04/02/2017
Courtesy of Aled Zachary - some excellent myth debunking here -
"So some of you know I do nutrition and training stuff and every time I see some poor soul on here ask for diet advice they're immediately inundated with the worst, most inaccurate 'advice' and mix of myths you'd care to see.
So, because some basic truths are STILL not common knowledge and since most people will listen to the tabloids or their favourite celebrities for advice, let's cover a few:
1. Wanna lose fat? You need to eat less energy than you burn aka a calorie deficit. No calorie deficit, no fat loss.
2. Eating more often does not boost your metabolism. This is 100% myth, and has been thoroughly disproved by science. 6 meals a day doesn't make you leaner.
3. There is not a single food that 'burns fat'. Not one. This includes slathering everything in coconut oil and putting butter in your coffee (don't do that s**t).
4. The same goes for weird cocktails of spices and honey. Drinking 300 extra calories of grape juice, apple cider vinegar, kale, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and honey, whatever-the-hell else, is likely going to have the OPPOSITE effect. Calories in vs calories out.
5. Most "fat loss" pills just make you feel wired as they're full of caffeine. They won't make you lose fat to any meaningful degree.
6. Training your abs won't give you abs. Stop with the 30 day "core" challenges and address the amount of food you're eating instead.
7. Related: you can't spot-reduce fat. All those crunches aren't going to give you a more toned stomach. Imagine you pull the plug on a bath, that's pretty much how fat loss works. Where you will or won't lose fat from is mostly genetic.
8. Eating carbs late at night does not make you gain fat, unless you overeat.
9. Eating or missing breakfast won't make a difference to your results. The first meal of your day has no magical properties.
10. I'll repeat point 1. as it's BY FAR the most important. Your energy balance or calories in vs calories out should be your primary concern when it comes to losing (or gaining) weight.
It's literally the ONE thing that MUST be accounted for. No caloric deficit, no fat loss (to any meaningful degree). Doesn't matter how "clean" you're eating or how much exercise you're doing.
So if you're not Michael Phelps, no, you can't out-train a bad diet."