Do Not Exercise to Lose Weight!?
Haven’t we all been told we need to exercise—to lose weight?
Or exercise to—stay in shape! Or exercise to—get our figures back? While these
are all well intentioned statements they do not seem to really hold the key as
to why we—MUST exercise!
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| Exercise for YOU! |
We MUST Exercise
We really need to exercise for so many reasons, but to lose
weight is really not one of them. I recently had gotten into a tiff with my
sister and when I got off the phone the first thing I thought to do was to get
on the treadmill and listen to my iPod! Why? Not to lose weight, not even because
it was on my to do list for the day. But because I inherently know that when I
am stressed that getting on the treadmill for 20–30 minutes will make me feel
better. I don’t even need to sit down and look at my alternatives, I just go to
the gym or walk around the block and try to clear my head (of the drama!! Sorry
Sis!!)
Daily Exercise is Also a MUST
We often hear well-meaning people say to workout 3–4 times a
week, as if that is some magic number to keep you in shape. But here is the
number you want to go for “7”. Each day your body needs to move and lift and
expend energy! Every day, not just a few times a week. Everything that is
important to keep you alive needs to be done every day, think about it:
brushing your teeth, eating, voiding your bladder and bowels, breathing…you get
the idea. Exercise needs to be in the daily category, not the, “When I can fit
it in category.”
When Should You NOT Exercise?
As always there are exceptions to every rule: If you are
truly exhausted to the point that you could injure yourself (I recommend laying
down in bed and lightly stretching—if you have never done stretching before,
learn some basic stretches so that you are stretching properly), or if you are
sick and need your rest (but again stretching may be an option…), and also if
you are recovering from physical injury then of course ask your doctor what
course of action to take when it comes to your physical exertion, but more than
likely they want you up and going a little bit, too.
So Why NOT Exercise to Lose Weight?
Maybe I should have started with this, but then maybe not…the
truth is: If you look at exercise as a way to lose weight you will have a
tendency to consider exercise as a swap of calories for food. Meaning it would
become all too easy to say, “I don’t have time to exercise today—I will just
skip the latte or dessert.” No, no, no! You cannot swap out exercise for a
reduction in eating! Ever, never, ever!!!
Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet and soon to be released (in just days—really we are down to hours) TimerOrganizer
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Thanks for sharing your comments. I can't wait to read them! Sherri Sue Fisher