14 Myths Floating Around The Fitness Space [And Their Truths]

00:00Please don't let this myth scare you, especially if you're at the beginning of your journey, advanced in your journey, whatever it may be. This is so not true. What's going on, you guys? Welcome back to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkie Stott, co-founder of WarriorBabe. And on this podcast, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. I am your host, Nikkie Stott, and welcome to episode number 34, where I'm going to deep dive into talking about 14 myths that I absolutely freaking hate that are floating around the fitness space.

00:42And I'm going to give them the truth. I'm going to give y'all the truth behind these myths. There's a couple of good ones scattered throughout these 14, but all 14 are pretty solid. I would say number 10, number 14 are my absolute favorites. So just make sure you guys stick all the way through because there may be one, there may be two that I share with you guys today. There may be all 14 that you can just take away these golden nuggets and you can go on the rest of the week, the rest of your journey, the rest of the year.

01:13All of the things that are going to just lead you on the truth to your fitness goals and be able to live it in a sustainable, realistic way. All right. So that's what this podcast is all about. Starting with myth number one, doing lots of crunches will give you a six pack. Now, when you unpack that a little bit more, doing crunches will give you a six pack. But a lot of people think in this light that if I do a bunch of crunches and not focus on anything else, a.k.a. my nutrition, that that's going to give me a six pack.

01:50And that can't be any more further from the truth. The truth is when people think of that concept the way I just explained it, spot reduction is a myth too as well. So this is like a two for one. You cannot target fat loss in one specific area of your body. This goes for your arms. This goes for your legs. This goes for your love handles. This goes for your abs. Building visible abs, it requires a combination of you doing some strength training overall for every single muscle of your body.

02:23And on top of that, lowering your body fat percentage. If you are doing crunches seven days a week trying to build a six pack, yet you're eating like absolute dog shit every single day. Right. You don't pay attention to your nutrition. You eat whatever throughout the day. You have whatever you want for dinner, which is like burgers, spaghetti, meatballs.

02:53Like it just you're free balling your nutrition. You're that. But you're doing crunches every single day. That's that you're not that's not going to give you visible abs. So you need to focus on most importantly here with myth number one. The way that you're going to get visible six pack is by lowering your body fat percentage. What I truly do believe is that abs are made in the kitchen. So the way that, you know, you do get that core, that strong look like aesthetically is a combination of you doing strength training for your whole body and lowering your body fat percentage.

03:29That is the truth, my friends. You cannot spot reduce. You cannot target fat loss in one specific area and doing a shit ton of crunches while it may build them up. It's not going to it's not going to make the visible aesthetic appearance of you having a six pack. OK, myth number two, eating before bed will make you gain weight. Man, I have heard this one one too many times, and I still think this is a heavily believed myth in the fitness space. What matters the most, the truth behind this myth, what matters the most for your overall like fat loss goals or your overall management of your body fat is your calorie intake and your energy balance throughout the day.

04:12So like if you're eating in a surplus and you're doing that throughout the day and especially maybe at night, then yeah, that's probably going to make you gain weight. But if you're eating in a calorie deficit, it doesn't matter what time of day you eat at. It doesn't matter if you're eating at 8 or 9 p.m. If you're in a calorie deficit for your overall calorie intake for the entire day, then you're golden. OK, so there may be this little underlying truth, though, that if you not in correlation to the myth, but a lot of people have noticed that if you do eat late at night, then you have poor quality sleep.

04:53Now, part of that is true. It's individualized for every single person. It's completely different. But some people have noticed that they go to bed, they eat and they go to bed within the hour of eating, that they have a hard time falling asleep. And the quality of their sleep throughout the night is very poor. So it affects people a little differently. But I just wanted to throw that in there with that with that second myth. Myth number three, lifting weights will make women bulky. I hear this one every single day. I see this one every single day.

05:24I get comments on my my social profiles saying I don't want to look like a man. So the truth is, ladies, that we have lower levels of testosterone than men. So that will make it way harder for us to bulk up like a man. You know, this scares a lot of women away from strength training. And I want you guys to just know, women, ladies, that lifting weights can help you build such a beautiful, lean physique and just improve your overall body composition.

06:01So please don't let this myth scare you, especially if you're at the beginning of your journey, middle of your journey, you're advanced in your journey, whatever it may be. Don't let this scare you. Now, if you do see women that are competitors and you follow their pages, there may be a good chance that they're taking some type of performance enhancement drugs, PEDs, type of steroids. So if, you know, you won't get as big as the boys, you guys, if you're not, if you're taking roids and you're probably get as big as a boys.

