Exercise Isn't Enough

It being January, I joined the rest of the country and decided to make some resolutions.  This year I actually wrote them down (or rather, typed them into my iPhone) because I always hear you better achieve your goals if you write them down.

Every person I have spoken with about resolutions this year has included some kind of health and fitness resolution.  What fascinates me about this is that I assume the percentage of people who actually keep these resolutions is miniscule.  

Proof of this is how IRRITATING it is to go to the gym in January, because the machines are always taken and the classes are always too full, yet when February rolls around the gym reverts back to being wide open space.  Although I go to the gym year-round, I definitely am among the ranks of people who neglect their weight loss resolutions.

I have an excellent theory as to why so many of us fail to achieve our weight loss aspirations.  I believe it is because our country, through many different avenues, sends us all the message that exercise = automatic weight loss.

I can hear all of you saying in your Americanized heads, "Well, it does."  Yes, it does – if you do enough of it. If you maintain your current level of calorie intake.  If your daily calories burned number is larger than your daily calories eaten number enough times.

However, I have thought for a long time that people underestimate the number of calories they eat and overestimate the number of calories they burn when the exercise.  

In addition, something I always do is overcompensate for my hard work in the gym by intaking more calories than I would otherwise. I know I am doing it, too, and I tell myself that it is just fine and dandy to eat one more handful of chocolate chips because, heck, I've exercised, so at least I won't gain weight.

I was both delighted and horrified when one of my many well-read and extremely intelligent high school students told me about this Time article. It basically confirms that it's not just me, that a bunch of people eat more when they exercise, because it's a scientific fact that exercise stimulates hunger.

Can we overcome this problem? Sure, now that we know about it, if we write down what we eat and calorie count.  

However, this is not the only hurdle we face.  Exercising, while wonderful for a million different health reasons, may not burn as many calories as you may think.

A person must have about a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose a single pound.  If a person is breaking even on calories in vs. calories out right now, and walking burns just more than 200 calories an hour, a person may have to walk an hour a day for 15 days in addition to maintaining his current exercise level and calorie intake, to lose just one pound.

Jeez, what a downer you are being, Kristin, you are thinking.  Are trying to discourage me so badly that I quit exercising? 

No, I'm not, but that's exactly what happens when people think that all they have to do is listen to the gym commercials on the radio, sign up, work out a few times, and BOOM turn into a size 2 fitness model.  The number one reason I believe people give up on resolutions is because of unrealistic expectations.  If you believe your solution to weight loss is exercise, you must exercise hard and often, and make sure it doesn't cause you to increase your calorie intake.

Which brings me to my point: Watching what you eat is a much easier way to lose weight.  It's pretty easy to cut 300-500 calories off your daily count, especially if you are eating the average of 2,000 calories a day. Besides, eating healthy can be so much fun!  It's like a game: Who can eat the most, tastiest food for the lowest amount of calories?

I am definitely not saying not to exercise.  Exercising makes me feel energized and super attractive, even when I have a few pounds to lose.  If I go to the gym in the morning, I walk around feeling like a hot mama all day long.

However, I am saying that healthy eating is the key to weight loss, and exercise isn't. 

 

Therefore, you should probably keep reading my blog so I can inspire you to establish and maintain a healthy diet.  Just consider me your entertaining (and if nothing else free) healthy eating motivator.  And hopefully I'll also motivate myself this new year.