Exercise & Movement

Can Movement Aid Weight Loss?

---

Exercise and movement are great for many reasons. But, as a weight loss tool, how effective is movement and what dangers are there relying on exercise too much?

---

---

The Great Exercise Debate

How Much Should We Move?

By Jove, the week is hurtling by! No wobbles or anything bad to report since the weigh-in on Monday. All is good here. All really good. I thought it was high time I wrote about exercise and movement when trying to lose weight. Below, you can see my exercise magnet, our four-year-old Labrador, Bowie. Next to him some unflattering-looking bloke, I wonder who that could be? I’ve made the executive decision recently not to give a flying fig about unflattering photos which highlight how obese I’ve become. The more I look at them, the more I’m spurned on to keep going.

I have to confess, this whole process of change is much easier than I could ever have envisaged. In a lot of ways, I expected to give up quite soon and at least have the odd wobble back into old ways. But no, I am still here and I am still standing. I won’t lie, I have odd little thoughts at night after work sometimes but they quickly disappear.

You can never move enough but also you need to strike a balance and not overdo things. And don’t eat too much as a result of movement.

---

Should We Exercise?

Daft Question Alert!

Of course, we should exercise. Movement is imperative but is it absolutely necessary? I would suggest not but movement and exercise certainly make you feel much better. Many diets quite rightly promote exercise but not in the right way. When I started, I was still a bit obsessed about getting in the right amount of steps every day because this is drummed into us. However, most bods in white coats with expensive spectacles agree that exercise is not a lose weight tool. Yes, if you go hardcore and run a marathon every day then you will lose weight but this is not recommended.

One of the dangers of fuelling any weight loss with exercise is the various apps and diet companies will tell you that you can eat more if you move. Makes sense right? You’ve walked 5000 steps so you deserve that cream cake or whatever extra food! I don’t agree with this. Many diets as well as wanting you to fork out a monthly subscription, also have their brand splashed across several processed products. This is a road I’ve taken in a past life and whilst it can lead to success, you are still putting the wrong things into your body. And you will eventually fail and go back to the old ways.

---

Walking The Dog

The Ultimate Exercise Magnet

Bowie is not always the exercise magnet he should be. Often, you can find me a minute’s walk from HQ where I let him run loose with his pal Mochi whilst I idly talk to Mochi’s owner. The dogs run around like looneys whilst me and Anne talk about weight loss and food consumption! More often than not I take him for a proper walk. As I wandered around the local playing field, I was thinking about how much more energy I have and how much less out of breath I am. I firmly put down the food I was eating and counted what I was eating.

Don’t get me wrong, exercise is fantastic but I would suggest getting it right out of your mind as a weight-loss tool. Don’t listen to the app and don’t be fuelled by how much extra you can supposedly eat because the app tells you so. Exercise has so many benefits I’d always recommend. After a 40-minute walk with Bowie this morning, I feel more ready to face the working day.

The other problem with apps is I don’t trust them to be accurate. Stick with the recommended calories and if you have a wobble, at least you have a safety net. Eat right and there shouldn’t be a wobble at all.

So, should we exercise? Hell yeah but don’t view exercise as a weight loss tool but think of the many other benefits exercise brings. Movement is not imperative to losing weight. Use it to its advantage.

---