shanmonster | "Common" Sense About Fitness

I hear a lot of questions and statements about diet and fitness from people which makes me realize that what I thought was common knowledge, really isn't.

So here are a few things which I find myself telling to various clients, over and over again.

Any pill that makes you lose weight is bad for your health. If you want to lose weight, do it through lifestyle, rather than quick fixes.
Going on a diet is not a good idea. You may lose weight in the short term, but as soon as you start eating normally again, your body will overcompensate because it thinks it's leaving a famine, and will store even more fat than before. Starving yourself is not just not healthy.
You cannot spot-reduce fat. Doing lots of sit-ups will not make you lose the pudge on your belly. The only way to spot reduce fat is through surgery. Working a particular area will not burn fat just in that area. What it will do is make the working muscle stronger.
Just because a restaurant does not sell french fries does not mean everything on the menu is good for you. Nachos with all the fixings are not health food.
Lifting weights a couple times a week will not give you an extremely muscled body by accident. Getting a bodybuilder's physique takes a lot of specialized work both in the gym and in the kitchen.
Skinny does not mean fit. Fat does not mean unfit. There is a wide range of healthy body types, shapes, and sizes.
Weight is irrelevant, except in extreme cases. Muscle weighs significantly more than fat. It is possible to drop several sizes without losing a single pound.

I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones that sprung to mind.