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10 REAL Reasons to Exercise (ZERO are for Weight Loss)

For many, starting a new diet program usually coincides with starting a new exercise regimen. You’re not only counting calories (or points, carbs, fat, etc), but you’re focusing on all the extra calories you are burning with exercise. However, once you stop that new fad diet, you are also likely to stop the new exercise regimen.

This is because you’re probably not exercising because you enjoy it, you’re exercising because you feel like you have to. Exercise, or any movement for that matter, should not feel like a chore. You should be moving because it makes you feel good.

When you find an exercise regimen that you enjoy, is gentle on your body, and is fun, you’re more likely to stay with it.

Here are 10 reasons to move that beautiful body of yours, and none of them include weight loss:

1. Decreases Stress Levels

I get it, after a hectic and busy day, the last thing you want to do is hop on that stationary bike. However, exercise releases endorphins which can bring down stress levels. Rather than going straight to your comfort food after a grueling day, try going for a brisk walk for an endorphin rush.

2. Increases Energy Levels

Physical activity gets your heart rate elevated and brings oxygen to your muscles while releasing endorphins. In addition to stress management, endorphins can raise energy levels. Skip the afternoon power nap and go for a midday run to power you through the rest of the day.

3. Improved Sleep

It is theorized that regular exercise raises your body temperature a few degrees which can have an impact on your sleep. When your body returns to its normal temperature level, drowsiness is triggered, helping you fall asleep faster.

4. Improved Cognitive Function

Exercise gets the blood flowing, delivering oxygen to your brain. Exercise may also stimulate growth hormones that are responsible for creating new brain cells.

5. Protects Against Some Cancers

Regular physical activity reduces the risk of developing colon cancer and may also help prevent breast and lung cancers.

6. Reduces the Risk of Heart Disease

Aerobic exercise (exercise that gets you breathing such as running, brisk walking, swimming, or biking) strengthens the heart and blood vessels, increases HDL (“good”) cholesterol, lowers triglyceride levels, and lowers blood pressure.

7. Helps Lift Your Mood

Thanks to chemicals released in the brain during exercise, you may find feelings of anxiety, depression, and mental stress melt away during a workout. These same body chemicals may even reduce pain and induce feelings of happiness and well-being. Greatest improvements seem to come after weeks of regular exercise, so stick with it!

8. Bolsters Your Immune System

Regular, moderate activity benefits the immune system, which may mean fewer colds, viruses, and infections for you. Sounds like a pretty good reason to move, especially during the pandemic!

9. Increases Insulin Sensitivity

Exercise improves your body’s ability to use the insulin it makes, reducing insulin resistance. It may even decrease the amount of medication you need.

10. Helps maintain bones and joints

Weight-bearing exercise can help prevent osteoporosis, while a sedentary lifestyle promotes bone loss. Physical activity is important for keeping joints and muscles strong, along with promoting flexibility and balance.

You see? So many amazing reasons to move your body as much as you can. Your body was made to move. And when we take the weight loss reason out of the conversation, there is so much more pleasure in it too!

If you’re having trouble decoupling exercise from weight loss, realize this is diet culture nagging at you!

Pop your name and email into the boxes below to get started on your journey towards breaking the spell of diets!!

Note: Speak with your physician before starting any exercise program.

3 Behavior Changes to Improve Your Health (Without Dieting)

Steve walked into my office and said, “I’m ready”. When I asked him “ready for what?”, he answered “I’m ready to take care of myself and make some changes in how I eat”. This was a relief to his wife who accompanied him to the visit. For years she’s been trying to encourage him to be more mindful of his food choices, exercise a little and care more about his health. But her requests weren’t heard.

Today, things were different. Steve wasn’t feeling well, his blood pressure was high, and he got scared with the lightheadedness he often felt these days. As we began talking, Steve shared that he didn’t want to feel restricted in his eating. This was a major reason why he wasn’t interested in “dieting” in the past. He was quite happy when I told him he doesn’t have to go on a diet. In fact, when I told him that I don’t believe in dieting, his eyes opened wide and he wanted to learn more. How can he possibly lower his blood pressure and improve his health if he didn’t diet?

