No seriously, why?
Do you exercise to get rid of the muffin top?
Do you exercise because your thighs are rubbing together?
Do you exercise because you ate too much over the holidays?
I pulled this out of an article in Time magazine, special for all of you that answered YES! to the answers above…
“In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless,” says Eric Ravussin, chair in diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State University and a prominent exercise researcher. Many recent studies have found that exercise isn’t as important in helping people lose weight as you hear so regularly in gym advertisements or on shows like The Biggest Loser — or, for that matter, from magazines like this one.
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 be making it harder.
Oh there are many benefits to exercise, such as: health, energy, vibrancy, a good sex life, better body image, less stress, better sleep, etc. So why do we (mostly) never say that we exercise for these reasons?
Do you think that if you exercised for the above mentioned “healthy” reasons to exercise that you might approach exercise differently?
Would you perhaps take a walk and enjoy your neighborhood whilst peeking in windows to see if people’s Xmas trees are still up, or would you go to the gym for yet another grueling/boring/monotonous 45 minutes on the Stairmaster?
Would you perhaps put on your favorite dance mix, clear the living room and go crazy with your awesome dance party moves, or would you put in that generic strength training video that you have watched twice and can’t stand listening to the instructor or looking at her outfit.
I have talked to countless people that have exercised like crazy only to find out that they have gained weight (me, multiple times), and I have talked to even more people that have traded in their rigorous routines for activities that they truly adored and lost weight (me again).
It can be scary to give it all up and trade it in for something new.
Read this awesome blog post from one of my favorite bloggers and see if she convinces you!
Read this article from New York Magazine!
I like to exercise now because it makes me feel alive. I like the way my leg muscles feel after a long walk. I feel sexier after a yoga class. I know that my heart is beating, my blood is pumping and my body is working the way it is supposed to. As soon as I started doing the exercise that I wanted to do I began to feel this way. Oh yeah, AND I’ve lost weight! Before it was a different story. I used to feel nauseous, exhausted and ravenous after a workout. I used to dread working out, every single time.
What kind of exercise would you be doing if you weren’t exercising to get skinny?
I exercise because of how it makes me feel – both energized and very calm. I know from experience that it doesn’t have much impact on my weight, but it does make me feel great…so I keep doing it. there’s an interesting article in the ny times from this past sunday about the struggle to lose weight and keep it off – it touches on this a bit.
Great post! I used to hate exercise, I regularly went to the gym and despised every minute of it. There was no discernible effect – I didn’t lose or gain weight, I didn’t get stronger, nothing. Just misery. About 6 weeks ago I started swimming regularly, laps twice a week and aquafit once a week, and it’s been amazing. In such a short time I can see distinct improvement in how far I can swim without getting tired, and yesterday when I had to run up stairs to catch a bus it was definitely easier. The difference is that (a) I’m doing an activity that I actually enjoy, and (b) I’m doing it out of the desire to gain strength and be more active, rather than the desire to lose weight.
Love your site Olivine! I read this post and felt inspired to chime in. I am so grateful that all the movement I do is from a desire and joy to move my body and express myself. Just like the way we use words to express how we are feeling, we can use movement. Then movement has meaning and purpose to transform us and it’s not about burning calories but feeling our soul in motion.
That’s why I created Qoya. A blend of yoga, dance and sensual movement for women based on moving your body in a way that feels more than good, ecstatic. So good, that the traditional benefits of exercise are no longer the motivating factor, but a pleasurable bi-product. The motivating factor is your joy.
I also think that more miracles happen when you dance.
Here are two free Qoya classes. One is 10 minutes for Dreaming Bigger Dreams, the second is a full hour long class for accessing that inner paradise through movement. I hope it brings you joy!
10 minute Qoya class to Dream Bigger Dreams (password: qoya)
http://www.rochelleschieck.com/qoya-online/qoya-dreaming-bigger-dreams/
A full hour long Qoya class to access your Inner Paradise
http://www.rochelleschieck.com/qoya-online/qoya-paradise/ (password: qoya)
Running until I can’t move anymore is one of my favorite things to do. It’s my “me time” and I do a lot of brainstorming and generating ideas that way.
xo
Rachael
THE PARADERS
I love sit ups and dancing as a form of exercise. I could never exercise just to be skinny and completely loathe most forms of exercising, especially running!!
Carmen Ri.
I had never felt passionate about exercise until I started pole dancing. My body feels strong, my spirit is full of joy and gratitude, and I have met an incredible community of women. Be warned- it is highly addictive!
I never advocate for exercising to lose weight or get fit and am a strong believer that exercise should be done for fun! I just began running to clear my mind and I love it…being able to eat a lot more is just a pleasant side effect!!!!
Interesting point that exercise can be counter-productive to weight loss. Of course, I do use it as an aid to tummy taming, but I enjoy walking and jogging because it helps with depression and it is a great way to perk up the caboose. The nice thing about cranking up the music and dancing while cleaning is that it is multitasking. Yay! What woman doesn’t want to get multiple things done at once? If one is ‘nauseated, exhausted and ravenous’ after exercise, what purpose is it serving? I love the picture, by the way.
I actually think that being super skinny is anything but sexy. if you’re just skin and bones, what can be sexy about that? I love working out because I build muscles and feel all the strength of my body. it is so amazing to see and feel what your body can do! I just love being healthy, my body has never felt better since I started working out on a regular basis. and losing weight is a big plus, but I’ll never be skinny and don’t want to be. I love muscles and curves in the right places!
Love this! I practice Tai Chi for inner peace and for a healthy Chi. I also do active exercise because I’m in my 30′s now and I want to make sure my body ages gracefully and I want to keep a healthy balance between health and weight. I admit it’s not easy at first, but once you find a good balance between food and excersie, just stick with it
and you will feel great!
~Erica
Thanks for visitng my blog the other day. Always makes my day to see sweet notes from new readers. Your blog is lovely.
I feel unstoppable after a dance class, and strong after weight training. And sometimes running outside in the morning feels great, but I hardly ever do it.
For me, it’s more about eating and doing things that make me feel good. It has to be a whole lifestyle tailored to your needs, not a quick DVD fix.
Love this! It is so easy for women especially (me included) to get hung up on exercising to try and lose weight as a way to try and sweat the guilt out for things we have eaten or the way we think we look.
This is a great reminder to incorporate movement and physical activity into our lives instead of – as you said – grueling gym sessions that are, in my opinion, not much fun!