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I know plenty of people who hate exercise but WANT to find a way to like it. And that’s what today’s post is all about: Exercising in a way where life doesn’t suck AND helps you reach your goals. Luckily, this is exactly what we do for a living!
I know what it’s like to hate exercise, and ALSO want to lose weight and see results. Ugh. We’ve built an entire company and community around helping people overcome these obstacles – our Online Coaching Program helps people find exercises they love, and also how to make the right nutritional choices. We are all on a unique journey and we’d love to help you with yours!
ExercIse Sucks. Do This Instead.“But Steve, I don’t like to exercise!” While some are like Odie and love to run around all day, others are like Garfield and feel like they must be allergic to exercise. I hear this every day, and I’m not surprised. After all, I think “exercise” sucks too. Which is why we’re gonna focus on exercise that doesn’t feel like exercise! After all, nutrition is like 90% of the equation. Exercise is merely a supporting actor, which is why we don’t ever NEED to spend time doing exercise we hate. We’ve already talked extensively on Nerd Fitness on how to eat better, so I won’t hash that out here. So let’s talk about exercise. Sure, it would be great if we all strength trained 5 days a week and got super strong, but the reality is most of us don’t have that time – or the desire – to hit the gym. And more importantly – the best exercise program is the one you actually do! And thus today we’re going to focus on TWO key elements of getting more exercise in our lives: #1) FIDGETING: Did you know ‘fidgeting’ (aka “small micromovements”) can account for up to 350 additional calories burned per day? Per the New York Times:
350 extra calories burned per day ain’t no joke! As we cover in our “How many calories should I eat every day?” guide, burning an extra 350 calories per day can result in sustainable weight loss and maintenance over time for many. Not only that, but when you factor in inertia (an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and object in motion tends to stay in motion), it paints a pretty interesting picture:
From standing up more frequently to parking FARTHER away from the grocery store, every additional step or movement counts. Today’s guide shares TONS of ways to get yourself used to moving more frequently. I’m actually air drumming and shuffling my feet as we speak! #2) FUN EXERCISE: Who cares what the optimal workout is? Unless you have a very specific physique you’re trying to build, ANY exercise is good exercise. From dancing to yoga to climbing to roughhousing with your kids, it all counts. This brings me to today’s point: Exercise is a bonus. Exercise helps your heart get stronger, can help build muscle, usually gets you outside the house and absorbing vitamin D, and brings you a litany of other health benefits. Also, any additional calories burned is a bonus! Exercise can help us make fewer unhealthy food choices. Instead of “I earned this” you can start telling yourself: “If I’m going to exercise regularly, I might as well make it worth it by eating right too.” Daily exercise is a constant reminder that we are leveling up our lives – that we should continue to make other good choices or we’re practically wasting our time. This is the type of stuff we focus on – with personalized instruction, with each of our online coaching clients. Some clients are learning Olympic lifting, while others are simply focusing on taking the stairs more and tracking their food. We are all on a unique journey and we’d love to help you with yours! 40 Ways to Exercise Without Exercising#1) Hiking, especially with friends – Strap on a pair of shoes, get out of the comfy confines of your hobbit-hole, and go explore the world around you! Make sure you follow our Beginner Hiking Guide on how to find a hiking spot near you, what shoes to wear, what to bring with you, and more. #2) Walking – No time to hike? Go for a simple walk. Even a 15-minute brisk walk is enough time to get close to a mile walked, which gets you one step closer to Mordor. Do you have a 30-minute meeting at work? Have a walking meeting instead. Steve Jobs was known for doing this. You should know Tim, a member of our Nerd Fitness community who lost 50 pounds – while injured – just by fixing his nutrition and going for long walks every day! I’m proud that Tim used the philosophies laid out in our online courses under Nerd Fitness Prime to get his results! #3) LARP – Live Action Role Playing. Might seem silly to those on the outside, but to those playing, it’s an amazing adventure that reminds us how awesome our imaginations are. Also, depending on the game, you could be wearing a heavy costume, swinging heavy weaponry, and running for your life! #4) Rock Climbing – I love rock climbing. It’s one of the best arm/back/forearm workouts in existence, you get to feel like a badass when you reach the top of the wall, and all climbing routes are graded so you can level up the challenge as you get stronger/fitter/better. It’s a fit nerd’s dream! #5) Geocaching – If rock climbing is a fit-nerd’s dream, then geocaching is an adventure nerd’s dream brought to life. Become a real-life treasure-hunter (Lara Croft? Nathan Drake? You decide!), and get a great workout in while you’re at it. Or, if you’re truly nerdy, you can do some