Many people, myself included, when they think about losing weight, gravitate towards exercising more. Instinctually, we know that as we age, we slow down and we are not nearly as active as when we were younger. I think of myself as an athlete, and therefore, it is intuitive to me that if I want to lose weight I need to burn more calories. Besides that, it is just more fun to exercise than to think of limiting my caloric intake (boring and hard). But experience has taught me that although helpful, exercise alone is not going to get me where I need to go.
If you have ever worked out on a machine like a treadmill or stationary bicycle, you too may have been amazed to see how hard you have to work to burn 300 calories. I am usually well into my workout and starting to think about it being over by the time I cross that threshold, if I even do. Contrast that amount of effort with drinking a Coke or eating a bag of potato chips, where you can quickly consume 300 empty calories.
My neighbor is into running marathons. While I do not have a strong desire to try that, I do know that running is one of the more efficient ways to burn calories. However, one of the things I have noticed about myself, is that when I start to exercise more, I usually start eating more as well. I do that because I feel I have “earned” the right to eat more calories or less healthy food, which mitigates, if not totally offsets the positive effect from exercising. While I know I could lose weight if I trained for a marathon, I wonder what would happen to me after the race was over, I got injured or as I grow older and can not run as much?
I am not knocking exercise, it makes me feel great and it is an important part of my current plan to lose weight and be more healthy. This time, however, my plan is based on eating a more healthy amount of good food (portion control) and supplementing it all with exercise.
About five years ago I did a sprint triathlon with my sister in Massachusetts. I had trained for the race somewhat half-heartedly ahead of time, relying on the fact that I had completed a similar race four years earlier (with much more training). I was able to complete it, but when I looked at the photographs of myself afterwards, I really did not like how I looked. Besides the aesthetics, objectively, I looked too heavy to have been in that race. In hindsight, I think I pushed myself too hard for the shape I was in and it was dangerous.
Note to self, its probably a better idea to do what I am doing now, focusing on diet supplemented by exercise, until I get to a more healthy weight level. Once I reach that point, then I can consider if I want to train for another race.
Last, I got on the scale again today. Result – weight 214 lbs, a loss of 5 lbs since Monday a week ago and 10 lbs since I began this effort. I am very happy about this result AND I realize that this pace of loss is going to inevitably slow down.
Consumption:
Honeynut Cheerios and Bran Chex with milk
25 almonds
A turkey on wheat bread sandwich with bacon and avocado
Breaded chicken cooked in olive oil
Steamed Broccoli
Apple
4 crackers with brie cheese
Exercise:
Ran for 30 minutes on the treadmill
Rowing machine for 7 minutes
10 minutes of weightlifting
My Fitness Pal calculated I consumed 2100 calories which is 200 above my goal, but exercise gave me 500 extra, so I was 300 calories below the target.
If you have ever worked out on a machine like a treadmill or stationary bicycle, you too may have been amazed to see how hard you have to work to burn 300 calories. I am usually well into my workout and starting to think about it being over by the time I cross that threshold, if I even do. Contrast that amount of effort with drinking a Coke or eating a bag of potato chips, where you can quickly consume 300 empty calories.
My neighbor is into running marathons. While I do not have a strong desire to try that, I do know that running is one of the more efficient ways to burn calories. However, one of the things I have noticed about myself, is that when I start to exercise more, I usually start eating more as well. I do that because I feel I have “earned” the right to eat more calories or less healthy food, which mitigates, if not totally offsets the positive effect from exercising. While I know I could lose weight if I trained for a marathon, I wonder what would happen to me after the race was over, I got injured or as I grow older and can not run as much?
I am not knocking exercise, it makes me feel great and it is an important part of my current plan to lose weight and be more healthy. This time, however, my plan is based on eating a more healthy amount of good food (portion control) and supplementing it all with exercise.
About five years ago I did a sprint triathlon with my sister in Massachusetts. I had trained for the race somewhat half-heartedly ahead of time, relying on the fact that I had completed a similar race four years earlier (with much more training). I was able to complete it, but when I looked at the photographs of myself afterwards, I really did not like how I looked. Besides the aesthetics, objectively, I looked too heavy to have been in that race. In hindsight, I think I pushed myself too hard for the shape I was in and it was dangerous.
Note to self, its probably a better idea to do what I am doing now, focusing on diet supplemented by exercise, until I get to a more healthy weight level. Once I reach that point, then I can consider if I want to train for another race.
Last, I got on the scale again today. Result – weight 214 lbs, a loss of 5 lbs since Monday a week ago and 10 lbs since I began this effort. I am very happy about this result AND I realize that this pace of loss is going to inevitably slow down.
Consumption:
Honeynut Cheerios and Bran Chex with milk
25 almonds
A turkey on wheat bread sandwich with bacon and avocado
Breaded chicken cooked in olive oil
Steamed Broccoli
Apple
4 crackers with brie cheese
Exercise:
Ran for 30 minutes on the treadmill
Rowing machine for 7 minutes
10 minutes of weightlifting
My Fitness Pal calculated I consumed 2100 calories which is 200 above my goal, but exercise gave me 500 extra, so I was 300 calories below the target.
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