Working Out And Not Feeling Thinner? There Are Some Answers

 

The recent article in TIME magazine entitled “The Myth About Exercise” stirred up a lot of confusion and controversy for both fitness professionals and those trying to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle.  I highly recommend this article and if you missed it you can click here to read it here. 

To sum it up, recent research has found that exercise does not automatically promote weight loss.  In fact, if you are not smart about it, losing weight may be harder.  Some people eat more because exercise makes them hungry while others eat more to reward themselves for a good workout.  Others will sabotage themselves by reducing other types of calorie burning activities after or before exercising.

Here’s the problem.  We used to be hunters and gatherers covering several miles every day to forage for food.  We’re wired to move.  I can promise you, early humans were not thinking about the need to exercise.  And they didn’t have fast food restaurants on every block!

Our modern convenience oriented culture has stripped away any normal movement.  We enjoy the convenience of escalators, elevators, and drive up/drive through businesses for almost everything.  Our computers make it so we can order anything we desire with a click and a credit card and then have it delivered to us. 

Home entertainment centers keep us cozy on our sofas with the remote controls close at hand. We have indeed become a sedentary, non-moving culture. This reality combined with fast-foods as a replacement for home cooked meals explains our rising obesity epidemic. 

Here’s the great news!

You don’t need to rush to join a gym or purchase any fancy equipment. You don’t have to exert your body, sweat, and exhaust yourself to be healthy.

The key to engaging in regular physical activity is to do shorter, more frequent bouts of low to moderate intensity movement throughout the day. It’s better to move your body for 5-10 minutes, 3 times each day than go to the gym for an hour twice a week.

All physical activity counts whether you’re walking the dog, putting the trash out, vacuuming, gardening, playing tennis, dancing, doing a few yoga poses, or lifting weights. 

Think cumulative…your movement all adds up at the end of the week!  If you combine this strategy with healthful eating, you will increase your metabolism, remove toxins from your body, reduce your stress, and feel more energized.

Healthy eating means being aware of both the quality and quantity of foods you eat.  If you have a great workout and burn 500 calories and then go and Supersize yourself, you’re back behind the eight ball.  Sort of common sense isn’t it?  If you’re hungry after a workout, eat a banana or some other snack that is lower in calories and fat. 

There’s a basic formula for weight loss; the number of calories taken in needs to be less than the number of calories burned off.  No one wants to count calories for life, but a little simple math will help you a lot!

Estimate calories for just one week. You’ll have greater awareness of how many calories are in the foods you’re eating.  And you’ll better understand how many calories are burned off doing different physical activities. 

The bottom line?  MOVE MORE! EAT HEALTHIER!

Try these tips this week!  Take the stairs.  Choose the farthest spot in the parking lot.  Get out of the car instead of driving thru.  Take a lap through or around your office building a few times during your workday.  When watching TV, move your body at the commercials. Also, consider keeping a journal, writing down everything you eat and what did you do to move your body.

I look forward to hearing how it goes for you! By the way, I am the author of Mindful Exercise and you can find my book/CD at www.amazon.com

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