Digital Geocaching with Pokemon Go or Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. #6) Dancing – Ever tried serious swing dancing? You’ll be sweating within ten minutes. How about hip hop? Drenched in sweat, and sore as hell the next day. Zumba? Tango? Flamenco? You’d be surprised at what you can sign up for and what will elevate your heart rate. #7) Roughhousing with your kids. I don’t have kids, but when I do, you can bet your ass I’ll be the dad out rolling around in the back yard with them. Don’t forget what it’s like to be a kid – it keeps you young. I really enjoyed this article from Art of Manliness on the importance of roughhousing! #8) Climbing on stuff – A few years back, I attended a great conference, Midoricon, I was walking through the woods with NF Rebel Joe (No, not THAT Joe). It was awesome to see this guy, having lost 100 pounds since finding Nerd Fitness, explore the woods like it was no problem: climbing on stumps, balancing on fallen trees, climbing trees, and more. We work with LOTS of Coaching Clients to get them outdoors and help build them “fun climbing programs” that burn tons of calories but don’t really feel like exercise. #9) Martial arts – Be honest. You watched The Matrix, you heard Neo go “I know Kung Fu” and you wanted to be able to one day say the same thing. Whether it’s Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Karate or Capoeira (breakdance fighting, seriously), there’s a martial art out there that will make you feel like a badass. #10 Consider a standing desk – Although we all know that correlation does not prove causation, it’s no surprise that there’s a strong correlation between sitting all day and an unhealthy lifestyle. Why not fix your posture, strengthen your legs, get more “fidget time” in, and spend the day being more productive with a standing desk? I have THIS desk and it allows me to switch between sitting and standing. If you don’t want to stand all day, make sure you read up on our guide, “how to survive sitting all day in an office.” #11) Have an active meeting – Hat tip to Charlie Hoehn on this one. If somebody wants to meet up with you for coffee, suggest something active: throwing a baseball, tossing a frisbee, going for a hike – anything that gets you up and moving. I say yes to pretty much anybody that invites me to play golf. Wink wink. #12) You know… – That thing that consenting adults do? Yeah. Do that. Self-explanatory. Moving on… #13) Clean! – Ugh, nobody likes to clean the house/apartment. It’s not my favorite thing to do. So I instead make a game out of it. I see how much I can accomplish with a single song blasting at max volume, while probably also dancing. I also CRUSH podcasts while doing the dishes. Of course, after getting through one song, I figure “welp, I’ve already started, might as well keep going.” #14) Try handstands – This is a fun activity that builds up some serious arm and core strength and will leave you sweating bullets after even a few minutes. So go find a park, go do handstands, cartwheels, somersaults, and whatever else makes you feel young again. Here’s our guide on How to Do Handstands. #15) Parkour – Our Beginner’s Guide to Parkour is one of the most popular on Nerd Fitness. I don’t care how old you are, there’s no reason you can’t get started with rolling around in your yard and vaulting over picnic tables and bike racks. Or, you can do it in your office: #16) Playout – Is Parkour too serious for you? Try a playout! Spiderman was on to something – climbing walls, swinging from skyscrapers, and popping flips around the bad guys. You might not be able to swing between buildings, but you can definitely visit a playground in your area and get creative! #17) Adult gymnastics – In the same vein as Parkour, gymnastics will help you build some of the BEST real-world strength you can get with any type of exercise, and it’s all done in a playful way without a single weight being picked up. Swing from rings, somersault, flip onto pads, and more. There are gyms all over the country. #18) Yoga – Build flexibility, strength, and learn to freaking relax. There are a million kinds of Yoga, including awesome stuff like Acro-Yoga, baby goat Yoga (not kidding), and Yoga with beer. Sign up for a few different kinds and see which one lines up the best with what you’re looking for. #19) Play video games that make you be active – Beat Saber. DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) counts too. Just Move. Anything that gets you off your ass and moving! Oh, what’s that? You’re playing a normal game like Grand Theft Auto V? Make a rule that you can only play while standing up, or that you have to do 10 push-ups every time you die. That’s what I do to keep myself from spending twelve hours on the couch in marathon gaming sessions! #20) Play on a playground – Go down the slide, swing across the monkey bars, climb the rope all, balance on the balance beam. Create an obstacle course for yourself and see how quickly you can get through it. You can even work out on a playground too: #21) Play a musical instrument – Did you know playing musical instruments can burn a boatload of calories too? I imagine this is doubly true if you’re dancing around like Taylor Davies playing the violin. #22) Join a Rec League – New in town? Want to be active and meet people? Join a co-ed kickball, softball, or tennis league. You get to exercise AND it’s a great way to meet new people through exercise!
