We’ve all heard them, many have bought into them, including myself. Here is my guide to these “health buzz words” and what I believe is truth. You don’t have to believe it, but you should do your research. You may find some sarcasm below, so try not to take anything personally.
Target Belly Fat}
Okay, while there are exercises to work your abdomen which is where belly fat IS you cannot technically TARGET belly fat. When you workout you burn fat evenly throughout your body. Yes, if you only do squats and lunges your legs and butt will get toned. But you will not lose MORE fat in your legs and butt than you do the rest of your body. You will lose fat EVERYWHERE, but only TONE your legs & butt. My boyfriend is a personal trainer, he will talk for days about how irritating this phrase is because of how faulty it is. Unless by saying target belly fat you mean, target all the fat on your whole body, then I would advise you not use this phrase. Because it’s just silly. Also, abs START in the kitchen, not on your yoga mat. Okay, that’s all. I’m leaving this topic alone now.
Detox}
Soooooooo, how long have you been eating foods that are TOXIC to your body. Really think about this. Anything that does not come from the earth basically… Yeah probably your whole life. Okay, so a detox lasts anywhere from 3-90 days? I have done “detox”‘s. Yep, GUILTY! And guess what, my body still has toxins in it. A detox is simply a BUZZ word to make people think they are doing something super healthy for themselves. First of all it takes MORE THAN 1 YEAR to totally replace all of the cells in your body. So you would have to do a “DETOX” for years to really DETOX. I don’t really know where people come up with this stuff. Sorry if this is bursting all your bubbles, but these are facts, dude. If it took you 20 years to get to the point where you realized you need to detox, then don’t expect to “detox” overnight. People say it all the time, and I’m going to say it too. LIFESTYLE CHANGE! Okay, go about your day… I will say this about detoxing, it can make you feel better and give your mind a “reset” of sorts to get you back on the right eating track.
Cleanse}
This just ties in with Detoxing, although I feel like its a step down from detox. I feel that “cleansing” implies just a quick flush of your system. Which is probably more accurate and we should maybe replace the word detox with the word cleanse. But still, I think this word also makes people think they are getting EVERYTHING bad out of their body by the end of a cleanse. But back to what I was saying about detoxes, it would take more than a year to really cleanse or detox your body. It’s about changing your LIFESTYLE not changing your life for 1 week only to return to terrible eating habits. ::bubble burster:: #sorrynotsorry
Organic}
This does not always mean there is nothing bad in it. This does not always mean that there are not products inside that are NOT organic… I’m increasingly frustrated with this label on foods. Recently some information has come out about the regulations on “organic” food and its labels. Word on the street is even organic labeled fruit can have certain pesticides on it that “do not have any observed negative effects on humans”. Um, okay… The best advice on this is to just grow your own produce. The more we move towards growing our own food, the better!
USDA Approved}
Who even knows what this means? Well I’ll tell you what I know. It means that people look at food labeled USDA Approved and think (even unknowingly), this is safe for me to consume because it’s APPROVED! Well, who is the US Department of Agriculture? If we can’t answer this fundamental question, how do we know we can trust the label? I could type up a whole long description of who the USDA are and what their job is. But you’ll learn more if you read it for yourself. Also, I feel that this is an appropriate thing to place under this label, research foods banned in other countries that we still consume in America. Hope this helps. EDUCATE EDUCATE EDUCATE yourself. No one else can do it for you. It’s for your health.
Gluten Free}
First of all, what the heck IS gluten? And why is everyone FREAKING out about it? Well gluten is often described as the glue that holds bread together, it brings elasticity to the table that makes food like breads so delicious. (Most commonly people think flour=gluten.) Our bodies aren’t naturally able to digest gluten properly. That is why more and more people are finding out they are gluten intolerant. The amount of gluten in our diets these days has significantly increased, think, everything in moderation. And the more we eat, the more our bodies have to stop us and say, NO, I can’t handle this. When you see a label that says, “Gluten Free”, it doesn’t always mean gluten free. I was able to learn a lot about this from someone who was gluten intolerant. There are products that are not made with flour that have gluten, again, check labels! Salad dressings, spices & seasonings, marinated meat, almost anything that is pre-packaged is likely to contain gluten. The reason for this is all foods need to be preserved to retain color and appearance so that we actually want to purchase and consume them. Preservatives come in many forms, mostly what you will find is that they contain gluten.
All Natural}
Hmmmm, anyone else notice what is wrong with this statement? It’s so vague we don’t even know what it means, but we just assume it means HEALTHY. BBBZZZZZZ Nope! Look at the ingredients! It’s probably loaded with sugar, maybe even HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. Just watch out for this word and don’t let it fool you.
I believe in you guys, you can do it!
To your health!
Chopped up red onion, orange tomato, zucchini, squash and kale.
AUSTIN SPORTS NUTRITION 
