Jann

10 Fitness Myths Unmasked By Joe Wilkes Can you turn fat into muscle? Is the morning the best time to exercise? Will you get cramps if you drink too much water when you exercise? Can those ab machines on TV get rid of your pot belly? Spend time surfing the Internet for fitness information and, pretty soon, your head will explode from reading all the contradictions and misinformation about the best strategies to get fit. Here are some of the more popular myths and old wives' tales that have been propagated over the years. 1. You can turn fat into muscle. This is completely false. Muscle and fat are two entirely different substances. Muscle is a fibrous, contractible tissue that can only be built through exercise—via a break-down-and-rebuild process. Fat is adipose tissue that can be converted into energy in the service of building muscle, but the tissue itself can't be transformed into muscle tissue. So if you are an out-of-shape 200 pounds, you're not going to look like a young Schwarzenegger just by lifting weights. You'll have to do a lot of Turbo Jam®-style cardio to burn the fat off before anyone can see how ripped you've gotten. Which leads us to . . . 2. You can turn a pot belly into a six-pack just by doing crunches. Any insomniac has seen those late-night commercials that guarantee miracles with rollers, chairs, crunchers, and various other contraptions. They all promise a Brad Pitt six-pack in just minutes a day. But if you're starting with a Homer Simpson beer gut, it's going to take more than rocking back and forth a few minutes in a modified lawn chair every day to see any results. No matter how steely your ab muscles are, if they're covered in inches of fat, no one is going to be able to appreciate them. If you don't burn the fat, you'll never see the muscle. 3. You can lose weight just by dieting. This is technically true. If you don't eat or eat less, you will lose weight—initially. But you will plateau quickly, and your body will readjust its metabolism to survive on fewer calories, making it even more difficult to lose weight. If you really want to move the needle on the bathroom scale in a meaningful way, it's going to take diet and exercise. Even light to moderate levels of exercise on a regular basis help a lot. Physical activity not only burns calories, it also helps build muscle and increase your metabolism, both of which turn your body into a more efficient calorie-burning machine, even while at rest. Plus, there are numerous other health benefits, from cardiovascular improvement to mood elevation. And in-shape people look a lot hotter than sallow, starved people do. 4. If you don't exercise every day, you might as well not exercise at all. This comes from the same flawed, excuse-driven logic dieters use when they decide that because they cheated at lunch, they might as well order a pizza for dinner. While some form of daily exercise is ideal, studies have shown tremendous benefits even with as little exercise as a 30-minute brisk walk three times a week. Even if you fall off the wagon, put in that video or walk around the block a few times. Before too long, you'll be craving exercise more than that burrito you thought you wanted. 5. No pain, no gain. This is a popular one uttered by almost every high school gym teacher and coach that I've ever met. And it's not only utterly wrong, it's potentially dangerous. This may seem obvious, but when you feel physical pain, it's your body's way of telling you, "Hey, you're hurting me!" And instead of trying to push through the pain, you should take a step back and see what kind of damage you're doing to your body. It's natural to feel fatigue during and after a workout, but if you're feeling actual physical pain, you're doing something wrong, and you could potentially permanently damage yourself. Maybe it would be better to say, "No exercise, no gain." But exercise and pain should never go hand in hand. 6. More sweat, more weight loss. Most good workouts will make you sweat, but the amount you sweat isn't necessarily the test of a good workout. Everyone sweats differently. And all sweat does is cool your body off with water. What you get from sweating isn't fat dripping off your body. If it were, you'd be leaving a big oil stain on the floor after you worked out. Sweating just causes you to lose water weight. It's the activity itself that causes your body to burn stored fat for energy. 7. Drinking water during exercise can cause cramping. In fact, the opposite is true. You're much more likely to cramp if you're underhydrated, so for the best results when exercising, it's a good idea to drink water before you start your workout so you're beginning your workout with a full tank. As you work out, you should keep a bottle of water handy, particularly if it's a long or especially rigorous workout. After working out, you should treat your body to a big glass of water to replenish your fluids. 8. The best time to exercise is in the morning. A lot of people find that they prefer getting their workout out of the way first thing in the morning, and often feel that it gives them an energy boost for the rest of the day. But a good workout any time of day is just as good for you, although you may not get the best results if you're overly tired. So if you're someone who likes to burn the midnight oil, you can burn fat just as effectively then as you can at sunrise. 9. Lifting weights will create bulky muscles. This is a half-truth. Lifting heavy weights can create large, bulky muscles, but lifting light weights will self-regulate their ability to grow and, therefore, will create a leaner look. So if you want the Vin Diesel look, with your guns pumped, you can lift heavier weights with fewer reps. But if you want a more slender look (for example, many women don't believe that Vin Diesel's arms perfectly accessorize a Chanel cocktail dress), you can do more reps with lighter weights or resistance bands to get that slender, toned "swimmer's" build. And speaking of swimming . . . 10. Swimming is effective for weight loss. This is another half-truth. Swimming is great for building lean muscle and increasing cardiovascular endurance, which do lead to weight loss. But because the water supports so much of your body weight, swimming has been found to be less effective than land-based aerobic activity for weight loss, since the effort it takes to haul your carcass around does a lot more for fat burning. Swimming's still a great thing to add to your fitness regimen though. Jann

