Fit or Fiction?

1. Will I burn more fat if I exercise on an Empty Stomach?

Yes, but don’t expect any fat-melting miracles. When you exercise, your body burns stored fat, carbohydrates, and sometimes you even cannibalize muscle which is no good. You have to look at the bigger picture in terms of your nutrition, where you are fueling your workouts, not starving yourself and having no energy. I’ve found I can do my 30- to 45-minute routines on an empty stomach no problem, but I need to fuel up before more intense workouts.

To determine what’s right for you, try this experiment: Eat a snack of about 200 calories—like a banana with peanut butter, whole grain crackers 1 to 2 hours before you exercise, then note how you perform. How long can you go before you feel tired? Can you pick up the intensity?

The next day, work out without eating and note any differences. Exercising on an empty stomach can backfire by decreasing your calorie burn if you’re too tired or slack off during it.

2. The best way to reduce the hips, glutes or abs is to perform exercise to isolate the area?

No. It is physiologically impossible to spot reduce. You can’t lose only in one area of the body because body fat comes off all over the body. Typically, the first place you tend to gain is the last place you lose. Mother Nature has a wonderful sense of humor.

3. Can Muscle Really Turn to Fat?

No. Fat and muscle are different tissues, and one cannot morph into the other. But sometimes it may seem like they do. That’s because you start to lose muscle mass in your 30s, especially if you don’t strength-train. This can slow metabolism. The fat usually shows up in the spots where you once had firm muscle, like the backs of your arms and belly.

4. If You Gain Muscle, You Will Weigh More. Is that True?

Sometimes. Often when starting a weight loss program, the scale will show an initial loss due to water weight and fluid loss. But many times the scale will start to go up even though your pants feel looser. The lesson is to focus on your BODY, not your body weight. If you are working hard to get fit and you see a weight gain, you may be adding calorie-burning muscles!

When determining your overall health, focus on your ratio of body fat to lean muscle mass. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. But the body fat is more “fluffy” and the muscle is more “dense and compact.” Muscles take up less space in your body, so body weight may go up as you add compact, tight muscle mass.