ReformedCharacter wrote:
Itsallaguess wrote:
I think exercise still has a key role to play in terms of general fitness.
Itsallaguess
I quite agree with that. But, whenever I hear people talking about exercising
to lose weight I think that it's a hard way to do it.
I do an - admittedly modest session - on an exercise bike regularly and according to the calorie readout on the bike I burn enough calories to equate to 2 or 3 plain digestive biscuits.
If I was trying to lose weight (which I'm not) it would be a heck of a lot easier to just not eat them in the first place.
I think you're dead right that in terms of trying to purely use exercise to 'lose weight' then it would be a difficult slog on it's own, but I definitely find that having a good, regular, and varied exercise routine helps enormously with the whole '
food mindset' thing too, which I actually think is one of the 'hidden benefits' of exercise, in that you just seem to end up with a more healthy approach to food as well, anyway, as a sort of by-product of just turning in that general 'direction'....
I suppose it's perhaps how we're wired - do we come back from a good bit of exercise and think that we need to 'reward ourselves' with something, or do we come back with a mindset of 'not wanting to spoil that effort'?
I certainly wouldn't claim to always live in the latter frame of mind, and I am quite capable of indulging in things that would definitely fall into the 'treat' category, but I think I land
enough in the second frame of mind for it to be worthwhile, as I think I'd definitely live more indulgently with regards to food if I
didn't exercise....
So for me, the exercise is simply 'part of the package', and continuing to do that side of things most definitely, for me at least, helps steer me onto the 'better side' of food as well, and it quickly starts to form a sort of 'baseline' dual-pronged approach, with each side helping to remind me of the other....
I think it also helps to properly start to look at the calorie-content of just what we're regularly putting into our mouths. I'm constantly shocked at some of the stuff I really like to snack on, and I do try to ration myself through the week regarding the most calorie-compact stuff.
If only it didn't all taste so nice!!
Cheers,
Itsallaguess