University of Calgary law professor Linda McKay-Panos says she was ridiculed and bruised during one flying experience. Dean Bicknell, Calgary Herald Air Canada and WestJet failed in their pitch to quash a decision from the Canadian Transportation Agency, which gave them one year to bring in a policy known as "one person, one fare" to allow disabled passengers a second seat for a travelling companion. Obese people can also qualify if they are too large to fit in a single seat. "Now I know I can fly with dignity," said McKay-Panos, 51, who was born with a hormonal disorder. "I'll be able to phone up the airline and be treated with respect and have my disability accommodated without making it so I can't afford to fly." Air Canada and WestJet said Thursday they intend to fully comply with the federal order, although the carriers aren't sure what kind of screening process will be used to assess who is eligible for an extra ticket. Canada is so far the only country in the world to require its airlines to follow such a policy, said WestJet spokesman Richard Bartrem. "The big work for us now is understanding what sort of guidelines to put in place that are fair and consistent," he said. In its ruling, the agency said the free fares need not be provided to obese people who are merely uncomfortable in their seats or are not disabled by their size. The airlines also do not have to make allowances for disabled people who prefer to travel with a companion for personal reasons or those who require care on the ground but not in the air. Calgary civil liberties lawyer Stephen Jenuth considers the federal decision a wake-up call for a number of industries that may have to rethink the traditional definition of disabled. "It is an important battle; it really speaks to the kind of accommodations businesses have to make to allow disabled people to use their services," he said. According to Canadian Transportation Agency figures, the new rules will add about 77 cents to each ticket sold by Air Canada and 44 cents to every WestJet fare. The cost of flying probably will increase to some degree for all travellers come January, said WestJet's Bartrem. "Ultimately anytime we take revenue seats off of an aircraft and essentially replace them with guests that are flying for free, there's going to be a financial impact," he said. McKay-Panos, a University of Calgary professor and the executive director of the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre, says the right for morbidly obese people to fly with the same degree of accessibility as the average traveller is a victory for all disabled people. After more than a decade of battling the airlines, she's looking forward to flying again. "Many obese persons are following this situation . . . and are grateful I was willing to put myself forward," said McKay-Panos. "As you can imagine, I get ridicule as well as praise." Jann

I would also roll my shoulders, both of them in tandem. Ten times forward, big movements, ten times back, big movements. Then in rotation, left front, right back, right front, left back, big movements. See how you feel and repeat as necessary without hurting yourself. Jann

I would think that OCC wouldn't charge as you are so fresh out of surgery and I've never heard of anyone having those symptoms. Let us know how you are and why that happened. Hope you are better since you posted. Jann

