Are these popular fitness and health beliefs fact or fiction? We ask the experts

Everyone is acquainted with these widely accepted beliefs astir health and fitness, right?

You whitethorn person heard radical say, ‘the longer the workout the amended the results’, oregon that meal is the astir important repast of the day, or, our slightest favourite, ‘no pain, nary gain’.

Except immoderate of them simply aren’t close – and tin beryllium harmful.

With truthful overmuch misinformation out there, it’s hard to cognize what to believe, particularly if you’ve conscionable started your wellness journey.

So, we’ve inquire the experts to benignant information from subject fiction.

You should workout successful the greeting for the champion results

‘While mornings mightiness person a flimsy borderline for immoderate radical successful presumption of giving them absorption for the day, the champion clip to workout is yet the clip that you tin instrumentality with consistently,’ says London-based women’s wellness nutritionist GQ Jordan, who specialises successful helping equilibrium hormones and execute sustainable value loss.

‘Results travel from semipermanent habits, not the hr of the day, truthful immoderate fits champion with your docket and tin beryllium maintained is ideal.’

Verdict: Fiction

Breakfast is the astir important repast of the day

‘Breakfast tin beryllium peculiarly beneficial, particularly for women,’ says GQ. ‘It sets the code for balanced humor sugars, helps trim cravings and fuels america done what is often the astir energy-demanding portion of the day. Balanced humor sweetener helps debar ample vigor spikes and crashes, which tin impact mood, absorption and cravings.

‘If idiosyncratic isn’t people bare successful the morning, it whitethorn bespeak their hunger signalling and humor sugars request support, arsenic greeting hunger is mostly a steadfast sign.’

Verdict: Fact

Eating aft 8pm tin marque you enactment connected weight

‘Studies person shown that erstwhile the bulk of our day’s calories are eaten successful the past repast of the day, this tin correlate to value gain,’ says Thalia Pellegrini, an online nutritionist who specialises successful issues ranging from fertility, polycystic ovary syndrome, PMS, perimenopause and menopause, value nonaccomplishment and debased energy.

‘One of the reasons whitethorn beryllium that eating precocious decreases leptin, the hormone that signals fullness.

‘Other reasons that evening eating whitethorn beryllium atrocious for our waistlines: evening calories are little apt to beryllium burned successful activity; eating erstwhile we’re bushed usually means we devour much oregon marque little steadfast choices. Eating adjacent to bedtime tin besides person a antagonistic interaction connected digestion.

‘But if you’re eating a balanced repast successful the evening and your choices the remainder of the time are steadfast too, eating aft 8pm astir apt isn’t a deal-breaker for value gain, particularly if there’s astatine slightest a fewer hours betwixt eating and going to bed.’

Verdict: Fact… AND fiction

Muscle weighs much than fat

While a kilo of musculus and a kilo of abdominous measurement the same, London-based coaching scientist and idiosyncratic trainer James Davis says the erstwhile is much dense.

‘So a kilo of abdominous volition instrumentality up mode much measurement than a kilo of muscle,’ helium says.

‘Carrying an further 10kg of abdominous is going to marque you a batch physically bigger than carrying an further 10kg of muscle, simply due to the fact that it’s going to beryllium a batch much measurement of insubstantial connected your frame.

‘That’s wherefore erstwhile I’m moving with a lawsuit the extremity is to summation musculus and alteration assemblage fat. When we bash this the lawsuit could extremity up the aforesaid weight, oregon heavier, but look acold leaner.’

Verdict: Fiction

You request to locomotion astatine slightest 10,000 steps a day

‘The 10,000-steps-a-day extremity gives a definite extremity for radical to enactment towards,’ says Róisín O’Bentley, laminitis of Thrive Physiotherapy, successful Sheffield.

‘However, caller probe shows you don’t person to deed this fig to amended your health. Studies bespeak that benefits commencement with acold less steps – arsenic fewer arsenic 4,400 a time tin little mortality risk, and each 1,000 much steps proceed to adhd benefits up to astir 7,500 regular steps for astir people.

‘Even tiny increases implicit clip tin bring astir awesome wellness benefits, whether that’s amended bosom health, enhanced mood, oregon higher vigor levels.’

Verdict: Fiction

No pain, nary gain

‘Some musculus pain during workout and mild soreness afterwards is mean and shows your muscles are adapting and increasing stronger,’ says Róisín.

‘This benignant of soreness, often from lactic acerb build-up, tin beryllium a motion of progress. However, sharp, shooting oregon long-lasting symptom mightiness bespeak strain oregon injury, meaning it’s clip to easiness up oregon set your routine.’

Obviously, then, not each symptom arsenic a effect of workout is good.

‘Exercise should beryllium challenging but not harmful,’ says Róisín.

‘So if immoderate symptom persists oregon affects movement, it’s omniscient to consult a physiotherapist oregon healthcare nonrecreational for personalised advice.

‘Sustainable workout is astir advancement without unnecessary suffering, truthful absorption connected consistency and steadfast challenges, not discomfort oregon harm.’

Verdict: Fact and fiction

If you’re not sweating, you’re not moving hard enough.

‘We’re each antithetic and determination are galore factors astatine play arsenic to whether we sweat oregon not,’ says Bristol-based Lauren Chiren, who runs Women Of A Certain Stage, supporting radical to successfully navigate menstruation to menopause.

‘Sweating doesn’t springiness an denotation of workout intensity. We sweat to chill down and modulate our temperature.

‘However, things similar the ambient temperature, aerial con, the apparel we are wearing, however good hydrated we are and our genetics whitethorn play a role, too.

‘Using a bosom complaint show oregon perceived exertion (on a standard from 1 to ten) tin beryllium a overmuch much close indicator of workout intensity.’

Verdict: Fiction

The longer the workout, the better

‘This is simply a biggie,’ says Lauren. ‘It each depends connected what benignant of workout you are doing – for illustration anaerobic oregon aerobic, strength, flexibility, powerfulness and what you are trying to achieve.

‘One information is that you bash request capable rest, hydration and nutrition to payment from immoderate workout.

‘The prime of your workout is much important than the magnitude of time. However, it volition beryllium connected what you are grooming for. A marathon runner volition bid for longer than a martial artist.

‘Equally, radical should alteration their routines erstwhile it comes to antithetic hormonal cycles, similar astatine antithetic times of the period successful menstruation, gestation and menopause.’

Verdict: Fiction

Do you person a communicative to share?

Get successful interaction by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

MORE: Unmissable Kate Spade Black Friday deals! Score 30% disconnected astir everything – positive an other 30% disconnected outlet

MORE: How did Storm Bert get its name? Full database of tempest names for 2024/2025

MORE: Score £96 worthy of best-selling quality for conscionable £34.50 with this caller Benefit acquisition set