5 myths about nutrition and exercise

There are quite a few myths going around about nutrition and exercise. Below I have listed 5 that I often see:

1. It is possible to burn fat locally. Unfortunately, abdominal exercises will not directly burn the fat on your belly. However, they can help strengthen your abdominal muscles, which can make them more visible. To lose fat, it is more effective to change your diet and exercise more.
2. To lose weight you need to do cardio. Weight loss is all about creating a calorie deficit, meaning that you take in less energy (calories) than you expend. Regardless of how you do this. This can be done by making changes to your diet or by exercising more.
3. Only muscle pain after a workout makes your muscles grow. Muscle pain is no guarantee of muscle growth. The amount of muscle pain is therefore not equal to the muscle building in your body. It is okay to experience muscle pain after a workout, but it is not necessary to grow muscles.
4. You need protein shakes to build muscle mass. Although muscles do indeed need protein to grow, shakes are not necessary. If your diet contains enough protein and you take it at the right times, shakes are not necessary at all.
5. Fats and/or carbohydrates make me fat. Fats and carbohydrates in themselves do not make you fat. Weight gain occurs when you consume more calories than you burn, regardless of the source of those calories. A balanced diet ensures that you get all the nutrients in the right proportions.