Exercise Alone Will Not Make You Thin
Warning! In general, exercise alone will not make you thin! The information contained in this article might just make you consider whether or not you actually reward yourself with a post-exercise treat…after all, you burnt so many calories during your last workout, that you can now eat what you like. Right?
Our team of personal trainers in Surrey constantly get asked about the the secret of losing weight, toning muscles to change body shape and keeping off the fat in the long-term.
I’m going to be brave now and say that exercise alone won’t make you thin. There is so much more to the equation.
A calorie is more than a calorie if it’s coming from the wrong source!
Yes it’s true that exercise and movement are two basic ‘needs’ of our bodies, but solely concentrating on burning calories won’t give you the results that I imagine you are after. I’ve found some statistics to back up what I am saying:
45 million Americans now belong to a health club (this is a 22 million increase since 1993).
We spend 19 billion USD on gym memberships each year (can you actually say that you have fully utilised your gym membership EVERY month?)
Obesity is still on the increase, you just have to take a look at the statistics on lifestyle diseases such as diabetes type II.
Back in 2003 when I was training to run the London Marathon, I used to think that I could run several times a week and would have to ‘refuel’ on the days that I was resting. In the back of my mind, I was also quite excited about losing a few pounds. After all, I would be using up and burning so many calories! My fellow runners and I would forever talk about eating whatever we liked as we were training for a marathon. I’m pleased to say that I finished the 26.2 miles…and weighed absolutely no different! The main reason for this was that I didn’t really care where my calories were coming from, I just wanted fuel. I would also eat quite a lot after my training session was over and wouldn’t pay any attention to where the calories were coming from.
After much research and qualifications in exercise for weight management and fat loss, I look back to those London marathon training days and wish that I knew then exactly what I know now. I found that in order to truly lose weight and perform at our best, we must balance and focus the quality and quantity of the food that we are eating, along with training at the right intensity. The goal of any healthy eating plan should be to eat the foods that provide our bodies with the necessary building blocks to make healthy cells. Fuel is vital on a daily basis, but having the knowledge to balance calories in, with calories out with the optimal level of nutrients required for health and performance took rather a lot of studying!
So, back to the issue of exercise. Research shows that physical inactivity might actually been more harmful to your health than other risk factors such as smoking and high blood pressure (not that I am advocating either of those as being ok). Exercise is vital for our bodies, after all they were designed to withstand physical hardship. If we fuel ourselves in the right way, avoid the junk food and excessive eating after training and get proper rest and recovery, the end result could actually be losing a few pounds.
So, stop and think before rewarding yourself with a ‘treat’ after training. All of your hard work could be undone within seconds.
In the meantime, is your monthly membership continuing to help the profits of the gym without helping you?
Our Guildford-based personal trainers in Surrey offer a free, no obligation consultation as part of our professional service. If you then decide that you would like to work with one of our personal trainers, we are very confident that every penny you spend will more than exceed your expectation and give you an excellent return on your investment!
