For the next few weeks, we are going to take a look at the myths and realities of dieting, thanks to Real Simple magazine. We hope you learn a lot...we did!

Myth #1: Don't Eat After 8:00 PM

The Theory: You burn up the food you eat earlier in the day, while late-night calories sit in your system and turn into fat.

The Reality: Calories can't tell time. "Your body digests and uses calories the same way morning, noon, and night," says Mary Flynn, Ph.D., a research dietitian at the Miriam Hospital, in Providence. They may sit around a little longer if you eat, then lie on the couch and watch Letterman, but when you move around the next day, your body will dip into its stores. That said, there are other solid reasons to avoid late-night snacking, not least of which is that snacks you grab when you're tired tend to be unhealthy ones.

Katherine Hobson of US World News & World Report has a very interesting series where she investigates the reality behind fitness myths. Here is one I thought you would enjoy!

There's a lot of misinformation out there about exercise and nutrition. As an ongoing feature, I'll ask experts in those fields about their pet fitness peeves—commonly believed myths that are just plain wrong. This week, I asked Cedric Bryant, chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, for the facts about the so-called fat-burning zone.

Myth
I will lose body fat more efficiently by working out in the fat-burning zone—doing my aerobic workouts at a low, rather than high, intensity.

Explanation
Many aerobic exercise programs and videos feature low-intensity workouts purporting to maximize fat burning. The argument is that low-intensity aerobic training will allow your body to use more fat as an energy source, thereby accelerating the loss of body fat. While it is true that a higher proportion of calories burned during low-intensity exercise come from fat (about 60 percent as opposed to approximately 35 percent from high-intensity programs), high-intensity exercise still burns more calories from fat in the final analysis.

I came across a great interview with Dr. Pamela Peeke and I wanted to share it with you:

First, you notice shopping for clothes isn't as fun or simple as it used to be. Next comes the "muffin top" spilling over the jeans. Then the scale delivers dire news: You're 10, 15, maybe 20 pounds beyond your "normal" weight. Midlife weight gain is common. Many Americans gain a pound or so every year as they make their way through young adulthood, ending up fat and flabby at age 40 and beyond.

But it is not inevitable, says Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH, the author of the best-seller Fight Fat After Forty. Peeke also serves as the chief medical correspondent for Discovery Health TV and often appears as a medical commentator on television news and talk shows.

Q: Why do so many people gain weight in midlife?

A: Blame it on hormones in convergence with poor lifestyle choices, overeating, not exercising enough, and stress. But hormones only account for about 2 to 5 pounds. The rest is the result of overeating, poor lifestyle choices -- such as not exercising enough -- and stress.