 |
| "Mmmmm.... strength training?" |
I'm here to give you the true secret to weight loss, the one thing that nobody seems to get. The absolute sure-fire way for anyone to burn more than 1,000 calories in a single day. Ready for it?
Are you sure?
OK, here it is: Nothing.
That's right, don't do anything. As soon as you wake up, don't get up! Just lie there completely still, breathing in and out, and you'll burn more than 1,000 calories without even trying.
This is your resting metabolic rate, or how many calories you burn in a day without doing anything. It can be a little eye opening to see how many calories we actually burn in a day just going about our business — but this leads me to my second point: how much effort should we be putting into burning more than that?
If weight loss is our ultimate goal, there is a certain flawed logic in trying to burn off calories faster than we consume them. Our body burns the majority of the calories we could ever hope to burn just by existing, and when you actually put some thought into how much effort has to go into burning extra calories on top of your RMR, well, it's not exactly a great return on investment.
For instance, according to www.myplate.com, jogging at 5 miles per hour for an hour burns about 390 calories (if you're a 154-pound 5-foot-10 man that is). What they don't tell you, is you were probably going to burn some of those up anyways if you were sitting on the couch. So let's be generous and say an hour of jogging only burns 290 calories.
Now, ignoring the less than ideal ROI jogging has to begin with, plus the negatives (getting hit by a car, ankle/knee injuries, being seen by your friends) what exactly did that hour of "cardio" get you? It got you that large donut your co-worker gave you. Or, maybe it got you that half-slice of pizza you had left over from your kid's birthday party. The point is, it is MUCH easier and MUCH healthier in the long run and the short run (no pun intended) to skip the donut in the first place, rather than try to spend hours burning it off later.
(Note: If you enjoy running, good for you! I encourage people to partake in activities that bring them happiness. Just don't feel like you have to partake to be healthy, especially if you don't enjoy it!)
So if we're not exercising to burn calories, why are we exercising at all? I'm glad you asked.
True exercise isn't about energy expenditure. It's about becoming as strong as genetically possible, so you can roll with any punches that life throws your way. Instead of focusing on the endless cycle of trying to burn off what you just ate, flip the paradigm on its head and fuel your body's lean tissue growth with nutrient dense foods like eggs, fish, fowl, meat, low-sugar fruits and fibrous vegetables, all of which help you feel full longer, and eliminate the ability to over consume.
We should ultimately be eating foods that our body wants to utilize completely, instead of those that our body wants to burn off rapidly.
If you want to start turning your body into an efficient calorie-burning furnace, call 425-214-2251 or email matt@efficient-fitness.com to set up your free introductory appointment today.