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#23) Bike to work – I know there are a lot of Rebels in our community who dropped a bunch of weight by making one change: they biked to work, or biked to their friend’s house, or started biking generally. You get from Point A to Point B, you save money on gas, and you get a workout. Plus, you can do it with friends! Here’s our Guide to Biking if you want some help getting started. #24) Play a childhood game – What games did you play as a child? Capture the flag? Kick the can? Simple tag? Get a few friends together and give it a try – it will be the most fun you’ve had in a while! #25) Park at the far end of the parking lot – Every step counts. Every tiny decision that is slightly different than the “OLD you” counts. IT ALL COUNTS when it comes to burning more calories than you consume every day. #26) Take the stairs. It’s only two flights! And we are designed to move. You can do this. Sure, you’ll get winded the first handful of times. But it eventually becomes routine. And it all counts! Make a game out of it. #27) Crush audiobooks while “exercising.” This is called ‘temptation bundling.‘ Pair something you love with an activity you’re trying to do more of. But I bet if you could only listen to Harry Potter (for the 600th time) while walking on a treadmill, you’d be more likely to get to the gym. #28) Build stuff. Whether you’re building a fort with your kid in the backyard, or trying to figure out why you have 5 extra screws in that IKEA dresser you’re putting together, building stuff involves lots of moving and bending and picking up and maneuvering. Warning: you’ll swear no less than 100 times building furniture. Earmuffs! #29) Sit in a squat, or pike position on the floor while watching TV. No, not leaning against the couch. Sitting up actively engaging your core! You can also do some sort of stretch or movement like these bodyweight exercises during commercials (or in the 15 seconds between Netflix episodes!) #30) Impromptu dance parties. Kids or no kids, I find that great Disney songs are fantastic for bringing out your inner child. Blast the tunes, dance around the house, and be absurd. WHO CARES! As a wise woman once said…”Let it gooooooo.” #31) Go for a walk while on the phone. What if you just decided you had to stand for all of your phone calls? For starters, I know many people who do phone interviews while standing because it makes them more alert and a better guest. Next: you’re gonna get so many steps in while on the phone without realizing it! #32) Having an impromptu picnic. Instead of sitting and gorging yourself at the dining room table, why not eat on the floor? Grab a blanket or a towel, eat in your living room or head out into the backyard, and make it a picnic! You’ll need to adjust your posture and seating style constantly. #33) Sit in a squat. We cover this in our “How to squat” guide, but sitting in a deep squat – often for long timeframes – is built into us as a species! We’ve just become soft from sitting in chairs all day long. I try to accumulate 15 minutes of “squat time” each day – sitting in a squat while reading a chapter in a book, or journaling, or answering an email with my laptop on the ground. Here I am sitting in a squat while reading Level Up Your Life (available online and in bookstores nationwide!) #34) The “Pull-up bar Tax”. Get yourself a door-frame pull-up bar. Put it on a door that you have to cross through regularly. And every time you go through, you have to do either 1 pull-up, 1 negative pull-up, or 10 seconds of hanging from the bar. Can’t do a pull-up yet? Learn how to get your first pull-up or chin-up. #35) Lasers around the house. Set up colored string pulled tightly across your kid’s rooms or in certain hallways, and you have to go over and under the lasers each time you traverse the hallway. Don’t touch the lasers! #36) Climb a tree. Your level of safety and ability on this will be dependent on your experience here, but I remember climbing trees like a monkey as a kid and loving every minute of it. Even if it’s just hanging from a tree branch or trying to scramble up to a low branch, it can be a great way to “exercise.” #37) The floor is lava. This is both great for exercising around your apartment, for a fun date night or night with the kids, and for playing True American. Though one is slightly more healthy than the other. #38) Casual Parkour. From avoiding cracks on the sidewalk to balancing on curbs, or jumping from tile to tile, or hopping up onto a bench and then back down, it all counts! Just get yourself to move differently than you would have otherwise! We are currently working with a woman who has lost 100-pounds through our Coaching Program, and her exercise is all “fun parkour in the woods behind the house!” #39) Literally fidget more! Yes, from tapping your toes to music and twitching your legs to the beat of the music. Getting up and sitting back down. Doing laps around your office. You don’t need to get a standing desk or treadmill desk, but there’s a definite correlation between those that can’t sit still and body composition.[1] #40) Your kid is a backpack! From piggyback rides to playing horsey, staying active with your kids is really powerful in instilling a love of fitness in them. If you’re a badass mom like Brownwyn – a success story from Nerd Fitness Prime, you can even do pull-ups while your kid holds on! Here are more tips on how to work out as a whole family.
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Challenge yourself to Have fun: Next Steps!If you are looking for more guidance beyond the 40 Fun Exercise Suggestions above, we have three options to continue your journey: 1) Join our epic Online Coaching Program! We create personalized programs for each customer based on their lifestyle, goals, and personality. From parkour in the park to just walking more with your children, or even “becoming a badass powerlifter,” we cater each experience to each person. 2) If you’re looking for a bunch of fun ways to exercise, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you move more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). We assign fun missions daily to get you to exercise in a way that doesn’t feel like exercise…because it’ll feel like a side quest instead. Try your free trial (no credit card needed) right here: 3) Enlist in The Rebellion (it’s free)! Sign up for our biweekly newsletter and join the Nerd Fitness Rebellion! I’ll send you tons of free guides and bonuses to help you get started on your journey today. Sign up below:
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No matter which path you pick above, I want you to commit to trying something new, or doing something different, at some point in the next week:
That one thing you always wanted to try but have been putting off? Today’s a good day to get started. Just take that FIRST step. Google classes in your city. Find a site that focuses on beginners, and read about it. If there’s a place to pre-pay or make a deposit, do it. And then go. Use 20 seconds of courage if you have to. What’s the one new thing you’re going to try this month? -Steve ### photo credit: Reiterlied 02/52 – Confidence, JD Hancock Garfield, treadmill fall, Denes Paragi © 123RF.com, It’s Always Autumn: Lazer Hallway, lzflzf © 123RF.com
Footnotes ( returns to text)
The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/25-ways-to-exercise-without-realizing-it/ So you want answers to the question, “What is Progressive Overload?” Well my friend, you’ve arrived at the perfect place. Progressive overload is one of the key principles of strength training, which is why we focus on it extensively with our coaching clients. Today, we’ll share these same principles with you too. Here’s what we’ll cover today:
Alright, let’s do this thang.
What Is Progressive Overload?