06:34But if you're not taking anything, then in your natural, you're not going to get as big as a boys. All right. So that myth just I want to just debunk that one the most here because it just derails women from wanting to pick up some weights in the weight room. Like you will not get as big as as men. All right. It's impossible for us women, unless you're taking some steroids. It's impossible for us to bulk up as big as men do. So that's myth number three. Myth number four.

07:04Sweat is a good indicator of how hard you're working out. And people even say to the more you sweat, the more you burn fat. This is so not true. Look, sweat. I personally barely even sweat yet. I have incredible results from the years of me doing strength training. So the truth is, is that sweat is just your body's way of cooling itself off. So some people sweat more than others, regardless of how hard they're working out.

07:37But sweat does not indicate, you know, the number of calories burned or fat being burned or all of that stuff. The intensity and duration of your workout are way better indicators of your calorie burn and the indicators of you having a very good and effective workout. Sweat is not an indicator. Like if you're poorly sweating or you're not sweating at all, it doesn't mean that you're having a good and or bad workout. If you're sweating profusely, it doesn't mean you're having a good and or bad workout.

08:07It's just your body's way of cooling itself down. So please don't leave the workout being like, man, I'm drenched. And you had like a killer workout that has nothing to do with your workout. If you did intensity, if your intensity was there and your duration was pretty solid and you challenged yourself throughout, those are way better indicators of you having an awesome workout. Okay. And two, like I said, you sweating has nothing to do with the number of calories burned that that that has nothing to do with it.

08:43All right. So that's myth number four. Myth number five. Fad diets are an effective way to lose weight. I think, you know, even to my ladies in the 40s and the 50s, it's hard to break this mentality because you grew up with a lot of like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers and, you know, all of these fad diets. And it's been programmed in your mind that diet after diet after diet is an effective way to lose weight. That's that's so not true.

09:14Fad diets, they'll promise you these quick fat loss results, but they're not sustainable in the long run. I mean, think about it. If you've done fad diet after fad diet after fad diet, you're on this hamster wheel of losing the same 10 pounds, 20 pounds, 30 pounds over and over and over again. The way that you're going to do it in a sustainable way is having a balanced nutritional focus that fits your individual needs and preferences and lifestyle to have a successful overall body composition results type of goals that you're going for.

09:48Okay, so just I know it's hard to break that mentality, especially if you grew up in that era. But fad diets are not an effective way to lose weight. Hey, guys, real quick. If you're interested in taking your body to the next level, lose body fat, build more muscle, feel more confident. Do it alongside one of our 30 plus professional coaches. Work one on one with her to eliminate all the guesswork that you may have. And all you need to do is just do the work that she tells you to do to get to those goals of yours.

10:21And to learn more, click the link below this podcast and apply to our VIP program right now. Myth number six, this one goes with myth number five, too, as well. Myth number six is you can detox your body by following a special diet or using supplements. Like you've all heard these detox drinks or I'm going on a detox diet. Look, guys, the truth is your liver and your kidneys are those organs are responsible for detoxifying your body.

10:55And they do a pretty damn good job at it on their own. So there's no scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of these detox diets or supplements. If you just focus on, again, a healthy, balanced diet that is suitable for your individual needs, you're drinking adequate hydration throughout the day. Those are the best ways to support your body's natural detoxification process.

11:28OK, I want to just drill that one home. There is no such thing like no lemon juice is going to make you do bigger and better things. There's no unicorn magical substance behind these detox things or these lemon juice drinks. OK, if there's anyone I know I'm probably going to say this for a bunch of them, but that one, I know I said 10 to 14 are my favorite, but that one's pretty damn near close.

12:01All right. It says myth number six. Myth number seven. Carbs are bad for you and they cause weight gain. This one's being very heavily spoken to in the industry. So I think we're all doing a very good job at bringing women back to loving carbs again. But for you, if you're stuck on this, carbs are bad for you and they make you gain weight. Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause?

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13:03Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit WarriorBabe.com forward slash apply today to start your transformation. That's WarriorBabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. The truth is carbs are an important source of energy for the body and they do so many good things when it comes to you wanting to build muscle and change your body composition.

13:34Your brain needs carbs in order to function properly, in order to have you be able to think clearly. So carbs, the reason why they get so much bad rep is because they hold on to water. So and water can make you feel a little bit more inflamed when you step on the scale, which, you know, has an encompasses of a lot of things that are going on in your body, not just fat. But people get scared because they, you know, eat carbs throughout the day and then they get on a scale and they're three pounds heavier than where they were in the morning.

