I see this ALL the time in my MyFitnessPal app. People track their workouts and equate a calorie burn to what they think is going to be a body fat burn. Here are the details on that:
-We can get an “estimate” on a machine or a watch for the presumed calories expended to perform that activity, but there is NO measure to the hormonal impact it has on our systems. We can’t get a read on the stress and cortisol levels and these are what determine body fat levels.
More stress, more cortisol. More cortisol routinely put into the system commonly means more body fat. Then we mess with sleep and the hunger and satiety hormones and we can have an unhappy system in a flash.
-If you use long-endurance cardio (multiple sessions weekly, longer than 30 minutes per session) year round as your main form of activity, your body will adapt to it. Eventually you’ll need MORE and more to get a new response from the body. How much are you willing to do?
-My message: We actually were not designed to be “exercising” all the time. Yes, we are made to move and be active, but we are not wired to be under that amount of stress long term. Eventually injury and fatigue will set in.
-If food intake for your body’s stats is also low and activity output is high, the body will revolt. We need to be fed and we need some activity, but not so much that stress is always high.
-I don’t know this person or their goals, but if your goals are to lower body fat and increase muscle curves (which many report to me), this is not the strategy for that. We are a society of “more is more” and I can tell you that this mindset is sending us backwards.
-If your goal is to find a sustainable lifestyle, here is an option:
•Move and be active often, whatever activity gets you going.
•Eat real foods and eat enough to fuel your activity.
•If you want muscle and the potential for lower body fat, lift weights more than you cardio and give your system a chance to add shape and curve slowly over time.
I’m a former Cardio Bunny now converted. I learned the hard way. Long duration cardio for long durations of time is not how it’s done.
#itiswhatitis #dontshootthemessenger