First, let’s give a definition:
The name of the game is overloading our current capabilities, slowly but surely. By doing this consistently, we get stronger – since our bodies adapt to the ever-increasing demands placed on them. Said another way, without overload, there is no adaptation by the body. When you challenge your body through resistance training, it responds with:
Don’t worry about the terminology here. You can think of progressive overload much like a video game:
Working out is the same thing:
So whenever you’re following a progressive overload strategy, just tell yourself “I am earning XP here to grow strong.” How Do I Overload My Muscles? (8 Ways to Progressive Overload)There are all sorts of ways for you to achieve progressive overload. Here are eight strategies for increasing work and overloading your muscles: #1) Increase the weight. This is the most common way to make a weighted exercise in the gym more challenging. We’ll talk a bit later about how to choose the correct weight. #2) Increase the reps. This is the other most common way to make things more challenging. So instead of 10 push-ups, go for 11. Then 12 the next time. And so on. #3) Increase the sets. So instead of doing 3 sets of 10 push-ups, you can do 4 sets of 10 push-ups, then 5 sets of 10 push-ups, etc. #4) Increase the frequency of your workouts. Let’s say you work out twice a week, Monday and Thursday. Maybe we add an extra day, so Monday-Wednesday-Friday. That way we get more total work in for the week. #5) Decrease rest time. Instead of increasing the weight, or reps, or sets – you simply decrease the time you rest between sets. This will tax your body more and might be a good option for some, based on their goals and schedule (especially if you are short on workout time already). #6) Doing more difficult variations. This is relevant for bodyweight exercises in particular, where we’re not adding weight to anything. You could go from assisted lunges: To regular lunges: Or back to the example of push-ups, you can do them against a wall, then a counter-top, then the floor. Switches like that would make the movement more challenging, and thus an overload strategy. #7) Slow down through the range of motion. Play around with the exercise tempo! If you take a longer time to do a push-up, you’ll increase the time your muscles are under tension and working. #8) Hold the position. Just like slowing down, this will increase the time under tension for the muscles, and therefore more work. You could pause at the bottom of your squat: Or at the top of a chin-up: Boom! For any given workout, there’s likely a way to make it more challenging, and thus, perfect for progressive overload. Let’s now chat about when to make an exercise more difficult. How Do I Know When I’m Ready for Progressive Overload?The key to progressive overload is continuing to make a workout more and more challenging. How do you know when it’s time to move up? Unfortunately, you won’t start glowing with stars after you’ve completed a certain number of workouts. We’ll probably have to wait for the “singularity” for that. However, you’ll know when you’re ready to increase weight or intensity when you complete the prescribed number of sets and reps for an exercise, and you still feel like you could do a few more reps. This will happen MUCH more often for a beginner. Here’s what’s going on:
That means you’ll be able to progressively overload at a faster rate – likely adding weight or intensity every workout or every week. It’s important to understand that progressive overload won’t continue upwards forever. For example: If you started benching 45 pounds, and added 5 pounds every week, after two years you’d be benching over 500 pounds. Which would be insane… But that’s not how it works. After a while, progress will go slower and slower. You may even plateau and sit at a certain intensity for several weeks or more. That’s ok. It’s hard to say how long you’ll be at each stage. How fast you can progressively overload depends on a lot of factors, such as: With that being said, don’t be afraid to test the waters with a more difficult exercise. You can always go back down if it doesn’t feel right. But do move up from time to time. It might surprise you how much more you can handle! How Much Weight Do You Add to Progressively Overload?Normally, we recommend going up in small increments when adding weight to your exercises. For barbell lifts, adding 5 pounds (or about 2.5 kilos) to each side is generally a good rule of thumb. That would be an increase of 10 pounds or 5 kilos for the entire lift. This rate of increase is an average recommendation but may differ based on what exercise you are doing.
For either case, if you are using dumbbells, increase the weight of the dumbbell by whatever amount you’d add to the side of the bar (e.g. 5 lbs per side = 5 lbs per dumbbell). If you’d like more here, check out our guide How Much Weight Should I Be Lifting? Is Progressive Overload Bad for You?The biggest danger with progressive overload simply comes down to increasing faster than your body can adapt. Are you ready for handstand push-ups? Is a 315-pound deadlift a big jump in weight for you? There’s nothing inherently dangerous about those movements. BUT, I have seen plenty of folks rush to do more…then not be ready. That’s how you can end up hurt. So start your training by doing less than you think, including lifting just the bar – or even a broomstick: There’s no rush. Do You Always Have to Progressively Overload?Do you always have to keep increasing the weight or difficulty or reps that you’re doing? No! It’s perfectly fine and normal to hold steady at a certain level. You are still moving around and getting a ton of great benefits, like:
Don’t let the thought of “needing” to continuously work harder scare you off from exercise. It’s up to you how far you push things, and there is no right decision for everyone. Do what works best for you. How to Continue to Grow Strong (Next Steps)There you have it, my friend. A step-by-step plan on how to progressively overload. Let’s now leave you with some workouts, so you can get started TODAY. After all, you can’t progress if you never get going. Here are three guides to help you start overloading your muscles:
Alright my friend, you got this. If you want any more help from us, here’s how to continue your journey with Nerd Fitness. #1) Our Online Coaching Program: perfect for someone who wants an expert (like me!) to design the right path for progressive overload. We’re all different, so why not have a coach guide you through a program that’s custom-made for you? You can schedule a free call with our team so we can get to know you and see if our coaching program would be a good fit. Just click on the image below for more details: #2) If you want a daily prompt for doing workouts (that grow more and more challenging) check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). Try your free trial right here: Next Step Number #3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion. You’ll meet individuals from all different walks of life, all of whom are trying to level up their lives. Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out at home” guides, the Nerd Fitness Diet Cheat Sheet, and much more!
