If we want to forget those extra centimeters around our belly, we can’t expect them to disappear by magic, but although there are no miracle products to get a flat stomach, we can achieve it with effort and consistency. We must keep in mind two important elements when losing weight: diet and physical exercise. For now, we will focus on doubts and myths about dieting.
Diet
Changing our eating habits is very important if we want to lose weight. This does not mean we should eat less, but that we have to get used to following a balanced diet. To start, skipping meals doesn’t help at all; on the contrary. We should eat slightly smaller portions about five or six times a day instead of eating a lot three times. This way, we keep our metabolism active and also reduce cravings.
One of the biggest problems is that people don’t understand how their body works and tend to accept help from anyone. The key to maintaining a balanced diet while exercising is to know the needs of our body. It is necessary to know how food will affect our body to decide if we should consume it before, during, or after exercise.
Here are five myths about dieting during physical training:
1. Taking protein after exercise
When we think about nutrition after finishing a gym session, everyone imagines a muscular person drinking a protein shake. But this practice is not recommended beyond individual needs.
It has been proven that taking a small amount of essential proteins before training allows the body to elevate amino acid levels up to two hours after, so we shouldn’t obsess over taking them right after finishing.
2. Drinking sugary water reduces post-exercise muscle pain
One of the home remedies, and the most widespread one used to relieve muscle pain, is drinking water with sugar. The aim of this magical treatment is to eliminate lactic acid crystals that form in the muscles.
Forget myths, pain does not magically disappear with home remedies. It was always believed that the cause of muscle soreness was lactic acid produced by muscles during exercise. Studies have shown these crystals do not exist after training, so this treatment is useless. The way to reduce pain is not to drink sugary water but to exercise more often.
3. Exercising increases appetite
Exercising increases sensitivity to leptin, a hormone released by fat cells that signals our body it’s time to stop eating. Not only does sensitivity to leptin increase, but also the amount of amylin in the blood, which reduces appetite.
4. Any energy drink is suitable
When choosing an energy drink, its characteristics must be considered, so you can determine whether it will be effective or not.
We need to look at the nutritional label to identify what each drink contains and what it is best for. Some have more carbohydrates, others more proteins, and some more vitamins or minerals.
5. I can eat anything
Exercising does not allow a person to eat everything. If you exercise but do not maintain a balanced diet, you are wasting your time. Generally, one of the main needs when practicing sports, if we want it to be effective, is to maintain good nutrition and take care of our diet. If we take care of our diet, we will contribute to the well-being of our body, but if we eat recklessly, it will be useless.
Tea can be an ally
Infusions not only cost little money and time, but they are also healthy, hydrate you, and help keep you away from junk food and snacking. Sometimes it’s enough to boil water and make a tea to stop you from raiding the fridge or opening a bag of chips or an ice cream tub... Something better not to buy, because in the end they are temptations, and it’s hard to resist them!
This ginger, lemon, and cinnamon infusion is totally natural, has a pleasant flavor, and takes less than 5 minutes to make.
Ingredients
1 liter of water
5 slices of peeled organic ginger root
Juice of 1 lemon and the zest
A stick of cinnamon bark
How to prepare the infusion?
Put the water in a large pot and when it starts boiling, add the thinly sliced ginger and the cinnamon stick. Let it boil for 5 more minutes and remove from heat. Add the lemon zest and let it cool a bit to add the juice of half a lemon. You can strain the drink, but I don’t and keep the ingredients in a glass jar to drink the liter of infusion throughout the day.
Benefits of the ginger, lemon, and cinnamon infusion
The mix of lemon and ginger is a good combination that not only gives the infusion a tangy and refreshing flavor but also provides antioxidants like vitamin C from lemon and anti-inflammatory substances like ginsenosides from ginger. Inflammation is associated with overweight and obesity, and this infusion helps regulate inflammation levels caused by excess fat and keeps metabolism active after exercise, which you need to maintain and build active muscle mass, making you burn more calories during and after training.
Cinnamon has hypoglycemic properties, helping keep blood glucose levels steady, preventing anxiety snacking, especially cravings for sweets. Cinnamon replaces sugar and adds a rich flavor to the infusion.
This infusion can not only help you lose weight when you train and eat well, but it also helps maintain your immune defenses and prevent respiratory infections like colds and flu in winter. A plus that is very useful for athletes training outdoors, who sometimes overdo training duration or intensity to burn more calories and end up with weakened defenses or exposed to extreme temperatures, which usually leads to respiratory infections.
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