Ahh, that’s the question of all time isn’t it. Most doctors will send you on your way with a script for “weight loss”. The problem is weight loss is not a skill you can learn or a behavior you can adopt. Rather, weight loss is an outcome of habit and behavior changes. If you are holding onto weight that is above what is natural for you based on your genetic blueprint, then it is likely that when you make some changes in your habits and food choices that you might release weight. The key word here is might.

I always tell my clients that I don’t know what your body will do when you make changes, and neither do you. Only your body knows, and your job is to trust it.

The Scale Ruins It All

Imagine this scenario. You determine that you are “sodium sensitive”, meaning that when you eat foods high in sodium it causes your blood pressure to rise too high. So, you start choosing lower sodium food choices, use less salt in cooking and have been experimenting with herbs and spices to flavor your foods. You’ve started taking a short walk after dinner and you are feeling pretty darn proud of yourself (and feeling physically good too!). You are toying with the decision to get on the bathroom scale…”I just want to see if I lost weight” you think to yourself.

Does it really matter though? You’ve been making changes; your blood pressure went down and you are feeling good.

You can’t resist. You get on. You stare at the number, get off the scale, get back on and do this another 3 times. Can it be? You only lost 3 pounds? “Man, this isn’t worth it, forget about this”, you think. You then head to the kitchen and open the package of Oreos and fall into a numb state as you eat cookie after cookie.

The Scale Does Not Determine Your Health

Every day I debunk the idea that your body weight equates with your health. And to be healthy, you need to lose weight.

Truth: you can be in a larger body and be healthy.

Truth: higher weights are associated with certain medical conditions, but this does not mean it is causative! Remember, correlation does not equal causation!

The bigger issue is this – there is no known way to lose weight and keep it off. The data is strong in showing that 95-98% of people who lose weight on a diet will regain that weight within 1-5 years. And the small 3-5% that might keep the weight off often do so with disordered eating behaviors such as counting points, tracking calories, exercising off what they ate, omitting major food groups etc. And by the way, when the majority of dieters gain the weight back, one third to two thirds do so with some interest…they gain even more than they lost.

Weight cycling, gaining and losing weight over and over, has been shown to be more detrimental to your health than staying at a stable weight, even if that weight is on the higher end.

Focusing on Habits and Behaviors

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight, after all we live in a society that sends a loud message that to be worthy, one needs to be skinny. But…

Putting weight loss on the back burner without actively working on it will most likely be what improves your health.

3 habits and behaviors you can start to focus on right now (that has nothing to do with dieting and food restriction but will bring you better health):

Engage in Mindful Eating: instead of rushing through your meal, allocate enough time in your day to sit down and mindfully eat. Mindful eating doesn’t focus on the what of eating, it focuses on the how of eating. Slowing down, putting your fork down between bites and focusing on the taste, texture, aroma and other qualities of the food will bring you great pleasure and satisfaction. It will also help you stay tuned in to your satiety signals as your guide to when you will end your meal (versus a diet where you will finish the plate regardless if you are full or not because that’s the amount of food you are “allowed”).

Choose Foods from a Gentle Nutrition Lens: consider the nutrient density of your foods while also considering the taste. Choose what you enjoy eating while paying attention to how you feel after you eat. Does your blood sugar crash? Do you experience reflux? Are you feeling more energetic? Does your blood pressure respond well to this food choice? By doing this, you are the one in charge what you eat, and that’s the way it ought to be!

Participate in Joyful Movement: think about what type of activities or movement is gentle on your body and joyful to do. You may want to consider what you liked to do as a kid. Maybe swimming, bike riding, playing tennis, or dancing. Adding some exercise into your life doesn’t have to be torture and should never be something you don’t enjoy doing. Think FUN! If it’s fun, you’ll want to keep doing it.

Remember Steve? He started practicing mindful eating, is choosing foods that he likes but that also won’t raise his blood pressure and he starting walking more instead of using the car. He doesn’t feel restricted and he just got a great health report from the doctor.

If you want to work on improving your health but don’t want to have to diet, send me an email or call me at 516-486-4569.

I look forward to speaking soon!

Your Body is Not a Calculator

How many servings of grains should I eat each day? How about protein, fruit, veggies, and fat? These are questions I used to get all the time when I created meal plans for clients.

That was back in the day when I was doing weight loss counseling (cringe!). The meal plans I created always “worked” for clients if they “followed” them to a T. But the problem was, they were not able to follow them exactly because they had a life to live. They had birthday parties to go to, vacations to go on, business dinners to attend. And once they felt like they couldn’t “stick” to the plan, they started making choices that didn’t honor their health.

