How to Best Exercise for Weight Loss
Why Do We Keep Exercise Light?
How Much Can I Use?
Want to Know Why We Limit Exercise during Weight Loss?
Exercise is great but regardless of what you may have heard on Oprah, it is not the silver bullet for achieving weight loss. You simply cannot exercise your way out of fat.
Without paying close attention to the fuel demands required for that additional activity, and the effect of muscle burn, you will end up regaining any perceived loss on the scale. Exercise is fantastic for maintaining your desired weight and building muscle tone and with cardio... the health benefits including to the brain are monumental. But while you are in a weight-loss mode (specifically fat loss), the myth out there: “eat less, exercise more” could not be more counterproductive.
You see, the more you exercise, the more fuel you require to maintain metabolism, to have energy, and to feel satisfied… this means taking on calories. The rub is that with those added calories your body does not need to get into fat stores for energy.
Exercise Creates a Need for More Calories
On most weight loss programs, including ours at BonVie, calories are reduced. But if we are over-exercising, we are increasing our need for calories and if we do not intake sufficient calories while placing extra demand on muscle we will burn that muscle. Muscle uses fat for fuel – so if we end up with less muscle than we started with then we are at a disadvantage for burning fat at the end of the “diet”. This is a primary reason for the Yo-Yo weight loss/weight gain effect.
Muscle Uses Fat for Fuel
As humans, we have three main sources of fuel: glucose from sugars and carbohydrates, muscle, and finally fat. And we tend to burn in that order. Wonderful, right?! The fact is our bodies are designed to build and hold onto fat for the sake of preservation. We have not evolved very much in that regard…
To get into fat loss then, we must reduce carbohydrates significantly and maintain our muscle with high–biological/low-calorie protein. We keep exercise to a minimum in the early stages of fat loss to enable you to feel great while on a lower calorie regime and to not compromise fat burning through muscle wasting.
Can I Exercise At All?
Yes!
On the BonVie program, we still want you to exercise but keep it to mild intensity in order to spare that lean muscle mass. You want to avoid working up a sweat or breathing too hard, signs that you are exerting too much energy and creating a need for more calories.
Walking, (briskly even better) is a fabulous way to keep your endorphins up and your muscles toned. It also gives you a chance to breathe, relax and warm up your mind before or after work and have that essential “me” time. 20- 30 minutes and a safe neighborhood route will deliver what you need. Core exercise is also great! Static exercises like planks, bridges and balanced core work are excellent since they tone and increase muscle capacity and strength, which in turn helps burn more fat, without burning too many calories. If you have questions about specific exercises or your current regimen, please ask a coach here at BonVie!
Don’t Sweat It – Just Eat Right
If a person exercises more and eats less than they’re used to – they’re putting themselves at a disadvantage and will end up burning more muscle and less fat - which is not helpful to your weight loss goals. For optimum, quick fat loss and being equipped to maintain that fat loss, we want you to take it easy on the exercise and focus on what you’re fueling your body with.
For those who are entering maintenance or who still insist on significant exercise during their fat-loss program, we will guide you through a modified eating approach along with how to use Branched Chain Amino Acids to help rebuild that compromised muscle. Stay tuned as we talk about BCAA’s in a future post.