subject: 5 Reasons Why Exercise May Be A Band Aid For Weight Loss [print this page] For any fitness, weight loss, or fat burning plan to work, most people would agree that exercise is a necessary component.
But why are most people failing on their quests to achieve their ideal weight? Since we know we should be exercising and eating less, why are 1/3rd of Americans obese, and 2/3rds overweight?
The notion that you should concentrate on exercise to lose weight is one of the cultural myths that must be purged from the brain if long term success on weight loss or getting to your perfect weight is the goal.
Am I saying not to exercise? No way! Exercise is an important element, but it is far over-emphasized- and giving it too much importance may impede your progress on getting fit. Nutrition is the key to losing weight. Here are a few reasons why this is the case:
1. The caloric theory of weight loss (burn more calories than you consume) has been shown to be ineffective. It sounds great on paper, but it simply doesn't work for long term sustainability. This idea of calories in/calories out often gets people on a never-ending proverbial treadmill, constantly having to keep track of minutes, reps, and calories- essentially setting them up to fail.
2. Exercising may mask food addictions. Say you love carbohydrates but are overweight. Then, someone tells you you need to exercise more to lose weight. So you increase your activity level, but meanwhile stick with your high-carb diet. After all, you are burning a lot more calories, so eating doesn't matter, right? Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way, and not dealing with your addiction to carbohydrates will certainly lead to a limit in how much fat you can burn- and ultimately, knock you off your fitness plan.
3. Exercise makes you hungrier. This usually leads to eating more on workout days, negating the weight loss benefits of exercise. It feels like you're doing something to move towards your fitness goals, but you may actually be moving away from these goals unless you meticulously counting calories and have a very strong will power!
4. Exercise may lead to less moving around at home. After a hard workout, it is common to go out for a big (often unhealthy) meal, and proceed to rest. Some people will use their big workout as and excuse to be even more sedentary at home than they would normally be. In other words, the hard exercise sessions may create bad habits!
5. Punishments are often followed by rewards. The punishment/reward cycle is common among those who believe in exercise as the all-important key to losing weight. A workout often gets rewarded with a pizza, high-carb Starbucks drinks, or a trip to McDonald's. People feel they deserve a "reward" after "punishing" themselves in the gym- little do they know this is knocking them off their plan to lose weight and get fit!
