Time magazine article "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin"

Ok. So I saw a Time magaine in the break room that on the cover said "THE MYTH ABOUT EXERCISE". So I pick it up thinking maybe it has work out tips, cardio tips, form tips, etc. Cause I love to read and even though I have a trainer, I figure the more tips the better. Then I open the magazine and the actual article is titled "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin". And I'm actually surprised. It's 4 pages of this guy ranting about how exercise really isn't that good for you. Why you won't lose weight, you'll gain weight, and how instead of maintaining his weight, if he didn't exercise he would probably lose the weight (and yet he still goes to the gym to do cardio, takes exercise classes, and pays a personal trainer.....hmmm....not very logical to me but go figure).

His argument - get this - is that exercising makes you hungry. So you eat more. So you gain weight instead of losing weight.  Direct quote "The basic problem is that while it's true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can stimulate hunger. That causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate the weight loss benefits we just accrued. Exercise, in other words, isn't necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even make it harder." 

I KNOW!!! Can you believe it?! I was totally speechless for like 5 minutes and - as most of you know - me speechless is kinda hard to accomplish.  So this John Cloud of Time magazine is telling me that this year in the gym and 104 pounds lost was a figment of my imagination?! Cause if so, my imagination is truly awesome cause that was some painful imagination let me tell you.

I will give him this - there are days I am ravenous after a hard workout. So I go home, and eat healthy. Grab some fruit, drink a protein shake, eat a protein bar - not all three at the same time - but you get the point.  I eat more of healthy stuff and don't swing by the Cane's next to the gym (whoever put that there is EVIL) and get fried food.  Because it is so a combination of both eating right and exercising. You can't tell me otherwise.  I'll probably post another blog on December 7 (since it will have been exactly a year of me going to the gym) with my weight and inch loss total - it was going to be a surprise but I wanted people to see that if I can do this thing, anyone can do this thing - and I should probably email it to this John Cloud quack to prove he is wrong!!!  But you know what? For some insane reason there is a flip side - there are days I am just not hungry and have to remind myself to eat something.  So it kind of evens itself out.

Sorry. Might have been more rant than blog. But it kind of ticks me off that someone will read the magazine article and think they don't have to exercise to get healthy.  It's like the people that prey on the couch crowd with their ab-belts that work more muscles than sit ups or crunches and give you the 12 pack stomach by just wearing them because the belt does the work for you.  Try telling your trainer you are getting one of those instead of doing said situps or crunches and see how far that gets you. Or you can get tone, sleek arms from that stupid bounce stick thing that you shake and for 2 minutes a day, you too can have sleeve-less worthy arms.

Is eating healthy easy? NO. Is it fun, exciting, and flavor-ful? NO.  Are there times you're going to slip and eat junk? Oh YEAH.  But as one of my friends reminded me - I've been eating badly for 30 years. Now I've been trying to eat healthy for 11 months. Which habit is a little bit stronger?  But you know what? Honestly, you have to treat yourself once in a while - and a little treat  don't go all crazy - and decide I'm not going to feel guilty about this.  I, for one, am already eyeing some homemade caramel at my aunt's house for Thanksgiving tomorrow.  Limiting myself to one or two pieces.

You know that stupid saying, "No pain, no gain"? I hate that saying. Someone says it to me and I just want to smack them and ask them "what was that about pain?" But I digress. I would never smack someone. Honest.  The saying is kind of true. I feel secretly satisfied when my muscles are sore and achy - it means I did something productive. Of course sometimes I wish they weren't cause I wake myself up at night just rolling over.  I can't remember the last time I wasn't a little bit tired. Or sore. But that's not the point. The point is that diet AND exercise are the key to losing weight and reaching then maintaining the healthy lifestyle.  That and no more Time magazines for me.

One week in...

....and I'm ready for it to be finished already!!! Aparently, carbohydrates provide your body with energy. So when you cut down on the carbs it forces your body to dig down and provide it's own energy source - from the fat it has stored for that rainy day.  At least that's how I understand that it works.  So the first day wasn't too bad actually - I logged my food and the breakdown came back as 50% carbs and 40% protein and 10% fat.  So I texted my trainer because while I did indeed increase my protein intake as instructed, it was still a lot of carbs.  And sure enough my goal is 20% carbs.  So I cut out the banana and the milk. Which makes my total carbohydrate intake about 30%.  And the difference was instantaneous! I have much less energy. I think I actually worried my trainer on Friday because I got dizzy and wouldn't talk. I felt bad - I wasn't trying to be rude, honest. I may not be too thrilled with him, but I didn't really talk because I am so tired in the afternoons that I can't form coherent thoughts. So that's what made me switch my protein shake to my morning snack and make tuna my afternoon snack - so I can have solid food before I work out. 

And then I might have sort of over compensated by drinking 4 cups of coffee every day - which has made cafeine withdraws fun this weekend. So new goal for next week is one cup a day. Because I can't get let myself get dependent on the cafeine to provide energy.  So I'm reminding myself that this is going to make me lose pure body fat - because my body is having to dig deep and use the fat since there are no carbs for it to use.  And we'll truck on through the second week.  Third week will be fun, because I'm going off for one day for Thanksgiving - with the goal of not going crazy - so this high protein thing will last until the end of November. And then....we'll see what happens. But I know it's going to be good to have one cookie! And it'll be good to see the results of this.

Never Say Diet

Ok, so I may have mentioned this before, but I hate the word diet. I go on a "diet" and I gain weight because all I can think of is food. So when my new trainer said he wanted me to go on a high protein lower carbohydrate diet for three weeks I agreed because he's my trainer, seems to know what he's talking about, and change is good for your body in the weight loss world.  And I have dreaded this ever since. I've been fighting the cravings for anything and everything that I can't eat for the next three weeks.  Then today I realized this is probably not the best attitude to go into this adventure with.  So I'm going in claiming Mark 9:23 where Jesus says  “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

Here is the eating plan for the next three weeks:
Breakfast: 2 packets of instant oatmeal. Plus I get to have my cup of coffee!!! But I had to promise to drink a cup of coffee with a little cream instead of my usual cup of cream with a little coffee.
Morning Snack: banana and a packet of tuna fish (probably with a little time in between since that doesn't sound like a good combo).
Lunch: chicken, fish, or turkey sandwich - wheat bread with mustard, lettuce, tomato and pickles only.
Afternoon snack: protein meal replacement powder in skim milk
Dinner: Chicken, fish or turkey - 6 to 8 oz with a vegetable
Late snack: tuna packet

So the average daily calorie intake is 1100-1200 calories. This will be interesting, but I'm gonna do it!