Exercise Daily to lose weight: A Myth

I hit the gym 6 days a week, I am on a diet, I do cardio daily, No pain no gain… Does all of this sound familiar – a causal link drawn between exercise and weight.It seems so reasonable that we hear it and barely blink. One of the most widely accepted, commonly repeated assumptions in our culture is that you have to have some form of exercise to lose weight.

Today doctors encourage even their oldest patients to exercise, which is sound advice for many reasons: People who regularly exercise are at significantly lower risk for all manner of diseases — those of the heart in particular. Being this way and counting most of those  calories are you able to lose weight? If you are answer is a big FAT “NO” then its time for you to consider why isn’t all the exercise wiping the calories out?  Lets debunk a few common myths !!!

Myth 1 – You have to Exercise or do some Physical activity every day to lose Weight or Body Fat.
FACT – It’s true that we are designed to move  but  even if your day is spent shoveling gravel, you’re still going to find yourself with a belly if your nutrition is bad, plain and simple… The way people talk about going—or not going—to the gym to lose weight, could rebrand itself the “guilt industry”. As with all responses to exercise, weight gain or loss is impacted by many factors, including dietary intake and lifestyle choices. All individuals will not lose the same amount of weight on the same exercise program. It is possible to be active and overweight. Though exercise alone cannot guarantee your ideal weight, regular physical activity is one of the most important factors for successful long-term weight management.

Myth 2 – Avoid strength training and embrace cardiovascular exercise.
FACT – Most exercise experts believe that cardiovascular exercise and strength training are both valuable for maintaining a healthy weight. Strength training helps maintain lean muscle mass which will accelerate the body’s fat burning mechanism and cardiovascular exercise enhances the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen-rich blood to the working muscles so they can use this oxygen to supply adequate energy for movement.

Myth 2 – You burn more fat if you exercise on an empty stomach.
FACT – Unless you are a hardcore bodybuilder or a seasoned steroid buff, exercising on an empty stomach does not affect how you lose weight or fat. In fact, it will hinder it if you don’t have the energy to exercise. You should at least have a fruit prior to your workout if you’re exercising in the morning. Empty stomach cardio or exercising is like starting a car with no fuel…

Myth 3 –  Aerobics and Low intensity exercise puts you in the “fat burning zone” and is ideal for weight loss.
FACT – The “fat burning zone” doesn’t matter. Here’s how it got started. Your body is always “burning” a mixture of carbohydrates and fat for fuel. This mixture tends to contain a little more fat during lower intensity exercise. The bottom line is, how many calories are you burning?

Myth 4 – Some fancy exercise machine burns more calories than any other exercise.
FACT – One thing that many people seem to be confused about is how many calories are expended during different types of exercise. I receive lots of questions regarding how many calories are burned with fancy exercise machines or certain unusual exercises that are supposed to burn lots of calories. Don’t be fooled by this stuff! Here’s the bottom line – caloric expenditure is directly related to the amount of effort an activity requires. In general, the more difficult it feels, the more calories you burn. The easier it feels the fewer calories you burn. That’s it! I don’t care how fancy or expensive the equipment is, the harder you work the more calories you burn.

Myth 5 – Body Fat comes from Fatty Foods!
FACT – Fat in foods does not necessarily equal fat on your body. Fat comes from calories; it doesn’t matter if those calories come from a burger or a salad. Obviously, it’s better to obtain calories from the salad, however, if you eat more calories than your body needs, it will store them as fat. To keep off body fat, don’t overeat any type of food. Instead, eat small and balanced meals.

Myth 6 – Starving helps lose weight or Body Fat.
FACT -It’s true that when you don’t eat enough calories, your body will break down stored fat to use as energy. However, when you go off your diet and start to eat normally again, you’ll gain all that weight back. This happens because depriving yourself of necessary daily calories puts you in physical “starvation mode.” Your body will think that there isn’t enough food available and that you’re starving. When you go off your diet, your body will store even more fat in reserve against future lean periods. You’ll also be more likely to overeat during this period.

The basic problem is that while it’s true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can stimulate hunger. That causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate the weight-loss benefits we just accrued. Exercise, in other words, isn’t necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder. We are born needing to eat, but not knowing how.  Our sensations of pleasure and pain guide us in popping in and spitting out. Over time, as we move towards what gives us the pleasure of being nourished and away from what doesn’t, we create and become the patterns of sensation and response that focus and refine what it is we want through our experiences. That is why I even insist in the main page “Every one deserves to be healthy by experience…” We not only learn what to desire, we also learn how to sense and respond to our desire when it dwells in us.

BeWell,
Vivek