Monday 1 February 2016

Why dieting and exercise doesn't work


Why dieting and exercise doesn't work


I thought I’d catch your attention with this heading. Am trying to be controversial? Just a bit. You see we have all heard, over and over, that all you need to do to lose weight and get in shape is to diet and exercise but is that true?

Well, yes but no. It doesn’t actually work that way. In fact dieting and exercising do not work very well together. Let me explain.


When you exercise, I mean really exercise; you expend energy that you wouldn’t normally expend. Depending on the intensity, you use up physical resources and energy stores that are otherwise untouched by your ordinary daily activities. You also micro-tear a few muscles, which can leave you sore for a few days. Whenever muscles tear, they need to repair and for this you need protein, nutrients and energy. When you eat a limited amount of calories, you are sabotaging this process as there isn’t enough energy and nutrients for adequate recovery. Slow, incomplete recovery means you’ll be sore for longer and generally fatigued and therefore unable to train at the same level or at all, which means that you will lose any gains you achieved before. Even more importantly, when you do train, you just won’t have the energy to go full out and you may feel weak and unable to do as much as you do normally.

This thought came to me a while back during a class. This class was hardcore. It was 30-45 seconds of high intensity intervals with 10-15 seconds rest. During breaks people could hardly stand up let alone be ready for the next round. In addition I was weight training. Most of you know I love weight training. However, when I was limiting my calories I found I was weak and could hardly lift a weight and was challenged during exercise classes as energy levels got depleted. I realised I hadn’t been feeding my body right and that by restricting calories and not having food that would ‘feed’ my body, I was unable to face the demands I was putting on my body. By dieting you are restricting calories. This leaves you low on energy and depleted nutrients and protein. Your body cannot function well without those. The result? Too fatigued to do anything and too fatigued to recover which may in turn lead you to you give up.

So what’s the advice? Eat some good food and eat lots of it! Quantity isn’t a problem if you have quality. Eat sufficiently to nourish an active body. You will still lose weight, in fact you may lose it quicker but you will not have to miss out on your workouts due to tiredness and fatigue or prolonged soreness.

Here are some tips to keep yourself topped up for optimal energy:
  • Don't skip breakfast – it’s the most important meal of the day
  • Eat a cooked breakfast including protein and vegetables
  • Incorporate protein into every meal
  • Cut starchy carbs to a minimum
  • Eliminate wheat from your diet
  • Keep sugar low
  • Eat lots of veg
  • Eat fruit for sweet cravings
  • Average 4-5 meals a day

Your diet will depend on how hard you train. The more the intensity the better you need to eat (notice I didn’t say more). You may need more calories but as with anything, quality is more important than quantity. But you must eat! Don’t cut down so much that your workouts are affected!

There you have it. Dieting and exercise do not work. Cut back on food and you cut back on energy and recovery ability. Eat enough good quality food to nourish your body and you increase your chances of staying power achieving your goals.

Hope this helps!

Happy Monday x