Lean Protein over Exercise for Quicker Weight Loss

Hardly a single weight loss program does not mention the need for exercise. Even the most  impressive gurus stress exercise as the key to losing weight. But my experience as a true exercise buff, is that if people have not been strenuously exercising, they are not about to start and if they are seriously over weight, they cannot begin the strenuous exercise necessary to burn a lot of calories.

Now, I say this and I exercise everyday and I lost weight by running 60 miles a week for years as a citizen track club member.

I have also learned that very few people can exercise enough to lose weight. Mathematically an hour of exercise generally burns about 700 calories. A pound of weight is about 3300 calories. The average body burns about 2,000 calories a day. A lot of exercise would burn pounds, but in this over scheduled world we live in, college may be the last time you have that kind of time.

You may not have time to exercise enough to burn serious pounds, but everyone can reduce their caloric intake.

It is said that your digestive system uses about 65% of your energy. If you keep your digestive system working, you will be using a lot of your energy around the clock. Protein makes the digestive system work harder than any other food because it is not easy to break down like simple carbohydrates (sugar, pasta, bread).

If you stoke your digestive system each few hours and minimize your total caloric intake, aren’t you going to have results? This is something you can do every day without putting on your sweats, tennis shoes or driving to the gym.

I exercise for mental clarity, self esteem, stress release, conditioning, preventing atrophy, enjoying the outdoors, time alone, creative processing, and other reasons. I have been a gym rat all my life and have rarely seen anyone lose weight over a period of time except for some extreme exercisers or those working with a nutritionist.

It’s easier to achieve goals if we focus. Many people exercise and then use it as an excuse to eat what they want. This is why people don’t lose weight exercising. It becomes their rationale for eating what they shouldn’t. If you focus on food intake for weight loss and exercise for stress release, you may get your results quicker and feel better without the guilt that is usually associated with trying to maintain severe dieting.