Exercise is good. . .but

“Sure, weight is lost in the kitchen,” says Dr. Freedhoff. “But health is gained in the gyms.”

I have been involved in the fitness industry for over thirty (30) years and one thing I find to be true and that people have a tendency to overlook:  A good exercise program without a sound nutritional plan is counterproductive.  I’m not saying you should eat less and exercise more.  What I am saying is that with any exercise plan you should incorporate a good sound nutritional plan for your exercise level and weight loss goals.

I work in a college atmosphere and many students come into the gym to workout.  They spend hours and hours per week on the treadmill, in aerobic classes and even participating in some of our intramural sports.  Later those same students can be seen ordering pizza and soda in the student union.  Some will share with me their disappointment in their inability to accomplish their health goals.  They believe that their exercises will compensate for the bad foods they are eating. 

According to Campbell, the food and drink industry has misled people into thinking that physical activity and sports will prevent them from being overweight. The primary cause of obesity is not lack of exercise. “A healthy lifestyle will include both a balanced diet and exercise.”  If either one of those elements are missing, health issues are sure to develop. 

One could safely say that weight loss is primarily dependent on calories consumed and used over a period of time.  It takes about 3,500 calorie burned to lose one pound of fat.  It doesn’t matter whether or not you lose those calories by eating less or buy exercising more.  In a study referenced by Talens, participants had to exercise 77 hours to lose 1kg of fat.  Not many people I know can sustain that much of exercise to lose such a small amount of fat.

There are several reasons why exercise is relatively ineffective when it comes to weight loss efforts:

• Calories burned through exercise are small when viewed through the overall process
• People do not properly estimate calories burned and calories consumed.

We fail to consider how many calories are required just to stay alive.  We need about 30% of the calories we consume just for the body to function.  An additional 10% is needed to make the food we eat usable by the body for digestion and 10% for simple movement.  That means 50% of our calories are consumed before we even get out of bed.  Exercise as we saw above doesn’t burn that much fat.

Also, even with calorie counters and diet bands, people have a tendency to underestimate how many calories they consume or burn.  They often forget that extra slice of cheese or toasted bun they had in the office meeting. They usually err on the side that’s most favorable to them.

We don’t realize how much more effective it would be to pack a healthy lunch and to eat one less bite than to exercise for 10 more minutes.  Parking further away from the building isn’t going to help you lose that much weight, if weight loss is your goal.  

A good exercise program should also start in the kitchen.  Talens stated that a third of the time that you are willing to spend on exercising should be spent in the kitchen preparing healthy meals and snacks.   There’s no standard amount of time to state as enough exercise for everyone.  Each person must base that on his or her desired lifestyle and start building from there.  Often we want to start at the end instead of the beginning.

This information is important for my career because it is extremely important to help clients realize that even though they are exercising, they may not see the results they desire unless they adopt healthy nutritional habits.  Exercise and nutrition should always go together if you want optimum performance.