Exercise: Magic in Motion
Regular physical activity is my lifestyle prescription for wellness; it’s not only integral to physical fitness but mental wellbeing as well. It’s also a primary key to achieving - and maintaining- a healthy weight.
Our relatively sedentary lifestyles are a significant contributory, if not the primary causative, factor in our worldwide weight epidemic. Fat is not mysterious; it’s unused energy. Weight loss is not mysterious; use the energy to lose the fat. Eat less (calories) to store less fat. You can actually eat more food in terms of volume and still lose weight if you focus on nutrient-dense foods.
The benefits of physical activity go far beyond mere weight loss. Physical inactivity, in and of itself, is inflammatory and is an independent risk factor for our top killers, like cardiovascular disease. This is incredible news since this is a readily modifiable factor.
We may have an onslaught of conflicting recommendations regarding which diet is best, but it is fairly well universally accepted that exercise is a prerequisite for optimal overall mental and physical health, as well as achievement of a sustainable healthy weight. Engaging in regular physical activity can be a game changer for your weight loss efforts. If you’ve struggled losing weight and tried various diets but don’t exercise consistently, engaging in physical activity is likely the missing piece in your weight loss puzzle.
Instead of just telling you to “move more”, as the mantra goes, I want you to appreciate the strategic importance of exercise to a sustainable healthy weight and deeply appreciate the overall physiological and psychological benefits of exercise in general so you stay motivated. Let’s delve into a few of the ways that exercise can help boost your weight loss efforts in general and significantly increase your likelihood of sustaining a healthy weight in particular.
The increasing prevalence of excess weight/obesity parallels the increasing sedentary nature of lifestyles over the past few decades. It has been posited, and makes common sense, that this unfortunate reality is primarily attributable to the environment and lifestyle factors. A lot of people seem to think their genetics are responsible for their weight difficulties, but genetics did not fundamentally change over the past several decades, while the environment has become increasingly obesogenic, or obesity-inducing.
We live in a modern world where positive energy balance (aka, “weight gain”) is promoted via pressures toward increased caloric intake and disincentives to be active. We have ready availability of relatively inexpensive, energy-dense, highly palatable food; endless convenient fast food and delivery services; targeted marketing campaigns; a trend of supersized value “portions”; and increased stress, sleep deprivation and digestive issues, which have a propensity to induce poor dietary choices in terms of both quality and quantity. Technology has made it less necessary to be physically active (at work, home, or school) while simultaneously increasing distractions to entertain and engage us at the expense of exercise and physical leisure activities. Incidental physical activity has decreased and people have deprioritized exercise, allotting ever-increasing time to technological devices and outlets. More people spend time scrolling the Internet for nutrition and fitness tips instead of actually devoting the time to cooking healthy and exercising.
There is substantial data that different activity levels contribute to differences in body weight and composition and numerous studies consistently demonstrate an inverse relationship between physical activity levels and obesity markers, such as body mass index. The conclusion is that relatively high levels of physical activity are protective against development of obesity while low levels are a significant risk factor for development of obesity. We have an epidemic of obesity and an epidemic of inactivity and it is clear that the latter plays a primary role in the former.
It confounds me that so many people fixate on making either dietary recommendations or physical activity recommendations when a reasonable combination of healthy dietary choices and regular moderate physical activity is the best strategy for a sustainable healthy weight and overall mental and physical health. It also seems that the majority of the focus is on diet instead of exercise even though regular physical activity seems to be the determinant in whether or not weight loss success is sustained.
I am a die-hard proponent of regular exercise and I sincerely hope to convert you if you aren’t already with me on this one. Regular physical activity is an incredible lifestyle habit for achieving - and, critically, maintaining - weight loss. It is critical to your health span and your life span. I don’t exercise as a New Year’s resolution or for “swimsuit season”; we all absolutely should engage regularly in physical activity for a plethora of reasons beyond aesthetics or weight loss.
Achieving a healthy weight is, of course, an excellent reason to exercise in and of itself. I am committed to exercising though for my overall mental wellbeing (including my mood, my cognitive functioning, and my general brain health), and my physical wellbeing (including my immunity, my heart health and avoidance of most ailments and degenerative diseases). Exercising regularly helps us age well, reducing our likelihood of having mobility issues, osteoporosis, sarcopenia (muscle wasting), morbidities/diseases (e.g., high blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases and strokes), dementia, and premature mortality.
I implore you not to overthink this one or think you need a gym membership, fancy equipment, or a personal trainer, etc. You truly can do so much with simply your body. Throw in a mat (or a towel or a blanket), some weights (or water bottles) and you’re good to go. I used to have a lot of exercise equipment but I travel and move a lot and rely primarily just on my body to engage in effective exercise.
There are definitely confusing, confounding warring factions over what diet is best, but there is overwhelming consensus as to the necessity of regularly engaging in physical activity for mental and physical health and the beneficial impact of exercise for achieving a sustainable healthy weight. Exercise is integral to smart weight loss, overall health and vitality, and aging well. Regular physical activity is a “KISS” fundamental.
If you’re interested in learning more about this topic or more evidence-based tips for a healthy weight, you can read more about it in my book, “Eat the Cupcake, not the Cake.”
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