Of course, we know what followed. Guilt, shame, feelings of disappointment and frustration. Then back on the meal plan, only for history to repeat itself.

Energy In = Energy Out

When I was in school, I learned about energy in = energy out. And in order to lose weight, you had to take in 500 less calories per day, or expend 500 extra calories per day, to lose 1 pound per week. Nutrition science has come a long way since I was in school.

In those early days of counseling, this is how I calculated weight loss meal plans for clients. I first calculated how much energy (aka calories) one needed to take in to maintain current weight. I then subtracted 500 calories and created a meal plan. I encouraged exercise to expend even more energy, this way my client would lose even more weight.

The problem with this is that THE BODY IS NOT A CALCULATOR.

This formula doesn’t work like this in real life. There are many factors that affect how you absorb the calories that you eat such as medications you might be on, medical conditions/diseases that you might have, your genetic makeup and the bacteria in your intestines to name a few.

You cannot manipulate this energy equation by eating less or exercising more to promote weight loss.

Once I realized this, I stopped calculating precise meal plans for clients.

2 Variables that Affect Your Body Weight

Manipulating your energy input and output isn’t going to help you achieve the body you want. But there are certain variables that will affect your body weight that are often NOT addressed. These are:

Stress: Do you live in a chronically stressed state? If yes, then your stress hormones (specifically cortisol) are streaming through your body wreaking havoc on your physical, behavioral and emotional health. Perhaps it’s time to figure out what is stressing you out and work on de-stressing with some tried and true stress management techniques such as meditation, yoga, deep breathing, etc. Learn more here!

Sleep: Do you get enough sleep each night? There is no magic number but there are enough studies that show that most people need between 7-8 hours of solid sleep. Here’s a hint: If you wake up the next morning yawning, you are not getting restorative sleep. Perhaps it’s time to put a sleep program into place.

What About Food/Nutrition and Exercise?

You might think because I teach intuitive eating, that I don’t regard nutrition and exercise. This is NOT TRUE! What you put into your body and the movement you do (or don’t do) each day has an important impact on how you feel.

The way that I encourage my clients to address food/nutrition and exercise is through a gentle lens. Only when they have rid themselves of the diet mentality can they move into this final step of their intuitive eating journey. And that goes for you too.

If you are still counting calories and watching the calorie counter on the treadmill in the gym, then you are not yet ready for gentle nutrition and movement. But if you have given up the calorie counting and watching and have regained the trust in your body to guide your eating, then by all means it’s time to start taking a closer look at the foods you are choosing and the movement you are doing (more on this in a future post!)

Final Thoughts

If you are still convinced that watching every calorie you eat is going to make a difference in your body weight, then please show some compassion for yourself. It’s okay, you are surrounded by a culture that has us believing this and I truly know that it’s hard to move away from it (take it from someone who used to calorie count…me!).

With time, you will learn to make smart eating choices from a place of self-care. In the meantime, if you need support, you can always reach out to me here!

I’m Eating Sensibly and Not Losing Weight, Now What?

Every Wednesday is Intuitive Eating Wednesday! This is when I answer your questions and around intuitive eating and emotional eating.

This week’s Intuitive Eating Wednesday Question comes from Claudia, and it is:

“What is the best approach to eating sensibly and lose weight when you are menopausal and on anti-depressant medication?”

Claudia goes on to say that she exercises regularly, eats sensibly and has “moments of weakness with sweets, but nothing alarming”. She states she wants to be healthier and is xxx pounds above her “desired” weight.

So, at quick glance, if you are a woman in menopause, you might be asking the same question. Or, if you are approaching menopause in a few years, you might be thinking “I want to know this information!”.

I’m going to break down Claudia’s question for you.

Best Approach to Eating Sensibly and Lose Weight

Claudia already says she eats sensibly. True, everybody has a different definition of “sensibly” but since this question came in via email, let’s assume it means she is eating a well-balanced meal plan.

But Claudia seems to be tying eating sensibly to losing weight. Herein is where the problem lies.

A well-balanced meal plan means eating from all the food groups throughout the day, balancing each meal and snack with a several food groups versus just eating a salad and chicken, not skipping meals, choosing wholesome foods most of the time, incorporating fun foods for pleasure, and enjoying your meals without guilt.

