Before everyone reading this decides to band together and lynch me from a tree for hating on exercise, let me clarify.
I’m not here to say exercise will make you fat.
What I’m going to explain is how exercise ALONE isn’t going to make you lose body fat and improve your body composition if you’re not aware of one major variable that attributes to losing weight WHILE you include exercise in your life.
So don’t everyone band together and light your torches and grab your pitch forks just yet and come looking for me, just keep reading and you’ll see what I’m saying as I lay down some facts.
Now, What exactly do I mean by major variable in regards to fat loss?
Thank you for asking!
I’m not here to say exercise will make you fat.
What I’m going to explain is how exercise ALONE isn’t going to make you lose body fat and improve your body composition if you’re not aware of one major variable that attributes to losing weight WHILE you include exercise in your life.
So don’t everyone band together and light your torches and grab your pitch forks just yet and come looking for me, just keep reading and you’ll see what I’m saying as I lay down some facts.
Now, What exactly do I mean by major variable in regards to fat loss?
Thank you for asking!
WHAT FAT LOSS ACTUALLY IS
Let me back up a little bit and define exactly what fat loss is and how it happens.
Fat loss, which is different from overall weight loss, is the reduction of fat tissue in the body, both under the skin (subcutaneous) and around the organs (visceral).
The reduction of fat tissue in the body happens when the body is in need of energy, which is ALL OF THE TIME, but is not getting it from an outside source.
This translates to: Your body needs energy to function. If it is not getting adequate amounts of energy from food, known as calories, it seeks energy internally from stored sources, which is primarily fat tissue.
If you restrict the input of calories to some degree for an extended period of time, you’ll see a reduction in your own body fat.
And that, my friends, is fat loss.
Pretty simple, right?
Okay, back to the main point.
Here’s the thing about exercise: IT’S NOT NECESSARY WHATSOEVER TO LOSE BODY FAT, as I’ve just explained and hopefully you inferred.
Now, can it aid in helping you lose body fat while improving your health??
ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY.
BUT GIVE YOUR BODY A LITTLE BIT OF CREDIT
Your body is a lot more intelligent than you think.
Not intelligent as in it can think for itself, but intelligent in the sense that it is adaptive and will do everything possible for one goal: Survival.
Your body want’s to be as energy efficient as possible at all times: this means conserving energy and using as little possible to complete daily functions.
Because your body is a physical system that consumes and expends energy, it follows the principles of thermodynamics, just like everything else in this world.
Your body wants to remain in an energy balance.
If you expend 600 calories jogging on a treadmill for an hour, your body is well aware of the increase energy it’s just expended.
To compensate for expending these 600 calories, your body will up-regulate different hormones and functions to signal the need for an increase of energy to come in, which is FOOD.
This happens everyday without us evening knowing it’s happening.
It’s our body’s way of ensuring survival.
SO HOW DOES EXERCISE MAKE US FAT?
Like I alluded to at the beginning of this- it’s not the actual exercise that is going to make you fat.
It’s the effects that exercise has on your body that can make you unknowingly consume more calories.
Everyone, especially all of us in 1st world countries, should include some type of physical activity in our lives EVERY DAY, or a few times a week at the very least.
The benefits of lifting weights, walking, jogging, swimming, rowing, etc are too numerous to even mention.
There’s no debating that physical activity is necessary.
Remember it’s the amount of energy you’re consuming versus how much energy you’re expending is what will dictate fat loss.
Here’s the thing about exercise: IT’S NOT NECESSARY WHATSOEVER TO LOSE BODY FAT, as I’ve just explained and hopefully you inferred.
Now, can it aid in helping you lose body fat while improving your health??
ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY.
BUT GIVE YOUR BODY A LITTLE BIT OF CREDIT
Your body is a lot more intelligent than you think.
Not intelligent as in it can think for itself, but intelligent in the sense that it is adaptive and will do everything possible for one goal: Survival.
