Be careful or this may make you hungrier...

I keep hearing a lot of my Facebook friends talk about spending several hours a week in the gym doing cardio in an effort to lose weight.  The fact I keep hearing this means that they think doing more cardio is the most effective way to lose weight.   I’m not really sure where that myth started, but as far as I’m concerned it spread like the plague.

Now let me be clear here, I’m not saying cardio is bad, but for weight loss purposes, it’s not really needed.   Now there is a time and place for cardio but for the level of leanness you want to get to, it’s probably not even necessary.  For weight loss, just stick to the basics, calories in vs calories out.  Whether you walk a mile or run a mile, you burn about 100 calorie or so.   You need to create about a 500 calorie a day deficit below EE (energy expenditure) to lose 1 pound of fat per week.  If you did the math properly, that means you would need to log 5 miles a day 7 days a week without increasing your calories if you attempt to do this through cardio alone.

I’m not the smartest guy, but it’s much easier not to eat 500 calories than it is to eat them and try to burn them off.  If you don’t believe me, try and do it.  I could easily consume 2 Snickers Bars (about 500 cals) before you could run a mile.  This extra exercise for weight loss can only provide a significant benefit if you keep your calories in check.

The next problem you have is the time factor.  We live in such a fast paced world that there never seems to be enough time in the day.  If knowing you have to run 5 miles a day just to lose a pound stresses you out, then it’s not worth it.  And what happens if you miss a day, which you will?

Next, as you become more efficient at running, your body doesn’t burn as any calories for that same hour thus requiring you to have to run longer which once again requires more time that we already don’t have enough of.

The more you exercise the more likely you will get hungry and the more tempted you will be to overeat (or at least eat more than you were planning).  Cardio CAN help if you keep those calories in check, but there is a cath 22.  Even though you’ll burn more calories and lose weight faster if you add in extra exercise, you’ll also be tempted to eat more food.  This is simply your bodies way of doing it’s best to keep you at homeostasis.

So to sum things up, you have to keep the calories you eat in control if you want to see the full benefit from adding in cardio sessions.  Exercise for weight loss can be effective IF and only IF you’ve got a handle on your calories.  And remember when it comes to weight loss, stick to the basics - calories in vs calories out.  Usually the simplest answer is the best answer.

Coach Blair

Eating for health or eating to get lean?

I was talking to a client in my gym in Ambler recently  and it hit me that a lot people believe that “eating healthy” is the same as eating to get lean.  Most people I talk to eat pretty “healthy”.  Their diet consists of a good amount of protein, vegetables, and a moderate amount of grains along with plenty of water.  From the outside looking in you may womder how some of them ever got to be 50lbs over weight.

Approximately 95% of the people who walk through my door, come there for one reason. Yeah they may try to sugar coat it and say they want to be healthier, or the doctor told them to lose some weight, etc., etc.   You know what I say, bull-ish.  Let’s face it, the number one reason you would hire me is because you want to look better naked.  So if vanity is the #1 reason for hiring a trainer, then why is at that so many people who work with trainers never see any results?  The reason is simple – somewhere along the line people began to ignore the basic law of calories in vs. calories out.

If you over-eat by 100 calories a day you will gain 10 lbs in a year.  Over-eat by 500 calories/day and you will gain 50lbs in a year.  Most people don’t over consume large quantities of food every day, but most do it often enough to cause weight gain.   In North America, they currently they produce 3,900 calories a day per person and food marketers will do whatever they need to do to get you to buy it.

It doesn’t matter what you’re eating if you eat too much of it.  Yes I know it’s a little harder to over eat healthy foods, but make no mistake about it, you can still do it if you’re not careful.  When you eat “healthy food” in an effort to be lean, you must be in a caloric deficit or it will not work.  The next time you think about eating ask yourself am I eating to get lean or am I just eating to be healthy.

Coach Blair

Let’s face it. Fat is the only thing that can really make you look fat. The good part is, you can control that problem.

You are in the driver’s seat when it comes to the way you look and that means you have the power to never ask that dreaded questions again. For starters, looking great starts with controlling your calories and regularly following an exercise program.

Do these shorts make me look fat?

If you decide to make a trip to the fast food joint you need to be sure any calories you consume support your goals of getting that body you truly desire.

Diet will control your base weight up or down.  Strength training is for showing the shape of  your body once the fat is removed.  Contrary to belief, we all have very similar shapes.  The difference is the way your body stores fat.

Without exercise and proper nutrition, you are pretty much leaving your shape up to your pre-determined genetic pattern.

Coach Blair