Are Health Myths Holding You Back?
Life before fast food chains and corporate employment was a lot easier on our overall health. It’s no wonder that each industrialized country is experiencing a rise in health issues like obesity and diabetes. Now that people are beginning to realize how much better a healthy and fit lifestyle is, we see a lot of people making efforts to turn their lives around.
Hopping on the health train is by no means an easy thing to do. There are a ton of different ways you can modify your diet and exercise routine to see results. Only a few of these methods actually give worthwhile results.
When you are making the transition to a healthy life, the most important thing to do is avoid health and fitness scams. They come in many different forms and have promised people a fit future that they can’t really deliver. Knowledge of these scams will help you avoid wasting your time and steer you towards real success. Listed below are some of the most common misconceptions surrounding fitness and diet that our society is falling for.
Fad Diets
We’ve seen hundreds of these diets come and go. They suggest that you modify your eating routine in some sort of absurd way to get results. They may even be featured in health magazines and have attractive advertising campaigns with celebrity endorsements. There is a reason that there have been so many: most of them are complete nonsense.
Yeah, I’ll take the steak and vegetables instead… Thanks anyways.
When you get down to the barebones of effective dieting there is only one real truth. That truth is that a standard well balanced diet of diverse food will give you the right amount of nutrients to be healthy. With the right amount of moderation and observation you can keep yourself from consuming excess calories and experiencing unwanted weight gain. Before you take on a new crazy diet of water and bread, make sure it has been around for a while and worked for others.
Weight Loss Pills
There is a seemingly endless variety of these pills hitting the shelves every year. The people making them run huge advertising campaigns that deliver false promises to the masses for nothing but financial gain. The commercials sound something like this:
Man: “I always struggled with weight and it seemed like nothing I tried worked. After using this miracle pill I kept going about my normal daily routine and the weight just fell off! Within no time I was surrounded by beautiful women and blah blah blah….”
This clever advertising is meant to draw in your attention and get you to invest. The truth is that there is no magical weight loss pill out there. If there was, the person that made it would be a billionaire and we would all be skinny. Make sure that you do in depth research before you invest your trust into a new weight loss supplement, since they could be aimed at your wallet instead of your gut.
Fitness Supplements
Now this is a bit of a touchy area for some. Mainly because there are a few fitness supplements that do give actual results. But if you are trying to put on muscle and enter a nutrition store, I promise that 75% of the things on the shelves do nothing more for you than drain your bank account.
In order for you to get the most bang for your buck we’ll take a quick look at the supplements that do work:
Protein Powders: These are great even for people who don’t want to put on a ton of muscle. Our diets usually lack the recommended amount of protein. In order to balance out your macronutrient ratios, try incorporating some whey or casein powder into your diet.
Creatine: Creatine is essential for protein metabolism and energy in your muscle tissue. It is found naturally in foods like steak but much like protein, we don’t get the right amount of it on a daily basis. There is still a lot of studying to be done but for now scientists know it is a safe and effective way to boost your training.
Caffeine Supplements: Also known as pre-workout, they usually contain high amounts of caffeine to give you a major energy boost. Avoid doing too much of these as they are the most dangerous when not used correctly.
Anything other than these is most likely a scam. No, the grinded up alpaca fur supplement that gives you a six-pack is not real. Just stick to the trusted choices and you should be getting your money’s worth.
The Verdict
There are a lot of crazy fitness scams out there. People treasure their health and are willing to do anything that will give them the edge. Unfortunately they are often taken advantage of due to their vulnerability.
There is only one definitive way to get healthier that guarantees results. That is through a monitored diet and a sufficient exercise routine. You can take a risk and roll with one of the many scams floating around out there, but why not go with the trusted option and avoid wasting money? Before trying something new in your health and fitness routine, try finding someone else that has tried it. If you can confirm the results with other people you have a smaller chance of being scammed.
Adam St. Pierre
