Tuesday, March 31, 2009

!@#$%!* This is Why People Are So Confused

I am so annoyed that I'm not even going to wait until tomorrow to post this rant.

I opened an e-mail from Discovery Channel's National Body Challenge today and saw a link for an article titled Small Changes, BIG Weight Loss. The author started out explaining the value of simply reducing your calorie intake 100-300 calories per day.

The premise is true and the advice beneficial. So, a harmless article on weight loss, right? Maybe, until I read this...

How to Knock Out Calories

Of course, if it were that easy, you wouldn't be reading this now. So how do you hunker down and continuously knock out those 200 to 300 calories a day? The often-repeated formula is to combine eating less calories with regular cardiovascular exercise. Do all three, and you're guaranteed to melt away fat.


I'm not sure but I think the third of "do all three" refers to an earlier comment about increasing daily physical activity. The example used was "walking around the office instead of shooting out emails nonstop."

Not a single mention of strength training! Nothing about cardio intervals, of course. No wonder people spend hours doing cardio and then give up from lack of time or mediocre results.

Even worse, the author goes on to say...

But be forewarned: Your body can only metabolize a certain amount of fat — 1 to 1.5 pound(s) a week — on a low-calorie diet, says Tallmadge.


I won't challenge this point although Alwyn Cosgrove and quite a few others would because I'm more appalled by what she says next...

At some point, the fat will turn to muscle, which is why you want to build muscle when losing weight.


What?????? Fitness pros have a hard enough time getting people to understand that fat cannot turn into muscle and vice versa. Muscle and fat are two different types of tissue. You can't turn wood into stone, you can't turn plastic into metal, you can't turn bone into a liver and you can't turn fat into muscle!

It is unbelievable to me that a "health journalist" would not know that. Worse yet is that no one at Discovery caught it.

How many people have been misinformed by that article?

You can read the entire article here ==> Small Changes, BIG Weight Loss

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7 comments:

Jen Pyle said...

I so agree with you! I get so tired of reading all this B.S. in the news and media. Cardio in and of itself is just a huge waste of time. And I also can't believe the author was so blantantly ignorant about how the body works! They may have well just said to try magic to "melt the fat away." Sheesh.

Oh and sadly, most Americans consume so many extra calories (of such unhealthy foods) that they'd need to cut more than 100-300 calories a day to lose significant amounts of weight. Before I got healthy and lost weight, I was consuming a good 2000-2500 calories a day, easy. When in reality, I should (and now do) only eat about 1500-1800 calories a day. And you can't out-train a bad diet, as Craig Ballantyne and Brad Pilon just demonstrated in their new Utube clip! Did you see it yet? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQbuzsY_34Q

Mickey said...

Hi Jen,

It's scary that such an "expert" is allowed to write articles for Discovery channel.

"Melt the fat away" - you must be talking about acai berry. :-) I wrote about that here ==> Real Power Of Acai Berry

I did see the Craig and Brad show. It's a great video; I scheduled it to post here tomorrow.

Thanks for commenting.

Mickey said...

Hey, Jen, I just realized that you're a fellow Pennsylvanian. What part of the state are you in?

Jen Pyle said...

I'm out near Philly now, but I know and love the Lancaster area, cause I went to college at Millersville University. Love your blog by the way!

Mickey said...

Thanks!

I'm an MU graduate, too.

Anonymous said...

Hey Mickey!

I found you on the Fitness Bootcamp Inner Circle forum...saw "No Pink Dumbbells" and HAD to check out your blog! Great stuff! Don't even get me started on my soapbox about this kinda thing. It's soooo frustrating trying to override misinformation that plagues our industry! Great to see there are more out there who feel the same! :)

Yours in Health,
Sarah

Mickey said...

Sarah,

Thanks for checking out NPD. It's very weird that you mentioned the Inner Circle forum; I just moved my business and haven't had time to visit there recently.

Today, I stopped by and noticed your name and now you're here. Cue Twilight Zone music.