Your reality check

When it comes to our bodies, we like to believe, in most cases, things that are not true. Especially when it comes to women, we are often blinded by hearsay and myths that have no scientific backing. This makes it difficult for women to adapt to a healthy fitness regime. Fitness expert Leena Mogre, director, Leena Mogre Fitness, tells us about some of the most common myths that hamper a women’s faith in her capability when it comes to working out:

Muscle mania
One important thing we need to keep in mind is the fact that women’s bodies are incapable of producing testosterone, one of the main hormones responsible for increasing muscle size. So even if a woman does weights on a regular basis, she will not get muscles like men would. Steroids are the only way women can have muscles like that and unless you’re a body builder, you don’t need it.

That time of the month
Studies have proved that physical activities don’t have any negative impact on women during her period, hence exercising during that time is not harmful. A common reason why women avoid exercising during her periods is to avoid cramps but studies have shown that regular exercise during menstruation actually brings with it the potential to reduce the pain associated with menstrual cramps.

Starve your way
Starving oneself is perhaps one of the oldest myths associated with weight loss and not much has worked towards breaking that. The truth is that, often, you need to eat more to lose weight. Six to seven small meals through the day will keep your metabolism high and help burn fat or at least, prevent calories from being absorbed.

Focus only the hips
It’s often been said that to tone down slightly larger hips, you need to work on your lower body only. This is not true; while if you have big hips you can concentrate more towards working your lower body, it doesn’t mean that you ignore the rest of you. A full body workout is required for optimum results.

Cardio comes first
A lot of women believe that if they do just cardio, instead of weight training, they will lose weight faster. But that’s not how things work; cardio and weight training go hand-in-hand and one should be strengthening their bones and muscles as they knock off the extra pounds from their body.

Crunches only
Only crunches won’t help you to lose weight on your stomach. Crunches and other abs exercises help in tightening the stomach muscles, so in order to shed weight from the body one needs to be doing cardio continuously. As you lose the extra weight, supplement it with crunches and other abs exercises to show off a perfectly sculpted belly.

No papaya please
For years, women have believed that eating papaya during pregnancy harms the baby. This is false — having it in small quantities does not have a negative effect.

Cereals and pulses don’t go
You would have probably been told many times not to mix cereals and pulse when on a weight loss programme. It’s a myth, especially in our country where we’ve always done it. You can mix it any which way you like; as long as you’re working it out, it’s quite a healthy option.

Bring on the booze
It has been said that drinking helps women to lose weight. While alcohol  might increase metabolism for the moment, it’s not exactly the best approach to losing weight. Go for a healthier alternative.