The problem arises If you are choosing to eat sensibly as in the above description, but it is tied to a desired outcome of weight loss. You have decided to make changes in your eating pattern to lose weight. But when habits and behaviors are changed with weight loss in mind, what happens when you don’t lose weight, or when you don’t lose weight as quickly as you’d like? Oftentimes, you are off to find a new way of eating. Those new nutrition habits get thrown out as you are saying “this isn’t working”! When in fact, you are reaping other health benefits from making these nutrition changes and eating sensibly.

Exercising Regularly

Bravo to Claudia! You are exercising on a regular basis. But let me ask you. Are you exercising with the intended outcome of weight loss? There are many benefits to exercise but all too often, those who are focused on weight loss will think in terms of calories burned and pounds lost.

What if you separated exercise from calories burned? What benefits would you experience?

Regular exercise is important for everyone, men and women of all ages. As a woman in menopause, perhaps you want to consider the type of exercise you are doing. How does it feel in your body? If you are doing the same hard-core exercises that you were doing in your 30s and 40s, maybe you want to explore a more gentle type of exercise.

Moments of Weakness with Sweets

Some people are born with a natural desire for sweets. There is nothing wrong with that. However, diet culture has you believing that sweets are “bad” and you are “weak” if you eat sweets.

I have to say – this is just not true!

Whenever you will yourself to NOT eat something you truly like, how long can that last? A few days, a week, maybe a month? And then when you do “give in”, it feels like weakness.

Shifting the way you think about sweets and how they are present in your life will make a big difference for you.

Remember, restriction is the number one predictor of overeating and bingeing.

Desire to be Healthier = Lose xxx Pounds Above Desired Weight

Claudia is not alone in thinking that to be healthier, she needs to lose weight. Heck, even doctors prescribe weight loss to their patients, repeatedly.

Why do you think doctors continue to tell the same patients at each visit “diet and lose weight?”

Because clearly diets don’t work for long-term weight loss and their patients are still struggling. So you’d think that doctors would finally get it and stop pushing weight loss as the method to “get healthier”.

Research shows that the pursuit of weight loss is not effective in the long term to manage most diseases. Study after study shows that the vast majority of people who lose weight on a diet regain that weight plus more! This weight cycling is worse on your health, than stabilizing at a higher weight.

What if you stopped pursuing weight loss and focusing on a number to improve your health?

What if instead you focused on habits and behavior changes, such as improved nutrition and increased activity (without tying it to calories or a weight on a scale!)

What if instead you focused on self-care, such as stress management and sleep hygiene?

I’ll tell you what will happen…..

You will see improvement in your health via your labs, your energy level, your stamina, your mind and so much more, without worrying about your weight. And if through this process your body happens to release a few pounds, then so be it.

Your body knows what weight and size it’s genetically predetermined to be. That number might be different that the vision (your “desired weight”) you have in your mind. But that, my friends, is for another blog.

7 Tips to a Mindful Morning Routine

If you are like most people, your morning is one mega rush! Quick jump out of bed, shower, get dressed and run out the door! You’re lucky if you grab a coffee and muffin to eat in the car as you head out to start your day. Or, you stop at the local convenience store and pick up a bagel with butter and a ginormous cup of Joe. Worse yet, you don’t eat any breakfast and your first meal of the day is lunch.

Sound familiar?

If so, you are probably not stopping long enough to figure out how your body feels when you treat it like this. You are on autopilot, doing the same routine day after day and wonder why you crash by the time you get home from work.

Nourishing your body from the moment you open your eyes in the morning is key to a healthy mind, body and soul.

I recognize it may take some time for you to change your morning routine, so focus on slow changes over time, at your level of comfort.

Here are 7 tips to get you started.

When you first wake up, take some time to meditate, even if it’s for just 3-5 minutes. It will allow you to connect with yourself on a deeper level as you start your day.

Set your intention about how your day will be, for example “Today will be an incredible day. I feel positive and alive”.

Spend 30 minutes to get your blood flowing and heart pumping through an enjoyable exercise routine or body movement activity.

Shower and get dressed in clothes that you feel comfortable in. Respect your body at the size it is now, no matter what size that is, and wear clothes (including undergarments!) that fit you well and comfortably.