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Alright, I want to hear from you: What’s your plan for progressive overload? Are there tips or tricks I’m missing? Have you been stuck at a certain level for a while? Let me know in the comments! -Jim PS: If you’re interested in growing strong, make sure you read Strength Training 101: Where Should I Start? ### Photo source: Him-Dude, Him-Dude II, LEGO VIDIYO minifigs, LEGO Bench Pressing, Hammer and forge yourself into the best artist you can be, Shower Guy, Mountain Biker
Footnotes ( returns to text)
The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/what-is-progressive-overload/ “Why can’t I lose weight, Steve?” This question breaks my heart every time I hear it. And I hear it multiple times per day from frustrated people like yourself. Some of those people are our 1-on-1 coaching clients, who we work closely with to uncover the truth. And that’s what we’re after: the truth on why weight loss is so tough to achieve. Why “Eat less and move more” sounds nice in theory, but is insulting to those who KNOW this, try their best, and yet the scale just doesn’t budge. We’ll tackle today’s topic with statistics, science, and plenty of Harry Potter analogies. This is Nerd Fitness after all. We’ll go over:
Let’s jump in, Scuba Steve style, so you can start seeing results! If you’re somebody that wants a Yoda in your corner to coach you through the ups and downs of your fitness journey, we’re here for you with our Online Coaching Program! No shame or judgments – just a supportive person who works hard to help you succeed ?
WHY THE NUTRITION INDUSTRY MAKES ME SO ANGRYI took this picture walking around Manhattan last week: There is some SERIOUS psychological warfare going on here, and it hurts my soul. For starters, they advertise as “THE” flat belly tea. This means there are many other companies selling similar products, which would ALSO lead me to believe this is a lucrative product to sell! They list every fitness buzzword and term every marketer uses when it comes to selling health and fitness: gluten-free, “removes waste,” organic, “burn fat,” Including some real head-scratchers. “Strengthen your colon?” How the hell do you strengthen your colon?! This reminds me of the brilliant Saturday Night Live skit about “Colon Blow” cereal: But I People are buying this stuff, even if they know it probably won’t work. Like buying a lottery ticket even when we know the odds of winning are 0% – what we’re really buying is “hope”:
Don’t get me wrong. “Hope is a good thing, and no good thing ever dies.” I just HATE when hope gets weaponized to sell you expensive snake oil and pretty-packaged fluff. This is what we are rebelling against here in the NF Rebellion: marketers and companies who are crappy enough to prey on our hopes and fears and sell snake-oil in a bottle. We’re also rebelling against that voice in our head that talks down to us, calls us failures for not getting in shape yet, and berates us every time we break down and eat a cookie. I say no more. Let’s fight fire with How much exercise do I need to do to lose weight?There are a few generally accepted truths when it comes to weight loss. All of these come with baggage attached, and your results will vary depending on your
Setting all of that aside, I’m going to try and keep things simple just to prove my point. Let’s go with an (understandably) oversimplified look at weight loss: a pound of fat equals around 3,500 calories. This would mean you’ll need to either eat 3,500 fewer calories, or burn an extra 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound. So…how long does it take to burn 3,500 additional calories per week? Let me answer a question with another question: …How many hours do you have? Studies show you’ll burn an extra 100 calories when walking or running a mile. So, you would need to be running/walking an additional 5 miles per day, 7 days a week, to lose one pound per week. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time to run an extra 5 miles a day. Nor do I want to! Not only that, but as you’ll see below – this idea of just burning an extra 500 calories per day to lose a pound a week only works early on. You’ll quickly run into speed bumps and roadblocks – figurative ones, try to avoid the real ones on your run – that slow down your progress significantly. Simply put, exercising your way thin has been proven time and time again not to work. Here are three such reports: #1) Many people develop increased appetites as a result of exercise, which leads to no weight loss. Time Magazine got in trouble for pointing this out – even though they were right! #2) This 2011 study came to the conclusion:
#3) Another study compared people who dieted vs people who only exercised:
What I’m trying to say, and a lesson we try to deeply understand at Nerd Fitness: “you can’t outrun your fork” …and the bad news isn’t done. How our metabolism responds to a caloric deficit (our bodies ruin everything!)When you start to lose weight, your resting metabolism slows down. You might think this is some sort of evil sorcery worthy of “He Who Must Not Be Named,” but unfortunately – it’s just 2nd-grade math. When you start to lose weight, there is less of you that needs ‘fuel.’ In other words: your metabolism doesn’t have to work as hard to fuel all of your bodily functions, has less weight to carry, and thus it will burn significantly fewer calories compared to when you were much bigger. Here is the estimated daily resting calorie burn (“sit on your ass all day”) of a 35-year old male nerd at 3 very different weights – which you can learn from our Calorie Calculator:
