Spring is a time of new beginnings, and many of us take this season of warmer weather and baby plants and animals as a time to reset our environment. What if we also took inventory of some of our less helpful food and lifestyle habits and did a little spring editing there as well? Consider the following questions:
Have you ever wondered, “how many calories can I burn with this workout routine? How often should I do it to lose weight?” If so, you aren’t alone!
I know many of us are exercising to help us change our body composition or reach weight loss goals. If you are curious about the calorie burn (or use a tracker to help provide you with this kind of feedback) of your exercise routine, I hope you find this email helpful.
Here are three main reasons why you may want to stop worrying about your exact calorie burn with exercise:
Imagine this scenario: you run into someone you haven’t seen in a while, and they’ve obviously lost a good amount of weight. What happens in your brain? Do you wonder how they did it? Do you ask them their secret? Are you tempted to take notes and do everything exactly as they did?
In 20+ years working in healthcare, I’ve seen many weight loss trends come and go. Some plans help people slim down, and some don’t. Some are based on sound advice, and some are completely absurd. The truth is that no matter what seems to be in fashion, the basic scientific facts about weight loss remain consistent. I do my best to keep an open mind when a seemingly new idea rolls around, but it’s usually an old idea wrapped up in a shiny new package (book, podcast, celebrity interview, etc.). We have to be careful where we are getting our advice, especially in a world where anyone can post any advice publicly without consequences.
Here are the top 2 mistakes I see people make when they want to lose weight:
I was recently a great question, “is exercise truly worth the effort?”
I will admit to being 100% biased regarding the benefits of exercise. I have always enjoyed moving and found it beneficial in so many ways throughout many different stages of my life.
However, I know that not everyone feels the same about working out, and I can completely understand why exercise may not be something everyone wants to do regularly.
When it comes to whether or not exercise is worth your time, there are a few things to consider.
The best way to burn more fat is not a secret pill, powder, fast, or ‘method’ — it’s much more simple (and yet, so interestingly complex within our body!) than that. To burn more fat, we must keep our body and its systems strong and healthy, and exercise is a remarkable tool to help us do this.
If you are short on time, please know that when it comes to a good workout, consistent quality matters more than quantity! Focus on what you can do to move your body each day, in the time you have, especially during busier seasons of life.
Here are a few tips on fitting in fitness when time is tight:
You already know exercise is vital for your health, but are you prioritizing movement throughout the rest of your day? The average adult spends 70% of their day seated, wreaking havoc on our health. Researchers have found a strong association between too much sitting and all-cause mortality risk, even in those who meet the current minimum daily guidelines for exercise. One of the things you’ll hear me talk about a lot is the small, simple habits we can create to support our health. One of those small (but important!) habits is non-exercise activity time (or NEAT for short). If you are trying to stay healthy and maintain a healthy weight, adding more NEAT to your day may be helpful. An individual’s metabolic profile helps determine how much activity they do daily (not including sleep time). This profiling offers a way to chart your daily schedule to determine how much time you spend sitting vs. in motion (standing, walking, etc.).Why is that important? For two adults of similar size, daily energy expenditure (accounting for similarities in size-based, basal resting metabolic rate) from this type of NEAT movement can vary by as much as 2,000 calories per day. That enormous difference can significantly aid in weight loss without adding additional ‘exercise’ time.
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