Eating fat before your workouts is bad for you, eating carbs before you workout is bad for you, eating too much protein is bad for you, having a six pack means that you’re fit, cutting out certain food will make you lose weight.

Alright, let me be (hopefully not) the first person to tell you that eating too much of anything is not beneficial to your body, just like having too much of anything is not beneficial to your life (please tell me that I am not the first person to tell you this). While six packs are great, they only show the low body fat percentage a person has, they can still be in terrible shape. Cutting out foods won’t make you lose weight, eating the right foods and living an active lifestyle are going to make you lose weight.

Let’s dive into all of this a little deeper

• Eating fats before your workout is bad for you

Let’s start off by saying that this is a generalisation, saying that something is bad for every single person doesn’t make sense because literally every body is build and wired differently. Is eating a bunch of fats 15 minutes before your workout going to help you out? probably not. Consuming fats about 1-2 hours before a workout will help you maintain a steady energy level up to and through the workout, just to name one positive. It’s all about how you approach the situation and timing of foods that is going to make the difference between being beneficial and slowing you down.

• Eating carbs before you workout is bad for you

Again, this statement suggests that every body is and works the same. Are we talking about simple carbs that bring your blood sugar and energy level up and down or are we talking about complex carbs that keep your energy levels a bit more steady?. If you’re doing an explosive workout there’s nothing wrong with either one of those, if you’re running a marathon it might not be the best idea to eat a banana 15 minutes before you start. It’s all about timing, knowing what your training intensity and time domain is.

• You have to eat before your workouts

Seriously, what’s going on with these generalisations? In this case you absolutely do not have to feed your body within a certain time of doing your workout. For example, you don’t have to eat breakfast before doing a morning workout. If your nutrition is right that means that there’s a lot of energy stored within your body (carbs and fats) that can and will keep you going for a long time. Post workout meals are a different beast, because those will actually help you recover from your workouts and refill/top up the energy storage that you have just used. You just have to be mindful of what time your training session is, how your energy levels are feeling and act accordingly.

• Having a six pack means that you’re fit/ in shape

If this is the case than that would mean that every single person with a six pack should be able to run a marathon or lift heavy weights (another generalisation). Unless you’re bodybuilder or physique competitor having a six pack is not going to define how fit or in shape you actually are. If you starve yourself long enough without working out I guarantee you will have some sort of a six pack by the end of it, at the same time I can guarantee that it will mess you up physically. Does that mean that you’re healthy? Does that mean that you’re in shape? Does it mean that your body is healthy on the inside? No it doesn’t. It holds true for the other way around as well, you might not have a six pack but you might be in better shape than anyone you know. there’s a big difference of course between having ”a belly” and a six pack, there’s a lot of ground in between the two. Putting in work by doing a mixture of resistance/ weight/ cardiovascular training (functional fitness) and getting your nutrition right will get you that sixpack and get you in shape all at the same time. If you have been chasing that sixpack for a while, have a look at your nutrition and make sure that it’s right for you. if it is the sixpack you’re chasing it will come if you get your nutrition right.

• Working out allows you to have bad nutrition

I really hope that this is something most people don’t believe in anyway, that’s why I saved it for the last. The old saying ”you can’t out train and bad diet” holds true till this day. Of course depending on what your goals are and how serious you’re about those goals determines how strict your nutrition should be. For most people being healthy means working out for about an hour 3-4 times a week, going for walks while the main goals is staying away from chronic diseases like diabetes. For some people being healthy means working out 2 hours a day, 5 or 6 six times a week and is defined by how they look in the mirror. Both of these are great and on opposite sides of the spectrum, does example one have to be as strict about their nutrition as number 2? probably not, but it’s all about consistency for both. Whether your goals is to get a six pack or stay away from chronic diseases, consistency with proper nutrition, working out regularly and living active lifestyles are the base for both. ”keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat”, is a great quote to live by when we are talking about living healthy lives .