WHAT THIS MEANS: Unless you adjust your calorie intake as your weight decreases… your previous calorie intake amount becomes less and less effective at weight loss, until you hit an equilibrium. Put a different way: this person could eat 2,300 calories per day and over time, lose 50 pounds (from 300 pounds to 250 pounds), but that’s where he’ll hit equilibrium: calories burned equals calories consumed. In order for him to lose the next 50 pounds, he’ll need to decrease his caloric intake even more, and then STAY at that calorie consumption to keep the weight off. And then it gets even worse! There are buckets of anecdotal evidence of a bodily feature called “adaptive thermogenesis.” Which has nothing to do with the band Genesis – though feel free to listen to “Invisible Touch” right now. It might soften the blow while you learn about “adaptive thermogenesis.” “Adaptive thermogenesis” refers to the process in which our bodies will adjust based on how many calories we burn – and do whatever it can to preserve the body fat we have. Our bodies WANT to maintain the extra body fat we have (“I don’t know when I’ll need this, better save”), and are actively working in unison to preserve it – so even after a few pounds are lost from running, it’s going to be a persistent challenge to keep the weight off. As pointed out in this article above:
This is why so many people can LOSE weight, but can’t seem to keep the weight off. This is also not even factoring in all of the other issues around our bodies: environmental issues (you can smell Cinnabon minutes before you see it!), psychological challenges, menopause, various medication side effects, hormones, depression, anxiety, and other issues. These things cause our bodies to crave food, to try and store food, and make it tough for us to keep our calorie intake under control, because chocolate cake. To Recap:
This is all terrible, horrible, no good, very bad news. And the toughest truth of all: Due to those factors above, it might not be your fault that you’re overweight…but it IS your responsibility to navigate! I know, I know. However, there is HOPE! And here at Nerd Fitness – and in the Star Wars universe – rebellions are built on hope. We have thousands of success stories from people who thought they couldn’t lose weight…until they did. People HAVE lost weight, and kept it off. People who are older, bigger, have more children, less money, more illnesses, and bigger hardships than you. It’s a constant battle, but one that’s absolutely worth fighting. And this means that you are not broken. You don’t have metabolic damage. You are not doomed. Sure, you’re flawed. You might be playing life on “Legendary” difficulty, but people like you have succeeded. It starts by using all of the tools at our disposal, because the forces working against us are doing the same. Let’s get nerdy. The Science of Fat LossYES, it would be awesome if you could drink a tea, or wrap yourself in plastic, and it would somehow magically make you lose weight or fat. YES, it would be amazing if a 30-minute bootcamp class was enough to still allow you to eat junk food all day every day and not gain a pound. YES, it would be amazing if you could take a magic pill that reversed the past decade of damage you’ve done to your body. It would also be cool if superheroes were real and I could fly. Well, not like that. Come on, Aquaman. People can see you. We live in a world of science, physics, and thermodynamics. This means we should ALWAYS look at life through the following lenses:
Let’s apply this to our waistlines: If we are overweight… It’s not because we have “toxins” in our body that need to be flushed out. It’s not because we didn’t spend enough time in the “fat-burning” zone during our “muscle confusion” bootcamp. It’s not because we picked the wrong ‘fat burning’ product tea. These are all pseudoscience buzz terms to sell products, and have no truth to their claims. Occam’s Razor dictates the simplest solution is PROBABLY the right one. So what’s the simple explanation to why we’re overweight? Every day, we consume food that gets transformed into energy. This food has three options once it enters our body:
If we are overweight, we are consuming more ‘energy’ than our bodies need every day. Because our body doesn’t need all of it, too much is being stored as fat. This brings us to the main point of our nutritional focus:
By doing so, our body HAS no choice but to dip into that “rainy day” fund of fat stores to still get all of its bodily tasks done each day. Do this consistently, and that’s how we end up with a lower number on the scale and a smaller pants size. “Steve I know I should eat less. It’s doing it consistently that’s the tough part. Have you tried CAKE?!” Great point. And yes, cake is awesome. But we have to start somewhere! And it starts here: we need to eat fewer calories, but it ALSO has to be sustainable and enjoyable, otherwise we’ll never stick with it. And temporary changes produce temporary results. We want permanent weight loss! Just saying “eat less” doesn’t factor the crazy biological, physiological, and/or emotional challenges we face every day: We might eat when we’re stressed, depressed, or bored. We might be on medication that is causing us to overeat without us realizing it. We can’t eat just one potato chip without eating an entire bag. We absentmindedly grab a handful of Peanut M&M’s when visiting Kevin in Accounting. Not only that, but even when we pay attention to what we eat, studies show that we often underestimate our calorie consumption by 30+%. Crap. This just keeps getting worse! If we KNOW we overeat without realizing it, and we KNOW restricting calories is tough to stick with long term, then the only path forward is to attack the problem differently. Not with fit tea. Nor with body wraps. Not with “muscle confusion.” But with science, math, and psychology. What to Eat For Weight LossIf weight loss is the goal, we need to shift our food choices to foods that give us more “bang for our buck” – healthy, filling, nutritious foods that fill us up and makes us less likely to overeat calorie-bomb foods. These foods allow us to feel full, but still keep us under our calorie goal for the day:
These are foods that take up a lot of space in our stomach and make us feel full. If we do this consistently, regularly, and without being miserable, we have a long term chance at losing weight and keeping it off. Compare this to foods that don’t fill us up, but are loaded with calories – thus making it very easy to overeat without realizing it.
