Bodybuilding Myths and the Importance of Fiber
- By Chris McCombs
- Published 08/20/2008
- Wellness, Fitness and Diet
- Unrated
Here's some bodybuilding myths:
1) if I work out that gives me a free pass to eat whatever I want because I will just burn it off. People nutrition is like 80% of the equation here....there is a saying you are what you eat. Just because you worked out for 2 hours on the treadmill doesn't give you the green light to have 3 slices of pizza
2) If I lift weights I will get to bulky. This one is directed to all the women out there....IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO GET "BIG" your body just doesn't produce enough of the hormones required to build muscle so dont worry. And that "tone" look all of you are going after is just muscle without fat covering it so hit the iron.
3) Cardio burns more then fat. This is true at the time of exercise, you will burn more fat running then lifting weights. But when you lift weights your metabolism will stay elevated for the next 2-3 hours where as with cardio 30 minutes at the max and or the second you put food into your mouth. so my advice....do both
4) Carbs make me fat. this is not true.....it is the type of carbs you eat that will make you fat. this is such a complex topic that I will just say this....stay away from white flour and proccessed carbs and you will be fine. Eat whole grains.
5) Turning muscle into fat or fat into muscle. I am sorry to say this is impossible. there is no way you can turn a muscle fiber into a fat cell they are two completely
different things. You can take away fat cells by losing weight or if they are inactive for long enough muscle fibers will atrophy(get smaller) but you can't change one into the other.
Fiber should be a daily staple in your diet. And I don't mean taking an occasional fiber supplement when you are "clogged up" but eating foods with fiber everyday. The RDA for fiber is around 25-35 grams a day, the lower end of the scale is more for women and the higher end is for men. Did you know the average American only consumes around 5 grams of fiber a day!!!
so whats so important about fiber that we need to eat it in such large amounts. well first off it will keep you regular and it will be easier to go to the bathroom. second, by going to the bathroom more regularly it allows your body to get rid of the cholestrol that has binded to fiber during digestion so it can actually lower your cholestrol. besides that it can actually lower your risk of colon cancer because all the harmful waste products are excreted faster. it will also make you feel fuller becuase it expands in your stomach and takes a long time to pss through the stomach into the small intenstine so you will probally eat less at a meal that has a lot of fiber. And last but not least fiber can not be digested by the body so it provides no calories!!!!!
be careful though, don't jump up to 25 or 35 grams a day too quickly or you will get cramps, gas and bloating just because your body won't know how to deal with such an increase. do it over a couple of weeks and enjoy all the benifits.
1) if I work out that gives me a free pass to eat whatever I want because I will just burn it off. People nutrition is like 80% of the equation here....there is a saying you are what you eat. Just because you worked out for 2 hours on the treadmill doesn't give you the green light to have 3 slices of pizza
2) If I lift weights I will get to bulky. This one is directed to all the women out there....IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO GET "BIG" your body just doesn't produce enough of the hormones required to build muscle so dont worry. And that "tone" look all of you are going after is just muscle without fat covering it so hit the iron.
3) Cardio burns more then fat. This is true at the time of exercise, you will burn more fat running then lifting weights. But when you lift weights your metabolism will stay elevated for the next 2-3 hours where as with cardio 30 minutes at the max and or the second you put food into your mouth. so my advice....do both
4) Carbs make me fat. this is not true.....it is the type of carbs you eat that will make you fat. this is such a complex topic that I will just say this....stay away from white flour and proccessed carbs and you will be fine. Eat whole grains.
5) Turning muscle into fat or fat into muscle. I am sorry to say this is impossible. there is no way you can turn a muscle fiber into a fat cell they are two completely
Fiber should be a daily staple in your diet. And I don't mean taking an occasional fiber supplement when you are "clogged up" but eating foods with fiber everyday. The RDA for fiber is around 25-35 grams a day, the lower end of the scale is more for women and the higher end is for men. Did you know the average American only consumes around 5 grams of fiber a day!!!
so whats so important about fiber that we need to eat it in such large amounts. well first off it will keep you regular and it will be easier to go to the bathroom. second, by going to the bathroom more regularly it allows your body to get rid of the cholestrol that has binded to fiber during digestion so it can actually lower your cholestrol. besides that it can actually lower your risk of colon cancer because all the harmful waste products are excreted faster. it will also make you feel fuller becuase it expands in your stomach and takes a long time to pss through the stomach into the small intenstine so you will probally eat less at a meal that has a lot of fiber. And last but not least fiber can not be digested by the body so it provides no calories!!!!!
be careful though, don't jump up to 25 or 35 grams a day too quickly or you will get cramps, gas and bloating just because your body won't know how to deal with such an increase. do it over a couple of weeks and enjoy all the benifits.
Chris McCombs
Chris McCombs is a fitness marketing specialist and creates products focused on helping people make a lot of money in the fitness industry, you can learn more at http://www.kickbacklife.com/
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