Eat better and exercise smarter.

On Wednesday I mentioned a new fitness class I was attending. I’ve considered classes before, especially when I was shopping for a gym to join, but I’ve never been sure about joining a class because I was afraid I would fall behind the rest of the class. I feared my current size, shape and weight would keep me from “fitting in.” Frankly I was afraid I couldn’t do it. In the end, I decided to join a gym with a less expensive monthly fee that only offered cardio machines & weights.

Then a friend of mine at work came up to me and showed me a catalogue from a local community college. The college was offering eight week fitness classes through various gyms in our area for a price considerably less than a two month membership. After looking through our options, we decided to go for it and joined a Tuesday/Thursday class of Body Attack™ that began this past Tuesday. I have to say I was right about some things, but wrong about a lot. I was right to expect to find a lot of thin, athletic bodies in the class. I was wrong to think I couldn’t keep up. And sure, I felt a little out of place, but I found that you hardly have time to look around and notice the other people in the class because you’re working so hard. The first night, the challenge was learning the moves. When I got done (and more importantly when I woke up the next day) I didn’t feel that tired or sore. I realized I hadn’t pushed myself as hard as I might have, using the excuse that I was overweight and couldn’t handle it. But last night, I didn’t stop until I couldn’t push anymore. Even then I made sure to carry out all of the low impact/low intensity moves with conviction. I wanted to keep my heart rate up, I wanted to reap the benefits this class was promising! I know each time I go back it’s just going to get better.

So… imagine my defeat when I stumbled across this article this morning: Exercise is NOT the Key to Weight Loss by Jon Herring.  After reading this I went in search of more supporting evidence I traveled over to WebMD and found Exercise and Weight Loss: 5 Truths by Miranda Hitti.

Seems to me it still comes down to calories in vs. calories out. As explained by MayoClinic.com,

Because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose 1 pound. So if you cut 500 calories from your diet each day, you'd lose about 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Exercise along with cutting calories helps boost your weight loss. Exercise is also important for maintaining your weight and not regaining weight. (click here for article) 

Personally, I use the POINTS™ system from Weight Watchers to track the amount of points I earn through physical activity and the amount of points I’ve consumed. It helps me see what I’ve worked for and then make a conscientious decision about whether or not I should eat those points or leave them. At least now I know why I crave Dill Pickle Potato Chips after Body Attack class!