To really HAMMER this point home… As we point out in “Can You Burn Fat and Build Muscle at the Same Time?” here’s what 200 calories look like, thanks to WiseGEEK. Which ones do you think will make you feel full, and which ones will make you eat more than you realize?
Can you get yourself to stop after 2/3rds of a bagel or a small handful of pasta? Of course not! One more example – here’s 200 calories of broccoli: “Steve, that is an absurd amount of broccoli.” Yup. It’s also the SAME number of calories as 2/3rds of a bagel (which doesn’t even include the calories from the cream cheese or butter). Now, it’s insulting to say “You should eat more broccoli and less bagels. There’s yer problem.” I’m merely pointing this out to emphasize the difference between energy (calories) and volume. (Hate broccoli and vegetables? Read how to make vegetables taste good!) Depending on what you eat, you could feel “OH SO FULL” after your meal or “Why am I already hungry again? NOM NOM NOM.” Which means… If you can start to make even SMALL changes, substituting nutrient-dense, calorically-light foods like protein, fruit, and veggies, for junk food – even occasionally, it’s going to shift the energy balance back in the right direction. You’ll become more likely than not to eat fewer calories than you burn, moving you beneath your daily equilibrium. Do that consistently, and you start to pull from those fat stores. And we end up the holy grail: Sustainable, non-miserable weight loss. This is actually the secret sauce for ALL popular diets these days. As we point out in our “What is the Perfect Diet” article, all the popular diets get you to eat more REAL food and less junk food. They just all have their own unique marketing spin to sell cookbooks and courses and subscriptions. Let’s look at each of these diets in a nutshell:
ANY of the diets above will result in temporary weight loss if you strictly follow the rules, but not for the reason you’d think. It’s not because we’re designed to eat like cave people (though we are), or that our bodies function differently on a Ketogenic Diet (it does), or even that fasting has plenty of health benefits (it does!). Those things are like 2% of the reason why they work for weight loss. [2% is a statistic I made up to emphasize the smaller importance of any ancillary benefit compared to the bigger picture] The other 98%: they make us more likely than not to consume fewer calories on average than we usually eat, which will lead to weight loss in the long term… if you can stick with it. And each diet has rules and guidelines that speak to the specifics of individual people. If you’re freaking out about how to eat and which diet to pick and you’re worried if you’ll even be able to stick with it, you’re not alone. It’s why we created our 1-on-1 Coaching Program! To help people like you change their habits around food to start seeing permanent weight loss results without being miserable! WHICH DIET SHOULD I PICK To Lose Weight?Nearly EVERY diet will work in the short term, because they all lead to temporary calorie restriction. Every diet above will fail you too in the long term, because you need to do the diet permanently to get the results permanently! So in my opinion, you should only follow a strict diet like those above IF you can see yourself sticking with it consistently for the next 10 years. “Steve, that’s melodramatic. Come on.” That’s what I was going for. If a diet sounds too restrictive to stick with permanently, then it’s too restrictive for you to devote weeks or months of your life to! After all, temporary changes equal temporary results. You’re better off picking a diet that you confidently feel like you can stick with permanently. You should be thinking in terms of “days and years,” not “weeks and months!” Here’s the end goal we’re working towards: Sustainable weight loss, weight maintenance, and actually enjoying life. Looking in the mirror and being happy with what you see, and knowing that the weight stays off. And most importantly, “normal” behavior that allows us to enjoy life, have great meals with friends and family, but also reach our goals. Not temporary changes, but rather permanent small adjustments that adjust over time as we start to see results and build momentum. Sound good? Let’s get back to basics and start learning about the food we’re putting into our bodies. Cool? Cool. A PRIMER ON STRENGTH TRAININGConservatively speaking, strength training is the greatest thing ever invented in the history of the galaxy. Okay, so maybe it’s third after electricity and Nintendo. But I say this to make a point. There’s a huge difference between “exercise” and strength training when it comes to body composition. We cover this in a very in-depth manner in our “Can I Lose Weight and Build Muscle?” article – which is one giant Harry Potter allegory that you’ll love – but I’ll share the basics right here. If your goal is consistent, permanent, healthy weight loss and weight management, 80-90% of the battle will be nutrition, When it comes to exercise, you really only have TWO things to focus on:
I’ll touch on the first one quickly. When you do exercise you love, you’re giving your heart and body a good workout. You’re reminding yourself “I am living healthy” and THUS you should be more likely than not to stick with your healthy eating strategy. Notice I said “exercise you love.” If you hate running, never run a mile again. Hate going to the gym? Never set foot in one. Hate bootcamps? Me too. Don’t do them. Instead, go rock climbing, or hiking, or do yoga, or swing dancing, or LARPing. Really, anything that gets you off your ass and moving. Cool? Cool. How Strength Training Assists Weight LossYour body functions differently when you strength train, in all of the right ways. We have a whole Strength Training 101 sequence that can you get you started, but I’ll whet your appetite with the nerdiest metaphor ever below. You can find study after study after study that shows you the benefits of strength training for weight management when combined with “calorie restriction.” Let me explain it here quickly, borrowing from Harry Potter: The hat acts almost like a traffic director: “Harry, you will go to Gryffindor! Draco, you will go to Slytherin!” Your body operates in a VERY similar fashion: every day, it receives new calories (when you eat), and it needs to decide what to do with them! For example: You eat a large Hawaiian pizza and 20 ounces of Mountain Dew. Your body has to do SOMETHING with all those calories. To keep things simple, let’s look at the 3 most common results. It’ll sort those calories into one of three Houses: A: Burn for Fuel. Your body sorts most of those calories into “Burn for Fuel.” There’s a number of calories your body burns each day just existing: to keep your liver functioning, your heart pumping, your brain operating, and so on – it burns a good chunk of calories just keeping the lights on. Here are two quick examples (from our TDEE calculator!):
Now, if you don’t do any exercise, and you consume MORE calories than the rate you burn each day, the “Sorting Hat” in your body needs to put those calories somewhere! Where do you think it’ll sort them? “C: Store as Fat.” However, your body’s sorting behavior changes when you strength train.
