Why focusing on exercise will not help you lose weight.

Maybe you’ve been exercising regularly for a while, but the weight isn’t shifting, so you’re thinking that you probably need to add more exercise to your week.

The biggest influence on your weight isn’t exercise or even nutrition. It’s your habits, thoughts, beliefs, mindset and fears. Exercise is only 3% of the weight-loss equation, so focusing on exercise in this case cardio to lose weight, is simply solving the wrong problem.

 In short, you’re spending a lot of time and energy on something that only leads to 3% of your results.

One of the mistakes that many people make when trying to lose weight is focusing on cardio exercise. While cardio exercise may burn calories, too much cardio exercise breaks down your existing tissues, including your muscles.

However, muscle is what will help you lose weight because 66% of your metabolism is influenced by your muscle mass. That means if you want a faster metabolism, which will help you lose weight, you need to build muscle.

Unfortunately, running doesn’t build muscle mass and therefore won’t effectively help you lose weight.

The truth is that increased fitness doesn’t guarantee weight loss.

The evidence that exercise contributes significantly to weight loss and weight maintenance is not firmly established. It is important to recognize the challenge of monitoring dietary intake and exercise intensity and duration over the long term.

The difference between exercise and training

Exercise is physical activity done for the sake of being active, in the hope that it will lead to the body you want. The focus is short-term, and the purpose is often to make the person exercising feel good about themselves. 

They like to think they’re doing something ‘good’ for their health and to burn some calories to offset the guilt they feel at eating poorly.

The best workout routine to lose weight is a training program.

Training is doing physical activity to achieve a long-term goal rather than just moving for the sake of it. Training isn’t about doing the exercise you like doing. It’s about doing what you need to do, to have the body you want.

Training is different to exercising because your workout routine is designed to achieve a certain goal that you have set. For example, this could be weight loss, increased strength, improved mobility or better endurance.

 Instead of focusing on what you get out of each workout, the focus shifts to the longer-term game. 

Training is goal-oriented.

A good training program is structured, progressive and personalized for you to achieve the goal you have set. And it often combines resistance training (aka weights), cardio and other low-intensity exercises.

A structured training program means that you know what you’re doing each time you do a workout. And you know why you’re doing it. 

So, there’s no more deciding on the day, and what type of exercise you feel like doing when you get to the gym. You’re also not wandering around aimlessly, looking for a vacant weight machine or a spare set of dumbbells.

That’s because around 66% of our metabolism is influenced by muscle mass. This means that the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism, and the easier it is for your body to burn fat. 

However, a weight program should involve progressive overload if you want to see any physical changes. This means a gradual increase in weight to achieve your goal. 

This gradual increase of stress placed on the body means you’ll build more muscle — which will fire up your metabolism.

Although research supports the importance of exercise in relationship to improved cardiovascular fitness, insulin sensitivity, glycaemic control of type 2 diabetes, blood pressure, and depression scores is high.

If you’re sick of exercising for hours and hours a week with little or no results and you’re ready to take a new approach to lose weight, we’re ready to help you reach your goal.