By Michelle Pearl, CosMed Clinic’s Guest Blogger
The truth is that exercise and I did not start out as such fast friends. When you are an obese kid, you immediately dislike most physical, “sports-like” activities innately.
Being the fat kid brings on a whole fresh set of humiliations when you are always the last one to circle the track in PE and when you make such a nice large easy target during dodge ball.
But here is the naked truth that I finally had to face: if you need to lose weight and you are not willing to add exercise to your life you might as well dive head first into a bowl of potato chips right now, because your chances of succeeding at losing weight and keeping it off will be pretty much nonexistent anyway.
Reason #1: Trying to lose weight without exercising is like trying to row a boat with one paddle. You are going to cut back on your caloric intake and your metabolism is going to slow down. It won’t take long before you start losing weight so slowly that it will feel like you are going nowhere. Exercise is the only thing that you can do to increase your metabolism. And it will keep your metabolism up for up to 24 hours after you stop exercising. It is the second paddle that you need to keep your weight loss boat heading in the right direction.
Reason #2: Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it may also be the best way to lose fat—as long as you’re imitating the right people. The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR)—an organization comprised of doctors and researchers—keeps track of over 5,000 people who have lost at least 30 pounds and have kept it off for at least one year. While there are several striking similarities in the habits of most successful losers, one habit stands out head-and-shoulders above the rest: 94% of the long-term losers exercise regularly.
Reason #3: Have you ever wondered how world-class athletes are able to eat so much and not become overweight? Certainly, they are burning calories through training, but there is another key reason. When you eat any type of carbohydrates (sugars, pasta, bread, potatoes, rice, beans, cereal, etc.), your body immediately uses a portion of the carbs for energy, then stores the rest in your liver and muscle cells as a back-up power source. Once those back-up sites are full, what’s left turns into fat for long-term storage. However, physical training can increase your body’s ability to store excess carbs up to fivefold. Simply put—exercising allows you to be able to consume more carbohydrates than you could if you weren’t exercising and still lose weight.
When it comes to winning the weight loss battle, exercise is the best weapon you could possibly have in your personal arsenal.
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Bio:
Michelle Pearl, is an actual patient of CosMed Clinic who had reconstructive surgery with Dr. Quiroz after her weight loss. She is also a CPT, GFI, LWMC fitness expert, entrepreneur, former award-winning newspaper columnist and the author of Wake Up, You Are Probably Never Going to Look Like That; How to be Happier, Healthier and Imperfectly Fit. For more information visit: www.ImperfectFitness.com or visit her blog at www.FedUpFemale.com
