(Warning: This post contains bad language… to stress important f****** points!!)
We’ve seen it all, magic weight loss pills, put jelly on your belly and wrap in cling film, advertising how to lose weight without having to exercise, try this amazing new machine for super sexy abs. It seems that a hell of a lot of people out there have great faith in magic and miracles and proceed to spend their money time and time again and end up back at square one. I’ve mentioned in previous blogs WHY this BS doesn’t work, but I haven’t gone into further depth about WHY you need to get up off the couch and start moving.
First of all, lets say you are slim, not overweight, can eat rings around you and still wouldn’t put on an inch, generally called a “skinny bitch” by your peers. That does not mean that you are healthy. You may in fact have a high body fat percentage in comparison to your lean muscle mass density. If you think you’d snap like a twig then you’d probably fall into this “skinny fat” category. Lacking lean muscle makes you physically weak, depletes your energy faster and can just make you feel shitty overall. Our bodies run on a strict “use it or lose it” policy, so if we don’t get our muscles working then they actually disintegrate and this process speeds up after we turn 30 and after we turn 65 without any exercise we can lose up to 80% of our muscular strength!! If you think you feel ok now, go out and get active then see for yourself the difference after a few weeks.
Now, if you’re on the other end of the spectrum, you are overweight, obese or looking to lose weight – YES they say that it’s possible to lose weight by just changing your diet and not “having” to exercise. But here it is, if you don’t exercise during your weight loss journey, you are more likely to lose muscle density, become “skinny fat” and like above become weak as f***. How many people have lost weight, but still “jiggle”, they have dropped a few dress sizes, and in extreme rapid weight loss cases, have an excess amount of saggy skin? And again on the extreme side, the only way to correct saggy skin is through surgery which is a hell of a lot more expensive than your annual gym membership.
And before you go slating me, adjusting your lifestyle for weight loss IS hard, and it takes commitment and determination to do it, so if you’re doing that then you’re a feckin hero and fair play to you… But you still need to exercise!!!
Gaining muscle is just one thing, and I’m not talking about looking like a body builder (cause some of them are also weak as f*** for other reasons). I’m talking about growing that little bit more muscle so you can perform everyday activities without breaking your back. Getting the shopping out of the car, putting the spuds on the conveyor belt, doing the gardening, even playing with your children. I lifted my poorly overweight dog up onto the vets table with ease the other day, the vet was impressed, and I don’t do too much weight training (I really should do more). When you workout to improve muscle density, you’re also giving your whole body a good service – circulating the blood, excreting toxins through sweat and oxygen, making your heart stronger (10,000 people die from Heart Disease every year), decreasing the amount of visceral fat (the dangerous type) around your organs. Did you know that once you have a fatty liver, that’s it for life? Not to forget the complete headspace you get from exercise, stress relief, clearing the mind and just feeling generally overall like a fucking champion. Exercise gives you that “feel good” factor – it’s a fact, I don’t need to cite to back me up…. ah go on I will so!
By the way, the more muscle you have then the easier it is to lose weight, as you will burn more calories throughout the day carrying that bit of good weight.
I know you’re busy. You might have a tonne of paperwork or are up to your eyes in snot and nappies, but honestly, how much time per day do you spend on social media? No really, be honest. Get up and move your ass because: –>