Sit down and enjoy a balanced breakfast that includes wholesome food that you enjoy. Savor each bite, noting the taste, texture, temperature and aroma. Appreciate the food on your plate as you stay fully present in the eating experience without any distractions (avoid reading the morning newspaper or watching the news as you eat).

Pack your lunch and get ready to leave.

Hug your loved ones (for a boost of “feel good” hormones) and head out the door.

True, this morning routine takes some time, which means you will have to wake up a bit earlier than you are used to. And, that likely means that you will have to go to sleep a little earlier too.

But let me ask you, aren’t you worth it?

Your turn to take action: Practice incorporating this morning routine into your life and let me know how you feel in the comments below.

The Most Important Step in Losing Weight

I’m going to keep today’s blog short. It’s a quick message for you, although I realize it might not be so easy or quick for you to internalize.

I was asked a very interesting question yesterday. The question went like this:

“What is the most important thing I can do to lose weight besides changing my eating?”

I imagine what comes to your mind, besides food, would be….exercise. But that’s not what I answered her.

The very first and most important thing you need to do if you want to lose weight and never gain it back is to CHANGE YOUR MINDSET! That’s right. It has nothing to do with food.

You’ve tried changing your food and exercise before. You’ve been on multiple diets, on and off. You’ve gained weight, you’ve lost weight, and you’ve gained the weight back again.

You’ve exercised at the gym, at home, you’ve done boot camps, you hired a trainer, you tried Zumba and even spinning.

And, you are right back where you started from. Trying to lose the weight again.

This is because you have been starting at the end, not at the beginning. You have been so focused on what to eat, how much to eat, when to eat as dictated by the diet plans and what is “healthy”, that you aren’t understanding the big WHY– why you choose what you choose, when you choose it. You are stuck in a diet mentality and are afraid to let it go.

It is most important to start by changing your mindset around food, around dieting, around your body and your life. As a dieter, you must move past your dieting mentality and the idea that you need to deprive yourself and/or restrict yourself of your favorite foods in order to lose weight. You must move past the thought that you must “follow” what someone else tells you to eat because you no longer trust yourself to make those decisions.

The sooner you can do this, the sooner you can develop a healthier relationship with food and allow yourself to be guided by your inner body wisdom to know when to start eating and when to stop. However, if you say in the cycle of food worry, you will continue to think it’s the food that’s at the core of the problem, and that’s just not so.

There’s a lot more I can say on this topic. We are discussing it in our online private Facebook community.

Come and join the discussion.

How to Change Your Attitude Towards Exercise

Mary sat across from me in my office. I was reviewing her nutritional history and noticed she answered the question of whether she exercises as “it depends”. I asked her what it depends on. Mary explained that it depends on whether she is dieting or not. If she is on a diet, she is also exercising. If she is not on a diet, she is not exercising.

Does this sound like you?

For many chronic dieters, exercising goes hand in hand with dieting. You start a diet and you start an exercise plan. You go off the diet and out goes the exercise plan.

Why is that?

The answer to that question lies in why you are exercising in the first place. For most people struggling with their weight, they exercise to burn calories so they will lose weight. Or, they feel guilty after having eaten the piece of birthday cake so they want to “burn it off” through exercise.

It’s time to change the way you think and feel about exercise. Yes, exercise can help you to shed excess weight and maintain a new healthy weight. I am a firm believer in exercise. But not when exercise is solely used for this purpose.

Let’s start to think about how exercise makes you FEEL. Consider these factors:

Stress Level: are you better able to handle the stress you have in your life without getting overwhelmed?

Energy Level: Are you walking around with more pep in your step? Do you have more energy to power you through your day?

General Sense of Well-Being: Do you look at your life with an overall more positive attitude?

Feeling of Empowerment: Do you feel you can do what you set your mind to do? Do you feel more empowered to accomplish your goals, having an “I can” attitude?

Sleep: Are you enjoying a better night sleep, and waking up each morning feeling refreshed?

When you start to notice how exercise makes you feel and how it impacts these other areas of your life, you will come to appreciate exercise not for the calorie burn but for the positive affects you experience. It will then be much easier to incorporate exercise, activity or any body movement as part of your daily living without its sole connection to losing weight.

Time to take action: Please share with me how exercise makes your FEEL.