While some of these beliefs are nothing more than superstition others can serve to slow your progress or maybe even bring it to a screeching halt. Some of these facts might surprise you, lets look over a few of them.

Potatoes And Bread Are Fattening

How many times have you heard people say this? Especially older people, maybe even your parents. I guess they associate bread and potatoes with starch. In reality it is not really the bread and potatoes themselves that are fattening, it is what people put on them that are fattening.

Think about it - butter and sour cream. Of course people are going to become fat! Not only that, these items are often eaten in excess. If you see a person having 3 sandwiches for lunch it is not hard to put two and two together.

Starchy carbohydrates in and of themselves are not always bad. There is a time and a place for everything and bread and potatoes are no exception.

If Your Parents Are Overweight You Will Be Too

Not only is this a myth, it can also become an excuse. Unless you have a licensed physician look you over and tell you face to face that you have a hormonal problem there is no reason why you cant get into great shape.

Will some people have to work harder than others? The answer is yes, some people have better genetics than others. While this does seem unfair that is just how it is and it is better to be honest.

So no matter what your goal is, if you do enough research and create a plan for yourself there is no reason why you cant get to where you want to go, period.

High Protein And Low Carbs Are The Way To Go

I hate to break it to you but the low carb diet is a fad, just like the low fat, high carb diet was the fad of the 80s. It is very important that we take a balanced approach to health and fitness. Any diet where something is missing is not a balanced diet.

Dont fall for the gimmicks. More often than not, when you see the people who are really lean and have kept the fat off for a long period of time it is because they have done 2 things. They exercise and they eat good, healthy food. The quicker this is realized and accepted the faster you will see fat loss results and increase your metabolism.

Lifting Weights Is Counterproductive To Fat Loss

This is one of those myths that can damage your progress the most. It makes me sad to hear someone say they dont want to lift weights because they are afraid of getting too big or bulking up. Contrary to popular belief you will not bulk up. The main factor that will change this is your diet. You are eating to lose weight not gain weight. And if you are a female you probably dont have the genetics it would take to become overly muscular. Female bodybuilders train specifically for gaining muscle and it often takes them years to do so. Not only that, a lot of the female bodybuilders use drugs to look that way.

So dont be afraid to touch a barbell or a dumbbell. You wont grow by simply looking at a weight. If done moderately you will end up with a nice, toned physique. If you are male you will look more masculine and if you are female you will look more feminine.

And remember, it is muscle that burns fat. You will burn more calories at rest. So never overlook adding some form of resistance training to your program. Trust me.

You Can Lose Fat By Doing Insane Amounts Of Abdominal Work

This is another myth that keeps rearing its ugly head. It is very hard, if not impossible to spot reduce. That is, you wont get a firm defined stomach by doing abdominal exercises alone. You need to get your total body fat percentage down by using a series of techniques.

No matter how many crunches you do you will never see your abs until that layer of fat is removed. I have good abs and to be honest I only do about 45 a week. Yes, you read that right, a week! I focussed on increasing my metabolism and the rest took care of itself.