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If you want to lose weight – exercise LESS
Exercising is designed to create a calorie deficit, which should mean stored calories get used and whalla……….. thinness – but this often doesn’t happen
The fitness industry’s dirty little secret…
EXERCIZING does not equal WEIGHT LOSS.
Don’t let this information, deter you from getting off the couch.
EXERCISING does equal BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY.
So I am not saying, don’t do it.
But BE WARNED, the odds that the all those extra pounds melt away as you sweat on the treadmill – is rather slim.
Of course, that leaves the question WHY NOT ?
Powering up an exercise session
We ALL KNOW – fat is where excess calories are stored. It follows, that some of those calories, should be shared to make you GO, if a calorie deficit has been created. Whalla………..exercise should lead to thinness.
But this premise is based on the assumption, that you are EATING LESS and MOVING MORE.
NEWSFLASH…..
Exercisers EAT MORE !
Now this response is physiological, this is why, every gym has a juice bar, to allow exercisers to grab a MUCH NEEDED, post exercise SNACK.
Flunking calorie maths
The calorie equation is somewhat deceptive, because…
Burning calories is HARD WORK.
HARD WORK !
Unfortunately, the amount of exercise you need to do to burn off that coke you just drank, is FRIGHTENING. And, often times when you get yourself to the “FAT BURNING ZONE” – your brain begins to panic.
It gets all STRESSED OUT.
And, it does what a stressed body must do…..
It goes into SURVIVAL MODE.
Survivors have spare calories
Since in a world without supermarkets, fast food joints and pantry cupboards – SURVIVAL depended on having fat stores, your hormonal switch flips to FAT STORING MODE.
So post exercise, you transition into FAT STORING MODE…..
Eat more….
Your appetite is supercharged, thanks to this biological signal.
And if you’ve just done a serious exercise session, there is a psychological signal too, you tell yourself…………
YOU DESERVE IT.
So you tuck into a chocolate fudge sundae.
Mmmmmmm….
Eish ! The brain and body concur, leaving you healthier, but NOT SKINNIER. This is what a group of researchers from Cornell Food & Brand Lab discovered.
A walk in the park
The team invited employees from the university to enjoy a free lunch. The catch, to get the free lunch, they needed to show up wearing a pair of takkies……and take a 1 mile walk, around the campus.
Half the ladies were told the walk was FOR FUN, the other half, were told the walk was AN EXERCISE session and encouraged to GET MOVING !
NOTE : To make the walk, genuinely FUN, the walkers in the FUN group, listened to cool music on an mp3 player, whilst being out and about in the fresh air.
Fun times…
At the end of the walk, the ladies completed a questionnaire to assess
- How fun it was
- How taxing it was
No surprises…..
The walkers who listened to music, had FUN and found the walk, untaxing. The dedicated exercises, has a whole lot less FUN, but did not actually feel overtaxed by their exercise session.
Lunch is served
What happened at the all-you-can-eat buffet “REWARD” was eye opening.
Behind the scenes, the walkers plates were weighed and their dessert and beverage choices scrutinized – allowing the researchers to calculate CALORIES IN.
The calorie count….
There was not much in it, when it came to dishing up lunch. Both groups served up and ate, similar amounts of calories.
But there was difference when it came to dessert.
DEDICATED EXERCISERS ate more PERIOD.
And they tended to choose the more decadent (calorie laden), chocolate pudding, rather than the “healthier” option, which was an applesauce.
Oops….
You DERSERVE IT….
If you’ve exercised, your sugar gremlin WILL whisper…
“You did a good job – exercising is SO IMPORTANT for good health. Good deeds should ALWAYS be REWARDED. You deserve/need a REWARD. Go on – INDULGE”
This very logical thought pattern, can end up sabotaging your weight loss effort.
So…………..whatever you do.
Don’t exercise
Instead..
- Go dancing.
- Listen to your favourite music while riding the bicycle.
- Go sightseeing.
- Take a walk on the beach
- Go rollerblading.
- Play a round of golf.
- Go shopping.
Think HAVE SOME FUN while moving, rather than DO SOME EXERCISE.
Having FUN means the exercise session IS YOUR REWARD, so you are less likely to seek a high calorie foodie reward afterwards. It’s fun to outwit a sugar gremlin. Click here if you would like more strategies to help Tame your Sugar Gremlin.
If you MUST exercise
If the idea of exercise being FUN is a foreign concept, then make sure you send a memo to your sugar gremlin, letting it know that you have a policy of not REWARDING exercise with munchies.
And when you leave the gym…………
DON’T STOP AT THE JUICE BAR !
It’s not there for your benefit.
Further reading
Dancing is the best exercise for oldies
Looking for an exercise programme that’ll help you age gracefully, a dancing class is a great option. You get the usual cardiovascular benefits plus brain gains
It’s HOW you sit, not THAT you sit, that matters
Modern hunter-gatherers don’t move more than the average Westerner – so lack of energy expenditure is not to blame for modern man’s weight problems.
How to make exercise FEEL GOOD even if you’re a couch potato
You know exercise is good for you. But, it doesn’t FEEL good. So, you don’t do it. But exercise can feel more tolerable if you do things in the right order.