Perhaps because I view all North Americans as Americans I didn't perceive it as anything other than a general statement. Alberta happens to be the most US inclined of all of the provinces following much of the US's business models. Wait a sec, Kensgirl resides in TEXAS. Isn't that in the USA? Just saying... Jann

Are you serious, Jena?? What do you drive? I drive a 2008 Impala and it cost me just short of $70.00 to fill up three days ago and that is with the lowered gas price. Ironically we are an oil and gas producing province no less! Never let it be said there are advantages close to home! Jann

You go girl! It entirely makes sense that it's come full circle although frighteningly so. The last eight years have been an absolute gong show and the war effort has completely eroded the economic stability of the participating countries in my humble opinion. The fact that the war was based on a lie is completely unforgiveable but this thread is based in politics so I'm guessing it's a fair statement to make whether you are pro or con! Change unfortunately usually means people suffer but for every bust there is a boom and vice versa. I know that's small comfort to those who are suffering and I get that but it is what it is and the average person has to be proactive and smart in their approach through the next however long it takes to end the negative cycle. Jann

YAY for you! Excellent work! WOOT! Jann

I really, really, really loved those two. They are on my fridge now. How true is that! Jann

http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?show...=protein+shakes I'm not a huge fan of the pre-made shakes myself but I do make one of these every morning before I do my workout and I have another about seven at night to help heal my poor workout muscles. They went from basically atrophied to a workout every day and trust me when I tell you they are moaning! Jann

What an awesome attitude and proactive way to manage through these tough times! GOOD FOR YOU! Thanks for the perspective check! Jann

Thanks Jude! I find these tidbit pieces of info fascinating! Hugs! Jann

OMG!! DAY THREE!!!!! Congratulations to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited for you! http://www.burnmytime.com/blog/2007/05/18/...itmeter-ticker/ I promise you, if you can keep up not smoking for about 21 days you will stop obsessing about it. Huge hugs for a job well done! YAY! Jann

Jillian Michael's Tip of the Day Release the Past I don't care if you were the fat kid in high school, or the black sheep of the family, or the lazy teenager who hated exercise. Forget it — let it all go! Those old identities are not serving you in the present, and they certainly aren't going to help you achieve your goals for the future. If you let go of old conceptions of yourself, you can maintain an open mind and be open to all possibilities. It is imperative that you let go of the past in order to re-create yourself in the present. and The Right Attitude Do you have what it takes to reach your weight-loss goals? If you think it's all about diet and exercise, you're wrong. It sounds crazy, I know. Exercise and a proper diet are crucial to any weight-loss and fitness program. But, to reach any long term goal — especially one that requires major lifestyle change — you'll need to improve your attitude, too. You can have all the external support in the world, but if your self-esteem is in the toilet, you'll never have long-term success. Having the right attitude is so important because thought is behavior. The power of the mind is total — the way you think about yourself manifests as your reality. We all know how easily negative thoughts can lead to lack of confidence, hopelessness, and depression. You've heard about self-fulfilling prophecy, right? Well, if you tell yourself that you'll always be fat or never find happiness, chances are you'll end up fat and unhappy. Hey, it makes sense. Okay, let's turn that scenario around. Tell yourself that you can get fit and you will be happy. It's that simple. You can master your own fate with positive thinking! Jann

Living by the Numbers There's a lot more to restructuring your body than numbers, but knowing the very basics will help you on your path to fitness, especially in the beginning while your habits are changing. Committing these facts to memory will serve you well: For example, a candy bar that has 10 grams of protein (40 calories), 60 grams of carbs (240 calories), and 25 grams of fat (225 calories) provides 505 calories. If you were eating one per day, that's 3,535 calories per week. By simply cutting out your candy bar you'll lose a pound per week without by changing anything else. * 1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories * 1 gram of protein = 4 calories * 1 gram of fat = 9 calories * 1 gram of alcohol = 7 calories * 3,500 calories = 1 pound of body weight Jann