The importance of exercise to lose weight

The Atkins diet, the Zone diet, the Sears diet, Ultra-slim, The Isometric Diet, high carbohydrates, low carbohydrates, high fats, low fats, high protein, low protein. What a mess! Why is it that for many years there have been countless books and magazine articles touting the latest and greatest diets that guarantee fantastic results? Each new diet claims that theirs is the best ever and that all others do not work. Many new diets claim not to be diets at all, but rather a surefire method of changing eating habits for life.

Make no mistake. Nutrition is a very important part of a healthful lifestyle. Indeed, it is important for building and retaining muscle mass. It is also an important factor, which determines how much or how little excess body fat you carry around with you. Of all the elements of healthful living, I think nutrition is one of the most beneficial and also the most confusing.

The general concept put forth by the medical community is that eating good food in proper proportions three times per day is all anyone needs to maintain a nice lean appearance, right? Wrong! Though food is very important, it is not enough. The reason that diets do not work is that they only deal with the quick fix and not the concept of lifelong eating habits. I’ve known many people, both male and female, that argue that diets are wonderful for losing weight. Yet, each of these individuals seems to discontinue these “fantastic” diets and wind up regaining the weight they lost and then some. So, I guess the problem is not losing weight, but gaining it again.
America in general has been dieting for over thirty years. If that is true, why are we seeing more cases of clinical obesity than ever before? Is it because the diets are working so well? I don’t think so. Is it because the very important element of exercise is being ignored? Bingo! When folks have a tendency to put on fat, much of the reason is that they have conditioned their body chemistry to store fat more easily than burn it.

Metabolically, the body tends to go into survival mode at or about three to fours hours if it has not received an outside source of fuel (food). If we eat the standard three meals per day, then we are constantly playing the game of speeding up and slowing down the metabolic rate. Therefore, it makes sense that to keep the metabolic rate turbo charged with food, we should ingest something every three to four hours. This translates to about five to six meals per day. When the body is fed roughly every three to four hours, it does not drop into survival mode, which means the nutrients are broken down and utilized more efficiently.

I’ve heard countless times, especially from you gals, that you only eat one meal per day and lose weight. Allow me to explain something as simply as I can. If I eat only one meal per day, I succeed in slowing down my metabolic rate. This is the opposite of what I want. Why? A slower metabolic rate means more fat storage. The body utilizes the immediate necessary elements for the brain first and for the muscle tissues last. Slowing the metabolic rate, in conjunction with little to no exercise, means that you are successfully conditioning the body to be a fat-storing machine, not a fat burning one.

“But, I said I lose weight!” OK. Where does the weight loss come from? Let’s see. I’m not burning fat, and I still require energy. Where is the fuel coming from? Muscle tissue! If I’m eating up the muscle tissue to survive, it’s no wonder that I’m losing weight. You are obviously going to drop some of the fat pounds, because you are simply not getting enough calories to sustain normal body functionality. However, you will lose a great deal of muscle mass and proportionally you still end up fat. Of course, when you fall off of your diet (which 99.99%, if not all of the people do that are into the quick fix mentality) you also fall back into the habits that got you fat in the first place. Not only do you put back the fat weight that you “lost,” but, you tend gain even more. And then an odd thing happens. Your body fat percentage winds up even higher than when you started your diet. Bummer! How could it be anything else? After all, you’ve conditioned your body to do exactly what it has done.

You’ve taught yourself how to become fatter without knowing it. I’m suggesting that you now condition your body to do just the opposite. It takes a little practice and anyone can do it. But, remember. Food is not enough. Exercise is the most important element to staying lean and toned. Food plays a very important supporting role.