If You’re Looking For Weight Loss, The Gym May Not Be The Place to Start
Say WHAAAAT?! I know, I know, controversial statement. Goes against my entire business model. But hear me out.
Ever hear the phrase “abs are made in the kitchen?” There’s a lot of truth to those words. The most efficient way to cut fat is through your diet, not by spending hours on end at the gym. Now that doesn’t mean there aren’t immeasurable benefits to exercise, because there are. What I’m saying is, the first place you need to look is at your plate.
If you consume more calories than you require in any given day, you will gain weight. The same goes for the opposite. If you consume fewer calories than you require in a day, you will lose weight. Following that science, you’ll inherently begin to lose weight by cleaning up your diet. To lose one pound of fat, you’d need to create (on average) a 3,500 calorie deficit. It’s a large number, but I want to be realistic here. Weight loss takes time and patience. So, when I say most efficient what I mean is, by using the least amount of energy.
Now, let’s bring exercise into the equation. With some time and effort, this is going to exponentially increase your caloric expenditure. And that’s not just during your time in the gym, it carries over throughout the day. Not only will you be burning more, you’ll be building lean muscle mass, strengthening tendons and ligaments, building mental strength and confidence and setting yourself up for a longer, healthier life! My advice to you is to find something you really enjoy. Something that challenges you physically and mentally. Whether it’s lifting weights, long distance running, dance or swim, get going and enjoy the gift of movement! It’s all good for you and on top of a whole foods, well balanced diet plan, it can only increase your calorie burn.
What else can increase calorie expenditure? The way you exercise. For efficiency sake, let’s talk about the Average Joe who only has an hour to dedicate to working out. Joe will burn twice as many calories tapping into a moderate to high-intensity type of workout than a low-intensity workout for the same time frame. Combining resistance training (weights) and cardio will help maintain muscle mass while also burning fat and calories at a high rate for a longer period of time. Bottom line: Joe is gonna look great!
If the only reason you ever step into a gym is to ‘burn calories’, it’s unlikely you’ll ever enjoy it, it will always feel like a chore. It’s these folks who tend to go hard, work and grind until they reach a desired goal, then the inevitable burn out happens.
Instead, find something you love that’s performance based. Something with measurable improvements, something you enjoy coming back to because you’re seeing results and all those changes in the kitchen are worth it. Instead of a means to an end, you begin to look forward to your workout because the way it makes you feel IS the end. The activity is the reward, and everything else that follows is a side bonus. When you start to view exercise through this lens, it goes from being that chore to something you’re excited about.
So, trade the full fat, sugared-up latte for a skinny. Swap your chips for carrots. Maybe even blend up some frozen banana with cocoa powder and nut butter for dessert instead of Baskin Robbins. Your workout plan will only ever be as good as your diet. Don’t take one step forward in the gym only to take one and a half back in the kitchen. Eat to lose weight, but exercise to feel strong and healthy.