One common mistake that people make is assuming that in order to lose weight they must start exercising; or the belief that when they exercise, they have then “earned”, in some way, unhealthy foods. Well, both of those assumptions are highly inaccurate. Let me explain…
When
someone asks me what exercises they should do for weight loss, I instead
immediately ask, “How is your diet?” Nutrition and diet is by far the #1 cause
for weight gain and loss. Once proper diet and nutrition is in place, THEN add
exercise and activity into your routine. The reason is this:
Below is an example of the calories I burned doing the step mill for cardio plus lifting weights for my shoulders. It took me about an hour or so of both advanced cardio and intense lifting to burn those calories.
A good cardio session lasting from 45-60 minutes would burn, on average, around 500-600 calories. An hour long workout is equivalent
in calories to ONE Big Mac( 550 calories)!!! One… No fries, no soda, no
dessert. And for those thinking they’re eating healthy, a grilled chicken
sandwich from McDonald’s has 510 calories. So if you have a poor diet, then you
will be WASTING YOUR TIME doing physical activity. The fastest way to cut
calories is through food. Period. This is why I tell people to instead spend
that hour at home cooking healthy meals for yourself that will prevent
purchasing fast food or junk food. Once a healthy diet is in place, then we can
discuss exercise. And this is also why abs are made in the kitchen. If anyone
ask me for ab workouts, I tell them to eat better and lift weights. Ab visibility
is based on overall decreased body fat. You can have a 6 pack, but if it’s
under 2 inches of fat, no one will be able to see it….
Now in order to understand calorie and fat loss, one must be able to do simple math. That’s it. No tricks, no magic, no crazy diets and drugs. Just math.
1 lb of fat is equal to 3500
calories. So in order to lose a pound of fat per week there must be a calorie deficit
of 3500 calories within a week’s time. The easiest way to create this deficit
is by both increasing calories burned and decreasing calories taken in.
This is where food journaling comes
in. You MUST KNOW what you’re eating and how much you’re eating in order to
make the changes necessary to have a healthy diet. So many people in America
are just going through the motions, having NO CLUE what they are putting in
their mouths and into their bodies. People often think it’s strange or
obsessive that I usually know, in every meal I prepare, how much calories,
carbs, or protein is in my food. Meanwhile I think it’s strange that they don’t!
What in this world is more important than what you put into your body….?
NOTHING.
Above is an example of a food journal. Personally, I have always just used composition notebooks. They are small enough to throw in my gym bag and to take everywhere with me.
Comments
Post a Comment