Myth: In order to lose weight you need to work out and burn more calories.
Fact: Research has shown that EXERCISE ALONE is great for health but almost useless for weight loss.
Crazy, I know, but here are a few reasons why:
- Exercise only accounts for 10-30% of our total energy expenditure daily. Energy expenditure is another way of saying the total calories burned each day. Total energy expenditure varies by person based on age, sex, height, weight, and is the amount of energy a person needs to live- breathe, circulate blood, digest food, and of course, exercise and carry out any physical functions.
- Food intake (what you eat) accounts for 100% of the calories that you consume (or eat). I think we can all agree there!
- Energy expenditure and the amount of calories that we burn during exercise seems to have an upper limit according to the research. To simplify- at a certain point more exercise doesn’t necessarily mean more calories burned as our bodies become more efficient and try to conserve energy. Remember this post from last week!
- Studies show the more we exercise the more we typically eat. We also tend to do less non-gym activities. Exercise can definitely make us more hungry leading to eating more, and, it can also make us more tired leading to less fidgeting, taking the elevator instead of stairs, or lying down!
We could continue to go on and on about how exercise SHOULD NOT be viewed as a way to lose weight on it’s own and definitely not as a way to burn additional calories. Exercise can definitely help with weight loss, but, is more about overall health and building lean muscle to change our body composition.
At One Life, we believe that focusing on your diet and nutrition is a much more efficient way to lose weight. 100% of our clients who work with our nutrition coach for 3 months or more combined with our awesome workouts decrease fat and increase muscle. Yes, I said 100%!
If you’d like our help, please set up a time to meet and talk with one of us here!😃💪
