Do I need to exercise to lose weight? I usually get this question after someone has increased their exercise frequency and duration by about 100% and haven’t seen any results….so the short answer is NO!
Don’t get me wrong, exercise is important for building muscle, improving your cardio-respiratory endurance and generally improving your metabolism but when it comes to losing weight there are two factors at play. The two Q’s: Quantity and Quality.
Quantity relates to how many calories you are eating on a daily basis. To keep it simple we are going to refer to calories as the energy that can come from a source of food. How many calories you consume determines how much energy you need to use on a daily basis.
This is the simple calories in and calories out equation. However, it is majorly affected by the second Q which is food quality. Eating a 100-calorie pop tart is a lot different than eating 100 calories of spinach. The fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients all make a big difference when it comes to how the calories are metabolized and our overall health.
One of the biggest problems we address right away with our clients is making sure they don’t have any nutritional deficiencies of either their macronutrients (Carbs, Fat and Protein) or micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Having said that if you are in a calorie deficit, meaning you eat less calories than your body burns, you will lose weight. Of course this is over simplified and if it’s not done correctly you will also lose muscle and can even affect your long term health...So do you need to exercise to lose weight? The simple answer is “no” but as we all know simple doesn’t mean easy when it comes to losing weight. We can help you make it simple and easy by guiding you through the process step by step.
The first step is the hardest, it’s the step where you have to commit to making a change, you have to go to our website and sign up for a free zoom consultation call. Why wait? Talk to you soon.
-Coach Brant