Your body want’s to be as energy efficient as possible at all times: this means conserving energy and using as little possible to complete daily functions.
Because your body is a physical system that consumes and expends energy, it follows the principles of thermodynamics, just like everything else in this world.
Your body wants to remain in an energy balance.
If you expend 600 calories jogging on a treadmill for an hour, your body is well aware of the increase energy it’s just expended.
To compensate for expending these 600 calories, your body will up-regulate different hormones and functions to signal the need for an increase of energy to come in, which is FOOD.
This happens everyday without us evening knowing it’s happening.
It’s our body’s way of ensuring survival.
SO HOW DOES EXERCISE MAKE US FAT?
Like I alluded to at the beginning of this- it’s not the actual exercise that is going to make you fat.
It’s the effects that exercise has on your body that can make you unknowingly consume more calories.
Everyone, especially all of us in 1st world countries, should include some type of physical activity in our lives EVERY DAY, or a few times a week at the very least.
The benefits of lifting weights, walking, jogging, swimming, rowing, etc are too numerous to even mention.
There’s no debating that physical activity is necessary.
Remember it’s the amount of energy you’re consuming versus how much energy you’re expending is what will dictate fat loss.
SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
If you wanted to save up 1 million dollars, what would you do?
You’d probably be well aware of how much money you were spending and how much money you were saving every day, right?
Would you be able to hit that 1 million dollar mark if you just spent your money indiscriminately?
Perhaps.
Would you be able to hit that same 1 million dollar mark if you budgeted your income and your expenses every day.
Guaranteed you would.
The same concept holds true with calories, and that concept is simply AWARENESS.
Be aware of how much you are actually consuming on a daily basis.
And don’t say “I don’t know how to do that.”
It’s 2017, if you don’t know how to use the internet at this point you don’t deserve to reproduce.
Additionally, If you’re somebody who consumes sodas, Starbucks drinks, or alcoholic beverages on the daily, I’d recommend to start there by eliminating these drinks.
Most importantly, don’t treat exercise as a means of rewarding yourself with food.
If you start playing the game of “I worked out and burned 500 calories, I can splurge and induldge a little bit”, then that’s a slippery slope.
This is why it’s important to know yourself and how you’ll react to physical activity.
If you know for a fact you’re going to be starving after an hour of cardio and you just have to have your 600 calorie smoothie (after only burning 400 calories), this is an instance where you’re actually adding an additional 200 calories and you’re better off not participating in cardio at all.
In that scenario you’re better off skipping the cardio and eating your normal meals instead of exercising and adding additional “post workout” meals that will be counter productive.
If you wanted to save up 1 million dollars, what would you do?
You’d probably be well aware of how much money you were spending and how much money you were saving every day, right?
Would you be able to hit that 1 million dollar mark if you just spent your money indiscriminately?
Perhaps.
Would you be able to hit that same 1 million dollar mark if you budgeted your income and your expenses every day.
Guaranteed you would.
The same concept holds true with calories, and that concept is simply AWARENESS.
Be aware of how much you are actually consuming on a daily basis.
And don’t say “I don’t know how to do that.”
It’s 2017, if you don’t know how to use the internet at this point you don’t deserve to reproduce.
Additionally, If you’re somebody who consumes sodas, Starbucks drinks, or alcoholic beverages on the daily, I’d recommend to start there by eliminating these drinks.
Most importantly, don’t treat exercise as a means of rewarding yourself with food.
If you start playing the game of “I worked out and burned 500 calories, I can splurge and induldge a little bit”, then that’s a slippery slope.
This is why it’s important to know yourself and how you’ll react to physical activity.
If you know for a fact you’re going to be starving after an hour of cardio and you just have to have your 600 calorie smoothie (after only burning 400 calories), this is an instance where you’re actually adding an additional 200 calories and you’re better off not participating in cardio at all.
In that scenario you’re better off skipping the cardio and eating your normal meals instead of exercising and adding additional “post workout” meals that will be counter productive.
