There is way too much noise out in the nutrition and exercise world. You can't turn a corner these days without hearing and seeing the latest greatest thing everyone must do or they'll die.

I'm going to dive into 7 of the most common myths out there and provide some common sense answers to approaching them. Enjoy!

1. The newest shiniest piece of equipment/movement/training plan is going to get me lean.

The truth is more simple than you’d imagine. Body fat comes from the kitchen. Yes, exercise or training is required to have a sturdy trunk and show it off. But you don’t need it at all to get to 12-15% BF. Yep I said that.

The most important piece of getting to a desired % is managing your lifestyle and intake.

Not a training plan. Not a specific tool. No specific exercise will get you there. Sleep, water, decreasing stress, and knowing what you’re eating are far more important than what you’re doing in the gym.

2. Eating clean is too hard.

Nope. Not so much. Your vegetables don’t have to be gourmet organic feasts. You just have to eat them. Your proteins don’t have to be fancy or take a lot of time to prepare. Every Sunday we bake some chicken(s), cook roasts, or whatever other meat we don’t want to prepare in the coming week.

The other day for us was baked chicken, rewarmed in the oven. Chopped up a cabbage, onion, and a couple apples and simmered until done. Add some frozen green beans and it’s a party. You don’t have to smother it in ranch or anything else. Salt pepper and garlic for the win.

3. Carbs are the devil.

Our modern issue with carbs isn’t that they’re bad for you. It’s that we eat too many of them. Along with fats and proteins while we’re at it. Carbs are good for you. You need them. Your body craves them. There are exceptions here for people on a specific nutrition protocol with a practitioner that is addressing an illness or disease process. Maybe they have you limit or remove certain types for a while. Just like anything else you would be testing. But they are not bad for you. Not at all.

Quantity and quality both have a place in the carbohydrate game. Test and see both what types and volume you do well with. Everyone is different and has different needs at different times. Don’t view them as good or bad. They are just food. Here is one of my favorite snacks= a spoonful of peanut butter filled with maple syrup. Sometimes I let the fat kid out and have two. 

4. Bread is going to kill me.

Yes some people don’t do well with grains. Yes some people have very negative effects from eating them. That doesn’t mean that they’re bad. Or that you’re going to die from eating them. Don’t be weird unless you have to be. Eating some grains now and then isn’t going to hurt most people. Don’t exclude something from your diet just because you heard that it’s “bad for humans”.

5. Healthy sugar substitutes.

The world is full of things that are “good for you” to curb your sweet tooth. Like these sugar free sodas. If you can stand the stevia taste they’re not that bad. Also sporting 0 calories if you’re tracking. The issue here is that we know very little about the long term effects of any of them. While correlation isn’t cause, some of the substitutes have been linked to disease processes and illnesses. Some are even said to still have an effect on insulin response.

That being said, the consensus that they are healthy is a poor attempt at making us feel better about what we’re doing. I don’t have a problem with someone trying them or occasionally using them. Even daily in small doses they may not be good or bad for you. But when you pack your diet full of safe sugar alternatives you’re not really changing anything. We don’t know that they are safe and wouldn’t you be better off to develop some disciplined habits that allow you to have what you want? I’d much rather have delicious a treat with all the sugar than a thousand substitutes.

6. _______ is bad for me.

I don’t need to....my doctor said it’s bad. I hear this so much it makes me sick. I don’t need to squat. I don’t need to deadlift. I don’t need to run... Yes. You do. These are all fundamental human movements. They reinforce movement patterns that have been with us since the beginning. They create structure and stability for when life gets challenging. You develop mental toughness and clarity. Focus and purpose. We need all of these things.

We are built to run, jump, push, pull, and carry. We’re only two generations away from having to do all of these as part of our daily existence. Get out there and get cracking. You don’t have to use a barbell. Use whatever you want. Just get moving and do what you were built to do. Nobody anywhere argues that we were built to live sitting in chairs and staying inside.

7. I’m not ready. 

Nobody is ever ready. 

Whether it’s a life or career change, a long awaited vacation, or cutting loose a few people who drag you down. 

You’re never ready. You’ll never be in the perfect “space” (don’t say this around my wife, she hates that word). 

The best visionaries the recorded world has seen were never ready. 

They just kept going. When they were down, when they got beat up and when everyone doubted them.

You’ll never be where you think you should be. 

Just get out there and start creating. 

PS. Say “space” all you want around my wife. She loves it! 

Written By: Coach Jared Mielke

Questions?