Fitness myths you used to believe

Wetterdew

Mine: "If you have huge muscles, then when you get old it will turn into fat."

pinklotusblossom

Muscle weighs more than fat.

A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat!

wheird

That in order to lose weight you couldn't eat junk food or drink soda.
That you HAD To exercise and do cardio to burn fat.
That fat turns directly into muscle when lifting weights.

DamePiglet

Yeah, the "transmorphation" of fat turning into muscle and the reverse.

I can't believe I was that dopey.

Phoenix_Warrior

That women get bulky from lifting.

Oh, contrary. ..they get dead sexy ♥

Siansonea

That I didn't need to pay attention to calories to lose weight, that I could just "wing it".

DamePiglet

(A pound of) Muscle weighs more than (a pound of) fat.

A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat!

Fixed it for you.
Muscle is more dense than fat, therefore, a cubic inch of muscle actually does weigh more than a cubic inch of fat.

GiveMeCoffee

That to lose weight I had to eat nothing but boiled chicken and salads.
That I had to be miserable and make everyone around me miserable cause I was on a diet
That cute little pink hand weights were good enough strength training for women

So glad I know better now

broox80

I had to only eat one meal a day to keep my weight off!! Stupid mom!!!

MaryJane_8810002

If you lay down after eating you willl get fat. My Asian friends used to tell me that one all the time...

BusyRaeNOTBusty

You have to eat breakfast and six times a day.

I also didn't know that muscle loss was a big concern and that lifting and protein can minimize it.

elyelyse

Do lots of crunches and ab work to lose belly fat!

mungowungo

That to lose weight I had to eat nothing but boiled chicken and salads.
That I had to be miserable and make everyone around me miserable cause I was on a diet
That cute little pink hand weights was good enough strength training for women

So glad I know better now

This^^^

Plus you have to eat a lot less and starve and not eat fat.

RllyGudTweetr

Protein first thing in the morning "stokes your metabolic furnace." I still regularly include a protein shake in my breakfast, but that's partly habit and partly so I don't have to think about meeting and (hopefully) exceeding minimum protein goals.

turtleball

-if you eat at night you will gain weight
- need to eat nothing but diet foods
-exercise = weight loss
-constantly eating food throughout the day will make me lose weight


--might edit to put more

alisha_1983

that in order to lose weight, you need to eat a very restrictive diet with no more than 1200 calories........total BS!!!!!

SLLRunner

Losing weight is not about how much you eat, but what you eat.

If you don't eat before you go to bed, you WILL lose weight.

You must exercise to lose weight.

resistance_freak

used to believe that you needed carbs for energy

I also used to believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy

Dugleik

This is more of those weird things from the Pro-Ana community, but for a long time I believed water contained calories. Needless to say I was not the perfect picture of mental health at the time.

jamiebxo

I think I've believed them all at some point! "Don't eat after 6pm because your body stores more fat after this time" "You can ONLY eat healthy foods to lose weight" "Strength training will make you bulky and masculine", you name it.

_TastySnoBalls_

That (enter food here) is off limits if you want to lose weight.

Frank_Just_Frank

Weightlifting stunts your growth.

MsJulielicious

Sit back folks. I got this one!
"fat makes you fat"
"sugar is bad. always"
"must be hungry. always. starving in fact"
"women should only do light weights with lots of reps"
"fitness should make you miserable"
"shakiness and mood swings are part of the process"

Yep I was a totally ignorant sheep tool. Thank Gawd for education.

TheRealParisLove

The myth that did me the most harm is that I could eat whatever I wanted as long as I worked out hard enough. Now I know that you can't out exercise a poor diet.

geebusuk

That 5/6 meals a deal kept your metabolism up.

Still followed calories too, though nowhere near as anally as I do now with MFP..

suppakana

Girls can't lift weight. They'll get bulky.

The strongest woman will still be weaker than the weakest man.

Those are two that need to be squished, and squished permanently.

Elif84

I thought if I just exercised (mostly cardio) and still ate the way I did, I would lose weight. I never lost weight and didn't see any change in my body. I switched it around. I watched what I ate, did heavy lifting and less cardio and started to see a change.

sklarbodds

I actually believed that if I just worked out I could eat whatever I wanted. I believed that in part because it was true when I was in H.S. (Of course I played 3 different sports and ran and rode my bike like CRAZY).

I would eat 3500 calories and workout for 30 minutes and wonder why I wasn't losing LOL.

Hungry_Annie

I thought I had to eat as little as possible, and burn off as much of what I ate. Good lord.

FattyFatsoMcTubby

You get fat by eating fat. To lose weight stop eating fat.

toddis

That you need to stretch...