14:07Yeah, no shit. It's because you ate food throughout the day, right? But carbs are not bad for you. Carbs are so important, especially your ultimate goal is to change your body composition and to lose some body fat and to build some muscle. Okay, so let's make carbs great again. That's myth number seven. Myth number eight, you need to eat small, frequent meals throughout the day to boost your metabolism. And honestly, you guys, for the longest time, I believe this one. But the idea that frequent meals and small, frequent meals that rev up your metabolism,

14:38that is a myth. What matters most, again, I spoke to this one in an earlier myth, but what matters the most is like the overall calorie intake, the calorie deficit that you're in, the energy balance that you have throughout your day. That's what matters the most. So like if you're worried about every three to four hours, while I still somewhat still follow that rule, you don't need to eat in that period of time. I do because I notice after every three to four hours, I am starving. I am hungry.

15:08I need to eat. My body is ready. My metabolism is like, yo, it's time to eat, right? But like if you're somebody who has a very busy job, just focusing on making sure that you do get your overall calorie intake and macro needs met for the day, whether it's from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. or 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., whatever it may be, as long as you get everything in and allot it for that day, that's all that matters. Okay. Myth number nine, you can't build muscle as a vegetarian or a vegan.

15:43That is so not true. I have seen so many women successfully achieve that goal inside of Warrior Babe specifically and elsewhere too as well. It is so possible to build muscle on a plant-based diet as long as you consume a sufficient amount of protein from sources like beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, seitan, all of those are great sources of protein. And as long as you have whatever kind of protein number you need to hit for the day, whether it may be 120, 130, 140, as long as you're hitting that gram intake of protein, you will

16:18and can build muscle. So I want you to know, my vegan and vegetarian babes, it is totally possible to achieve that type of goal that you have in your mind. There's also plant-based protein powders too as well that can be used to supplement when you're trying to meet protein needs too as well throughout your day. So know that it is totally possible for you to build muscle. Myth number 10. Guys, I told you earlier, this is one of my favorite ones. Myth number 10.

16:50You can tone your muscles. More so that word. That word floats around pretty heavily in the fitness space. I want to get toned. Look, the truth is toning is a term often used to describe like the appearance of how firm and lean your muscle mass is. However, it's simply a result of you decreasing body fat and building lean muscle mass through

17:25a balanced diet, through macros, through strength training. Okay, so key to note there, the word tone is you building more muscle. So if you want to be toned, you have to debunk the myth of you, of the lifting weights will make you bulky in your brain. And you have to lift weights in order to build more muscle, which is going to get you toned. And then you have to focus on the proper nutritional intake for your individual needs to reduce your

17:57body fat to be more toned. That's what tone means. Okay, so the myth that you can tone your muscles. The fact is, is that that just is an appearance term. But the way to tone is to build muscle and to decrease your body fat. That's myth number 10. Just want to drill that one really hard into you guys. Because that one's super, super, super important to know. That word just floats around really heavily.

18:29I want to be toned. I want to get toned. It's an appearance. It's a great appearance goal. Sure. Awesome. But you have to do those other things in order because people say I want to get toned and they ain't doing those things. Okay, so if you want to be toned, you got to do those things. You got to strength train and you got to reduce your body fat by focusing on the proper nutritional needs that you need for your body. Specifically macros. Macros is what's going to make you more toned and firm and all that jazz. Focusing on overall calorie number. That's just going to help you lose weight.

18:59I've talked about that before. Follow me on socials. That's a really heavily concept that I dive into. The difference between fat loss and weight loss. I think it's an earlier podcast too as well. I know it's an earlier podcast. But anyway, that's myth number 10. Myth number 11. You need to take supplements to build muscle or to lose weight. Look, the truth is supplements can be very supporting to like your overall like health and fitness goals. I say that they will benefit you, but they will not get you the results.

19:30They're not necessary for building more muscle or losing body fat. Okay, you are going to do that. And I'm going to say this a million times just so it gets ingrained in your head through strength training and proper nutrition. That's the way that you're going to build more muscle or lose body fat. But supplements, again, maybe you need to focus on hitting your protein intake a little bit more and better. So using supplements will help you do that. Using protein powder will help you do that. But it's not going to get you some type of end result. It will benefit in it, but it's not going to be the sole reason why you build muscle and

20:04you lose body fat. Okay. Myth number 12, fasting is necessary for fat loss. Maybe like 10, 12, 6, 14. These are all my favorite ones because fasting is heavily spoken to in the fitness space. And I mean, while it does have factors for overall health, it's not necessary for fat loss. And more importantly, fasting in the world of like building muscle is counterproductive because

20:41you, your body, your muscles need energy. And energy comes from food. They're active tissue and they're always going. They don't stop. Okay. They don't shut off at night from, from being active when you're sleeping. They're always, they're always, it's active tissue in your body. So, and they need energy to maintain that type of, uh, and to maintain it. So this myth, um, especially in the world of building muscle and losing body fat, it's not necessary to achieve those types of goals.

