Why Exercise Is Not Enough For Weight Loss

By Carolyn J. Dean

Starting Monday morning many thousands of men, but mostly women, will head to the gym in order to burn off the excess calories they have consumed over the weekend.  Many will work out for several hours or take several aerobic classes each day in an effort to lose unwanted pounds.  If exercise was all it took to lose weight, why aren’t these people slim and fit?  There will be some initial weight loss usually the first three weeks when some start to exercise and this encourages many to continue.  However, many become very discouraged when they see slow weight loss or no weight loss after working out regularly and diligently. 

I have seen gym members who look exactly the same after working out regularly for 5 years.  Why?  Because exercise is not enough for weight loss or transforming your body.  Exercise is very important in weight loss, if it is done correctly.  However, for real results changing your nutrition is essential for permanent weight loss, performance, energy, health and in reaching fitness goals. How important is correct nutrition?   In order to really change your body, it is estimated that nutrition makes up 70% of your program.  I honestly feel it is a higher percentage than that.  

To lose weight permanently, you need a personalized nutrition program that will promote fat loss while maintaining lean mass.  More and more people eat out regularly because their lifestyle is so busy, but for real results we need to learn how to shop for the right foods and prepare them correctly. So many women do not cook anymore and so whole families are leaning on fast foods or prepackaged foods for nutrition.  Through wellness nutrition you can learn how to simplify your food preparation and save money.  When you learn how to eat more healthy foods you will be able to enjoy permanent weight loss. 

Through a thorough health screening, each weight loss candidate should receive personalized nutrition for their own personal goals.  It is very important that you know your personal protein requirement, for example, and the amount of calories you will need to consume to lose weight.  So many are either eating too few calories or too many.  You need to know what you need exactly!  Does this work?  Let me share some recent testimonials. 

We have a fitness challenge event that is taking place at our facility.  After 30 days, these are just some of the results.  Cheryl Richards lost 9% body fat, 15 lbs of body fat and increased muscle by 5 pounds (for 10 pounds of total weight loss).  Karil Schrotenboer lost 1.6 lbs of weight but dropped her body fat % by 10%, lost 13 lbs of actual body fat and increased her lean mass.  Jason Phelps lost 3.2 lbs but lost 20 lbs of body fat, dropped his fat % by 10% while holding on to his lean mass!  These women and men exercised regularly but couldn’t get the results they wanted.  What did they do different?  They changed their nutrition. 

I would like Pam Esparza to share her story of what happened to her when she went on a wellness nutrition program:

“Before I started on a weight loss program, I weighed 267 pounds.  I was miserable and sick all the time, and had no energy.  I finally joined a gym and worked out very hard, several times each day.  After 15 months I had lost 22 lbs but I gained 15 pounds back because I couldn’t get a grip on my nutrition.  I was very discouraged, disappointed and wanted to give up. “

Pam continues, “Then my husband at work attended a seminar on wellness and because the presentation was so informative he made an appointment for me for a consultation at a Wellness Center.  I started my wellness nutrition program in March of 2006 and attended several of their training fitness camps .  I lost 60 lbs. and I feel so much better and have energy and I can try on clothes and like how I look in them.  In the beginning it wasn’t easy, because I had to learn to overcome bad eating habits.  I’m planning to enroll in the next camps and I’m now ready to go the next level regarding my nutrition.” 

If you are discouraged because you cannot lose weight or get to the next level, call a fitness trainer or wellness consultant for assistance today.