When you strength train – by picking up something heavy – your muscles are “broken down” during the exercise itself, and then they rebuild themselves stronger over the next 24-48 hours. It also diverts additional calories to “Burn as Fuel” to handle this increased “muscle rebuilding” activity. This means two amazing things:
There are significantly fewer calories available for “Store as Fat.” AND IT GETS BETTER.
NOPE! Your body has been preparing for this, by storing any excess calories over the years in the “Store as Fat” house. This is the moment your body has been saving up for. This means your body can pull from “Store as Fat” to make sure all the work still gets done, including your daily functions as a human, and rebuilding the muscle.
This would be a “win-win-win” according to Michael Scott, Regional Manager, Dunder Mifflin Scranton. Want help learning how to strength train? You can absolutely build your own workout, or you can work with one of our coaches who can create a custom program that’s specific to your goals and lifestyle. We’ll even make sure you’re doing the movements correctly via video, because we’re nice like that ? BACK TO BASICS: How To Guarantee Successful Weight LossIf you’re still reading, then there is hope for you yet. You can do this – but you have to be smart and diligent about it! Stop trying to exercise your way thin, and stop trying to find ‘get fit quick’ solutions. Instead, take this one day at a time. We’re here for you! We talk about proper nutrition in our big “Healthy Eaters” guide, and we go more in-depth into the specific foods that we recommend, but it starts here:
Understand you’re overeating, and forgive yourself for doing so – most foods have been designed for you to overeat! YOUR MISSIONS, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT THEM: #1) Pledge to stop buying snake oil. If you’re not sure, ask yourself “Does this sound too good to be true?” and “What would Steve do?” In addition: stop doing exercises you hate just to lose weight. Pick exercises you enjoy, and put all of your focus on slowly adjusting your nutrition instead! Shun the Dark Side and come back to the Light! #2) Be deliberate in your decisions. Every calorie counts. Every decision counts. So make ONE different decision as a result of you being more aware of what you put in your body. Drinking water instead of soda or juice. Swapping out a salad for fries once per week. It all counts, but make your decision deliberate. You’re a smart person. You know what foods should be daily staples, and what foods should be occasional treats. It all counts. So make ONE decision differently to prove to yourself that you can change. #3) Educate yourself on the serving size of ONE food that you eat regularly. Google it. Find out if what you THINK is a serving and what’s actually in a serving is anywhere close to accurate. You might be surprised to find out:
I don’t want you to change the food or the portions yet. I just want you to educate yourself on what you’re eating, and compare it to how much you thought you were eating. NEXT STEPS IF YOU WANT TO GO FARTHER! If you are looking for more hands-on guidance, we have three options for ya! 1) 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program! If that sounds like you, and you’re looking for nutritional guidance, custom strength training routines just for your situation, and expert accountability, we’d love to hear your story! 2) If you want a roadmap for sustainable weight loss, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). Try your free trial right here: 3) Join the Rebellion! Join our free email list and community – I send out two fun emails a week – and I’ll send you our free 10-level Nutrition Guide along with a bunch of other free bonuses. Get them when you sign up in the box below:
Download our free weight loss guide
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#4) Do a strength training routine! We have so many awesome free options for you here on Nerd Fitness. Pick the ones that jump out at you!
“What is the biggest question you have around nutrition, strength training, and weight loss?” Oh and please, go eat a vegetable ? -Steve PS: I know this HOPEFULLY goes without saying, but this is the internet: I totally get that this issue is very complicated to begin with. If you have a hormonal imbalance, PCOS, are on medication for any number of reasons, it could also be affecting your weight. PLEASE speak with your doctor about your weight and any changes you are looking to make! ### Photo source: A good Sunday to you, Can I have your bicycle, Speed!, Swimming pool, Pizza lab, Dinner is set, Happy monday!, Speed. The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/why-cant-i-lose-weight-heres-the-truth/ |
AuthorHi its me Thomas Dahl living in Phoenix, AZ i am 35 years old. I am very concerned about health and for maintaining my good health i use best nutraceuticals. Archives
April 2021
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