My work schedule has been horrendous and demanding of my time. I apologize for not posting regularly, but I appreciate your continued support in reading my blog on eating and exercise. I intend to share with you some knowledge that have literally opened my eyes to all things fitness, as I have been blinded since the first day I picked up a dumbell.
Have you heard of and believe in such popular fitness adages such as...
"Eat small and frequent meals throughout the day."
"To get shredded abs, you need to do abs every day."
"You have to have casein protein at night before you go to bed."
Fact or muscle myths? For years, I have thought the above statements to be true. However, in the past year with my own personal interest to independently research fitness topics in seek of the truth, I have found most of these accepted facts that echo from gym-rat strangers, friends, and even fitness "experts" to be absolutely FALSE. I am not going to get scientific on you and regurgitate all the science articles that debunk these adages, but share what I have gathered from scouring the net for answers over time. If you like documented facts and articles that prove scientific theorum then I implore you to do the independent studies on your own to seek the truth and give you peace of mind that what I am sharing with you is true.
"Eat at small and frequent meals throughout the day." I will start with the conclusion. As long as you consume the amount of calories and macronutrients at the end of each day, no matter it be 8 small frequent meals or 1 incredibly large meal, it will make little to no difference in your physique over time. This explains why IIFYM, intermittent fasting, the old-school bodybuilding diet, and any diet works. Why? Simply because the body is smart and adapts. But don't you have to eat small and frequent meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism up? If you eat your total daily protein requirements of 200g in one sitting, your body won't be able to absorb it all and you'll just end up shitting it all out!
Your body is smart and will adapt. Just as much of that protein will be absorbed in one feast fest compared to 8 small evenly distributed meals consisting of 25g protein each with each meal spaced out every 2 hours. It's got to go somewhere. Your body will not poop protein that it cannot absorb or does not need. Let's say your body only requires 150g protein for function like to build muscle and for muscle repair. The overage of 50g of protein that you consumed will be stored as energy (or fat). And this goes the same for carbohydrates and fat as well. This is why calories in and calories out is the most simple and truthful theory of weight gain and weight loss. If you consume calories (made up of any amount of protein, carbs, or fat), your body will use this energy for immediate use, like bodily functions and exercise; or it will be stored as fat.
"To get shredded abs, you need to do abs every day." This one is awesome! If only I knew the truth since I first started working out over 10 years ago, I probably would have saved a year of my life doing other meaningful things instead of spending it on the floor doing crunches or hanging on bars doing leg lifts all day everyday. Abs are a muscle. Muscles only do 2 things - get bigger or get smaller through training. The reason why I spent most of my high school life on the floor doing crunches and sit-ups and still was not able to attain that coveted 6-pack abs was simply because I wasn't lean enough. Doing more reps or adding more weight to your crunches, sit-ups, and leg lifts will mostly benefit one thing - making the abdominals bigger. More reps or more weight is added stress to your muscles. Stress is what stimulates muscle growth. If you want washboard abs or just a slimmer midsection and always wondered why all those crunches you were doing everyday isn't working, perhaps you should pay more attention to your diet and lower your caloric intake. Less fat on your body will reveal the muscles underneath. Voile! Abs! There they are!
"You have to have casein protein at night before you go to bed." I believe I heard this one first from a certified trainer when I first picked up a weight. I must have put added stress on myself to make sure I am stocked with a jug of whey and a jug of casein at all times to maximize muscle growth. At the end of the day, all that matters is that a protein is a protein, whether it be whey, casein, soy, etc. It is true that casein is absorbed slower. However, it really does not matter whether you choose whey or casein or whatever type of protein you choose to use at night prior to sleeping. Now if you're not taking in enough protein and ultimately, calories, than your body needs, then you will go catabolic and potentially lose muscle. Cut diets in itself are catabolic in nature. If you are afraid of going catabolic, then make sure you eat enough protein and be at a caloric level that is at least considered maintenance at the very least.
I hope this has been helpful for you. I enjoy learning every day and I hope that before you accept what certified trainers and gym-rats are telling you as truths, just do a little bit of googling and verify the supposed facts. It would save you a lot of time and money to do the research first and decide whether it is a good idea to implement the tips into daily practice after you get your facts straight. Otherwise, you would just be pissing in the wind... or spending 20 minutes every day on the floor doing abs, dreaming of that 6-pack. It's the same thing.
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