Understanding the link between nutrition and fitness

Diet and nutrition are an important part of becoming more fit and losing weight, if that is part of your health and fitness goals. Whether you need to lose weight or just improve your overall health, smart nutrition is essential if you want to live a longer, healthier life.

There are some concepts out there regarding nutrition, diet, and exercise that do more harm than good when they are followed. Get these ideas out of your head and you will be that much closer to the body you want:

Myth #1:  If you exercise, you can eat whatever you want.

Although most people understand that this can never be entirely true, more of the clients we see than you might think truly do believe that working out gives them the freedom to make poor nutritional choices.

The idea that the time you put in at the gym or with a personal trainer can offset terrible choices at the dinner table or when out with friends just does not make sense when you look at it practically. A person who weighs 150 pounds burns only 360 calories during 30 minutes of running at a speed of 6 miles per hour.

It may feel like an incredible amount of effort, but that amount of running will barely burn off the calories in a single pina colada. So think carefully about what you choose to eat so that the effort you put in when you work out pays off, or else you will see little results for a great deal of effort.

Myth #2: Your metabolism slows down once you turn thirty.

Studies indicate that metabolisms slow down because of a loss of muscle mass. Working out and weight training is proven to increase muscle mass, meaning that your metabolism does not have to slow down simply because you are getting older.