Breaking the Habit

peemer123

Women in general have a hard time accepting the fact that losing weight, being lean and maintaining a healthy figure is more about eating properly and frequently as opposed to not eating and training hard. In my experience I find that most individuals do not consume enough calories on a daily basis and as a result they are unable to shed body fat because of their slowed metabolisms. Instead of increasing calories to lose weight, we resolve ourselves to eating less and working out harder, longer and more frequently. The end result is frustration, exhaustion and very moderate weight loss if any. This self imposed negligence and form of abuse to the system is a difficult habit to maintain (not to mention break) for the long term without harming ourselves. Training hard and frequently will be difficult to do effectively if energy and nutrients are lacking. The body will break down if the calories aren't present to support energy expenditure. Hard earned muscle tissue that you have sweated and suffered for will be lost and those fat stores you long to shed in your waistline, hips and wherever else will remain.

According to Eric Ravussin, Ph.D, a professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and well known obesity and exercise expert says, "In general, exercise by itself is pretty useless for weight loss." Exercise in conjunction with a well rounded healthy eating lifestyle, however, is a recipe for success. All of you should know by now that the word "diet" does not exist in my vocabulary. In fact, it's a bad word in the world of BodyRite training. I believe in creating healthy eating habits and choices that evolve into a lifestyle as a result of frequent practice. Consuming the right kinds of calories (a calorie is not just a calorie) and plenty of them on a daily basis, consistently, will yield excellent results both on the scale and in the mirror.

It is important to know and understand our metabolisms in order to appreciate the amounts of food that we require to survive and look our best. Everyone has a BMR (basal metabolic rate) which translates into the calories necessary to maintain normal metabolic functions day in and day out at rest. Incorporating exercise into the formula changes that number and increases the need for more calories every day. The formula varies dependent on the weight and fitness goals of each individual. If weight loss is your focus for instance, then we must create a deficit of the calories you take in versus the calories that you burn. I don't mean to over simplify the task of losing weight because shedding pounds is no easy task. I have been there and understand the difficulties, however, it is also within the realm of attainability for every individual as long as we understand the simple math of our bodies and pay attention to the essential component of nutrition.

With all of that being said, my point is this: nutrition and diligent eating throughout the day will be the key to your success on the scale and when trying on those designer skinny jeans you could fit into last year. Working out for long durations of time (90 minutes or more) and not eating enough good calories throughout the day will not yield the same results. Your blood sweat and tears will all be worth it if your nutrition is in check, IT IS THAT IMPORTANT.