21:12Um, so that's the truth. Like it can be an effective thing for like managing some health symptoms, uh, but it's not necessary for over fat loss, a calorie deficit. Okay. Is going to be the way that you lose body fat, physical activity, strength training. Those two combined together is a way that you're going to lose body fat. All right. So that's myth number 12. Myth number 13, you should avoid all forms of sugar to be healthy.

21:46Dude, not true. Man, I still have some type of chocolate, some type of dessert, like a couple nights a week, chocolate every night, because it just hits my, it hits my sweet tooth. It curves that craving. So now the truth though, behind the myth is, you know, consuming a shit ton of sugar is not recommended. It can be detrimental to your health, but consuming my modern, moderate amounts of like natural sugars, like fruit. Like people think that if you eat fruit, you're going to get fat.

22:17You're going to gain weight. So you need to avoid it at all costs. That's so not true. Fruit is so good for you. Dairy products. If you can have dairy in your, in your everyday routine is so good for you. Vegetables have some type of fruit in it or some type of sugar in it. That's so good for you. Okay. So like natural sugars are okay. And having some sweets in your everyday wheat, that's, that's a realistic and sustainable way to go about your entire journey. But avoiding it is, avoid equals restriction.

22:47And you don't want to do that because then you're going to go and eat the sugar. Okay. So just, you don't need to avoid it. It's, it's not, you don't need to avoid it at all costs. Use it in a balanced way in your everyday, you know, routine. And then the last one, you guys, the last myth I said was one of my favorites at the beginning. And that's the myth is you can't eat out and still maintain a healthy diet because this,

23:19this one can really screw with people, especially when they're like, I'm going to go for a goal. And so they can't go out to eat. And that's so not true. It is so possible for you to make healthy choices when you're eating out on every single menu. There's some type of healthy fish. There's some type of chicken with vegetables. There's some type of grilled protein source. There's some type of vegetable based side. There's some, there's, this comes with willpower and discipline to make that decision when you are

23:54going out to eat. But to think that you can't eat out and still maintain a healthy diet is so false. And it's just so ingrained in this false diet culture, right? In order to have a sustainable, realistic journey, you can do that. You just have to make those healthy choices while you're out. You have to be, you know, you have to say, okay, this is what, when you order you guys, and I've done this so many times, it's like, I'm ordering this, please cook it in light oil,

24:26take out the cheese, whatever modifications you have to do as you learn more about nutrition and how it can be and how it's, you know, this is why I love macros. You learn all of these things. You learn a proper nutrition. You learn all of the types of what all the food are made up of. And so if you can just be able to say the way you want your order when you're out to eat, and then like avoid like excess stressings or excess sauces, like those type of things, that's discipline, that's willpower, that's showing up for yourself.

24:59You can totally go out to eat and still achieve the types of goals that you want with your body composition. Okay? So I love that myth so much. I wanted to debunk it because I want you guys to know it's totally possible. You just have to, like I did say, like I said, all those things, you have to do those things. All right? So those are 14 myths that are floating around the fitness space. I absolutely hate. And I felt that I just needed to come to a podcast and let that all out and let you guys know the truth

25:32behind every single one of those myths. I hope that maybe one, five, seven, all 14, they helped you today to be able to look at, you know, the things that you do on a daily basis to go towards your goals a little bit differently. You don't have to avoid sugar. You don't have to take supplements. You stop going on detoxes. Stop fasting if your ultimate goal is to build more muscle and to change your body composition. Don't worry about eating late at night. It's not going to make you gain fat.

26:02All of these things, you guys. I hope one of them or all of them helped you today. So that wraps it up for the podcast. I hope you guys enjoyed it. And I'll see you in the next one. Real quick. The only ask I could ever have of you guys is to help spread the word so we can help more women lose body fat, build muscle, reach their goals, and feel insanely confident. And the only way we can do that is if you rate, review, and share this podcast. So the single thing I ask for you to do is if you could leave a review. It will take you 10 seconds.

26:32And it will mean the absolute world to me and may change the world of someone else.

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