following a diet plan but you can’t pick and choose the spots from where you want to lose weight first. So, get that sauna belt off off your underarms already.

Exercise Alone Can Save You

It’s common knowledge that you need to be moving and challenging your body to shed the excess fat. The problem here is that some people get over-dependent on exercise and forget the other things that go hand-in-hand with it.

While spending countless hours on the treadmill can make you feel like you’re making progress but the needle won’t budge in the right direction if you’re not eating the right diet or letting your body recover from your workouts.

Cut Everything You Can From Your Diet

Some people perceive switching to a low-calorie diet to be a quick method of losing weight. If you’re one of the people who prefer opting for the low-calorie crash diet, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Always remember that under-fueling is as risky as over-fueling.

Juice Cleanse is the Solution

One of the newest fads of the fitness industry is the juice cleanse. They are promoted as the perfect way to detox and lose weight quickly. Although the juice diet reduces your calorie intake drastically, it can spike your blood sugar levels as you’ll be consuming a lot of sugar. The sugar spike can lead you to gain weight which is the exact opposite of why you started the juice cleanse.

However, there are digestive benefits to super greens that contain prebiotic greens that have been linked to weight management.

HIIT Are The Most Effective

Due to their effectiveness, HIIT workouts have gained a cult for themselves. But if your sole aim is to lose weight, doing only HIIT cardio isn’t a good idea. Adding lower-intensity workouts to your routine is as important as HIIT because they lower your body’s level of cortisol (a hormone responsible for making your body store fat) which is a big culprit in weight gain.

Cheat Days Are Okay

Most people like to have a cheat day in their schedule like most bodybuilders do as they feel it helps them satiate their cravings and refuels their body with a boatload of carbs. Instead of scheduling cheat days, stick with cheat meals or small treats that don’t derail the progress you’ve made. We’ve detailed some of the favorite cheat meals for many athletes like Chris Bumstead.

Once You Stop Training, You’ll Gain All The Weight Back

This is one of the biggest misconceptions amongst people who never join a gym. They think all their efforts will go in vain because all the weight they’ve lost will be back as soon as they stop working out.

Adding the weight back depends on factors like if you’ll go back to your old unhealthy lifestyle or if the weight you lost was water weight – in which case there’ll be high chances of adding it back. If the weight you lose is through the right means and process, you won’t be putting it back on unless you make some bad lifestyle choices.


Which myth did you fall prey to when you started training? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.

Vidur Saini
Vidur is a fitness junky who likes staying up to date with the fitness industry and loves publishing his opinions for everyone to see. Subscribe to his YouTube Channel.