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The 10 Biggest Lies Blokes Believe About Weight Loss part one of two

Posted: 02/11/2009 at 08:25pm by Rich Leigh, founder of Fat Free Fitness

Fat Free Fitness' article about weight loss myths as featured on leading men's wedding site www.iamstaggered.com.

If trimming down for The Big Day is something your missus won’t stop banging on about, or you’ve watched Fight Club recently and thought to yourself ‘a body like that can’t be too hard to get, can it?’, this is for you.

You see, as consumers, we get fed (pun maybe intended) a lot of conflicting information about getting into shape. I’m here to debunk the most common diet and fitness untruths, like a fitness version of that bloke off Mythbusters, but without the awesome handlebar tache.

Myth one: Sit ups = a six pack

Gents, this is number one in the list for a reason, as so many men base their trimming down efforts around this one exercise.

Although yes, crunches and sit-ups do help develop your abs, what good are they if they’re hidden away behind the flabby result of your fondness for kebabs and Snickers? Whether you’re going for Vin Diesel, Daniel Craig or Brad Pitt’s look, getting rid of the telltale sign that you’re not afraid of a few tinnies will have your bride-to-be rushing through the nuptials to get you in the matrimonial sack.

Myth Two: One pint won’t hurt

I hate to break it to you, but a session at the gym rounded off with a pint or two could be why your gut just doesn’t want to shift.

When it comes to accepting that the calories we take on through alcohol can completely negate any good we may have done at the gym or on the roads, many blokes choose to justify having a drink by saying that they in some way deserve it for training. As hard as it may be to hear, giving your mate a piggyback after he’s just declared his love for you for the 20th time doesn’t really count as exercise either.

The average pint has around 200 calories give or take, which means that a couple of drinks can totally ruin your efforts. Try picking a day a week where you drink, and cutting the amount you drink; either by taking longer over your pint or alternating between diet coke and pints on a night out.

Myth Three: You don’t need to lose weight

Whether you suck it in when you pass a mirror, or choose to ignore the fact you’re down to the last few holes on your belt, if you find yourself heading for the crisps almost automatically every time you go in to pay for petrol, chances are you could do with losing a few pounds.

I know, I know, you’ve heard it all before, but those few pounds can lead quite quickly to a few stone, inching you (again, pun maybe intended) towards potential Diabetes, heart problems and the dejection of relatives and mates thinking it’s funny to poke your bulging stomach.

Myth Four: Eating eggs raw a la Rocky is the way forward

The Rocky films are home to some of the best training scenes ever filmed, without doubt, but also responsible for one of the silliest fads to enter the world of fitness.

You see, gulping down uncooked eggs won’t help you as much as you may think. Although on average every egg has around 9 grams of protein, the bioavailability (basically, how much of the nutrients your body can actually utilise) of the protein in a raw egg is significantly less than that of a cooked egg.

If you’re trying to develop the size and shape of your muscles at all, whether through bulking up or just going for a bit more definition, protein is your friend. You’ll want as much of it as possible, within reason, around 1 gram per pound of bodyweight per day, according to many reports. So, to take on protein that your body simply won’t use is not only inefficient, but you’ll have to drink slimy yolks too.

Some reports say that only 50% of the protein from uncooked eggs is usable, whilst over 90% is useable from cooked eggs. Bear it in mind when your mate waxes lyrical about how manly his drinking raw egg makes him.

Myth Five: Obesity doesn’t affect sperm count

So, you’re getting married. Chances are, having a nipper will be pretty high on your priorities, or if you already have one, no doubt she’s planning numbers 2, 3 and 4 as you read this.

Let’s not disappoint her then by glossing over the fact that being overweight and lazy does exactly the same thing for your swimmers. Many studies, as recently as last month have shown that overweight men have a much higher chance of having a low volume of sperm, and some studies show that sperm mobility is affected too. In short – the lazier you are, the lazier your sperm are.

Part two coming up soon!

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