Exercise makes you happy – I agree!

Have you ever noticed that some people smile more, they laugh out loud, enjoy helping others, or they sing or hum at random? I will bet those folks know that their exercise routine helps them to maintain that happiness. An article in MindBodyGreen (and online newsletter) had a cool article on this topic. If you want to read the whole article, google it. Here is a summary:

6 Reasons Exercise Makes You Happy by Krista Stryker September 8/13

1. It releases happy chemicals into your brain.

2. It makes you less stressed out.

3. It energizes you.

4. It boosts your confidence.

5. It eases anxiety.

6. It fights insomnia.

All of these are oh, so true!


About Exercise and Weight-Loss

Do you think that exercise is the key component in weight-loss?

I spent most of my life feeling sure the answer to that question was YES. I don’t think that anymore. I will tell you why I changed my thinking on this.

Firstly, as a certified personal trainer, I want to be clear here: I feel exercise is beneficial to our human bodies for many, many reasons. For a primary goal of weight-loss though? Uh…nope, not so much. I have heard some say that 90% of losing weight is related to the food we eat and only 10% the exercise. The lowest I have ever heard is 75%/25%…which is still a high % vote for getting your eating and calorie intake under control as a first priority.

Scientific research has shown that people who have a higher rate of loss in the first two weeks of their new lifestyle plan are more likely to stick with it.

So – how can we have the best start? I’d say focus on the food.

When I took my personal trainer training, my pro-trainer told me something very important: For a primary goal of weight-loss: work out as hard as you can, for as long as you can UNTIL you need more fuel (food) to sustain you. People often over award themselves with food after their intense exercise, adding more calories than were burned during their workout. Hmmm.. so what then? How do we get started loosing the extra weight if it’s not by intense exercise like cardio spin, rhumba and resistance training?

Let’s remind ourselves that time is finite. So is money. So is energy. We need to decide how to spend those limited resources. If weigh-loss is your primary goal, I would recommend that you start the process by spending:

a) your money on good quality, highly nutritious food,

b) your time on preparing that food, along with self-monitoring your consumption, and

c) your energy on addressing your life’s priorities while factoring in a solid 8 hour sleep.

Once all three of these things are factored into your life as habits….then add exercise. Simple walking is the best start. Add activities slowly…and make sure you remember what my pro-trainer said above.

So, to follow the three steps above, spend your precious money on buying highly nutritious foods instead of a gym membership. Right now, I am reading Joel Fuhrman’s: Super Immunity book and he will help you learn which foods supply the best nutrients to our bodies.