Is Exercise Beneficial For Staying Thin?

How hard is it for you to keep a straight face when one of your friends or family members starts to tell you how much they enjoy exercise? They go on to describe, in detail, their weekly routine of strength training and aerobics. At about the time they reach the point of telling you about their Thursday kickboxing class, you're ready to scream.

You'd never be able to find the time to spend 90 minutes at the gym every day. Needless to say, even if you could carve out a chunk of time, you can't imagine going on the same tirade about how much you loved your daily sweat sessions. Wouldn't it be great if you could tell this person that all of their time spent in the gym is a total waste?

You might just get your opportunity to do so. The majority of gym-goers pay for their membership simply because they want to lose weight or stay slimmed down. But as it turns out, exercise isn't really the key to weight loss and maintaining an ideal body type.

The best way to ensure that you look good in our jeans, and this includes your aerobically attuned friend, you need to eat right. While exercise is beneficial to your overall health, bouts of 30-40 minutes four times a week is all you need to reap the cardiovascular and brain-healthy benefits. However, if looking good is a priority, above all else, proper diet and nutrition are required for anyone to stay at a healthy bodyweight for their height.

In fact, exercise might even backfire if your goal is weight loss. Studies show that most women who began a moderate or rigorous exercise regimen, during which they exercise 60-90 minutes most days of the week, end up eating more than they had before they started. Rewarding yourself with a muffin or extra helping of pasta after a hard workout serves to negate the energy expenditure.

A single muffin might not seem so horrible. But you might not think so if you realize how much physical activity it would take to use the calories that a post-workout snack contains. A single muffin can contain as many as 360 calories. This means that you would need to mow the lawn for 66 minutes, jog for 33 minutes, lift weights for 115 minutes or fold laundry for 230 minutes before that muffin is all used up.

Also, exercise sends your appetite into overdrive. The human species was not designed for strenuous physical activity. We were meant to be moderately active throughout our waking hours. So when we run five miles in the morning, our body compensates this energy loss with an extra bagel.

And if you think you have the ability to use will power and discipline to help you sidestep the pitfalls of increased appetite and using food as a reward, think again. We can only fight our biological make-up for so long. Ask any yo-yo dieter and binge eater. The act of fighting against your natural tendencies will only make the problem worse. You'll end up gaining more weight than what you had initially set out to lose.

The next time you find yourself stuck in a conversation with a fitness guru you might want to stop and remember this article. If there happens to be a blueberry muffin nearby, offer one to your pro-exercise friend. Hopefully they'll be thrilled by the news of how much more time they'll need to spend in their favorite place on Earth.

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