Exercise and Weight Loss (or is it Weight Maintenance?)
We see many people who have done a year with a fitness club, training 3 to 4 times per week, then stop going because they ‘just didn't see the exercise resulting in weight loss.' In many ways they are right; exercise is a healthy habit (see later), yet by itself without controlling intake of food is unlikely to result in weight loss. It is essential, however, for weight maintenance. Many studies have shown that once people have lost weight they must be exercising on average 2,800 calories per week to allow for about a 400 calorie buffer of food intake. So, we must find a way to begin exercise in our lives; to make it a habit, daily if possible. However, I feel the most important thing we should understand is how exercise benefits the body; how does it improve health and contribute to weight maintenance?
Dr. Ralph Carlson discusses this in a recent journal article from the American Bariatric Society. "The outcomes are tangible,” he says, "Health benefits that include decreased cardiovascular risk (improved triglycerides, LDL, and blood pressure), diabetic (blood sugar) and arthritic (Range of Motion and pain) risk factors and symptoms. Major health benefits accumulate while you are improving your "ability” to use body fat as fuel. The physiological changes may be subtle, but will be important if you hit a diet set point. (You will see increased mitochondrial membrane surface areas - fat burning efficiency), additional oxidative (fat burning) enzymes, expanded capillary distribution within muscles (ideal fat distribution), and the return of insulin sensitivity (decrease insulin and fat loss resistance), and the creation of Type 2 (slow twitch) muscle fibres (fat burning).
Mood also plays a major part in determining not only our behaviour, but what and how much we eat as well. Exercise has time and again proven to be as good as most anti-depressants and, if nothing else, to complement anti-depressants by making them more effective. Exercise has been demonstrated to stimulate the release of the calming neurotransmitter serotonin and extend the time of attachment to receptors in the emotional area of the brain's mesocortex. We need to release stress. Failure to release stress by internalizing problems will eventually allow them to surface during the unconscious stages of sleep and disallow proper sleep architecture.
Also, in the stress response cortisol (a hormone) is released that can wreak havoc on the body's ability to let go of weight; exercise can reduce this. Exercise literally interrupts cortisol's contribution to over-eating and the accumulation of visceral abdominal fat.
So; all in all we must exercise. We were born to move, but our society is becoming more and more sedentary. At the same time stress levels are climbing. Exercise is necessary to aid in weight loss, is essential for weight maintenance and critical in reducing stress. When you are debating whether "you have the time” or "the energy,” try to remember the benefits exercise provides.
Too many of us focus only on calories or the intake part of losing weight, and not on the important output side.
Just find a way. Do an activity. Go for a walk. Go to the gym. Get on your treadmill/stationary bike/elliptical/glider. Do 10 minutes of weights. Start small: even 5-10 minutes of movement each day gets your body used to the feeling of being active. As this becomes a routine, you will increase your time and intensity when you're active.
You CAN do it. I know it sometimes seems impossible to incorporate activity into a busy schedule. If you can get creative and find something enjoyable that isn't time-consuming, it makes the process of adding exercise so much more manageable. You are worth the effort! You deserve to feel good and you deserve to feel less stress. No matter what, keep sight of your goals and push forward on your journey to better health! You can and WILL achieve success!
Dr. Doug