Why You Should Never Exercise To Lose Weight
Look at you, hitting the gym, all decked out in your swanky new workout gear. You’re the embodiment of determination and resolve, pounding away on that treadmill or hurling those dumbbells with a single, singular goal in mind: to shed those pesky pounds. Right?
But what if I told you that you might be going about this weight loss thing all wrong? What if I said that exercising to lose weight isn’t the best use of your time?
Now, don’t get your sweatbands in a twist. I’m not saying stop exercising altogether. Nope, that’s far from it. I’m just saying, don’t hit the gym exclusively to lose weight. “Why?” you ask, with a mix of confusion and despair. Well, let’s explore why below.
8 reasons why you shouldn’t exercise to lose weight
1. Exercise stokes your appetite
When you’re burning off calories at the gym, your body naturally responds by ramping up your hunger levels. It’s a simple demand-supply equation. And guess what? People often end up eating more post-workout than they’ve burned, which defeats the purpose.
2. Spot reduction is a myth
Spot reduction refers to the idea that exercising a specific area of the body will result in fat loss in that particular area.
Well, I hate to break it to you, but our bodies don’t work that way. Those hundreds of crunches aren’t targeting your belly fat. You can’t choose where to lose fat from. It’s the overall body fat percentage that counts.
Not a major problem if you want general fat loss, but it might get frustrating if you’re trying to shed fat from specific areas.
3. Calorie burn is overstated
That fancy treadmill screen is pretty generous with the “calories burned” count. Realistically, you don’t burn as many calories as you think during exercise. It’s a well-known fact that people overstate how many calories they burn and understate how many calories they consume.
And those extra couple of bites you take of that pizza? They can easily exceed the calories you’ve burned, without you even knowing it.
4. Weight doesn’t tell the whole story
So you’ve lost a few pounds, great. But did you know that muscle weighs more than fat? If you’re building muscle in the gym (and you should be), your scale might not budge or might even go up.
That’s why you can’t obsess over weight when exercising. Instead, focus on body composition and how you feel. Can you walk longer distances without getting out of breath? Do your clothes fit better? Weight simply doesn’t give you an accurate picture of your progress at the gym.
5. Your body adapts to exercise
At first, your body may burn heaps of calories. But, as it becomes more efficient with regular exercise, it starts burning less. This means you’ll hit a plateau eventually if your only weight-loss strategy is exercise. And that’s when the dejection and frustration will set in…
6. Exercise can increase stress
If done excessively, exercise can lead to increased cortisol levels (the stress hormone), which can encourage weight gain, particularly around the midsection. You need to balance exercise with rest and recovery to keep those hormones in check.
7. How much (or how little) you eat is the real determiner of weight
Simply put, what goes into your body is far more important than what you burn off in the gym. You could be sweating buckets every day, but if you’re chowing down on unhealthy, calorie-dense foods, your efforts could be for naught.
Exercise and diet need to go hand-in-hand for successful weight management. You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. Trust me, I’ve seen many try and fail.
Weight loss is pretty much 80% diet and 20% exercise. This means that, if you want to lose weight, you need to control your calorie intake.
8. Exercise obsession is real, and it’s not fun
The pursuit of weight loss can easily turn into an unhealthy fixation on exercise. As we constantly chase the numbers on the scale, we risk turning a healthy habit into a compulsive routine.
Hours at the gym, daily double workout sessions, skipping social events to exercise… these are all signs of an unhealthy relationship with exercise. There really is such a thing as doing “too much” exercise, ya know.
So what should you do instead?
Well, the mantra should be, don’t just exercise to lose weight, but exercise to be healthy and fit. Now that sounds more appealing, doesn’t it? Physical activity has a bounty of benefits: it strengthens your heart, improves bone density, boosts your mood, enhances cognitive function, and the list goes on.
Simultaneously, focus on nutrition. Eating a well-rounded, portion-controlled diet with ample fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains can do wonders for your waistline. And remember, there’s no rush. It’s about long-term lifestyle changes, not short-term fixes.
Don’t let the scale be the sole judge of your success, either. Focus on feeling better, being stronger, and living a healthier, happier life. Put on those workout clothes, not to just shed pounds, but to empower yourself.