The
first way is to eat fewer calories. The second one is to use more calories
(exercise). The best way to accomplish fat
loss without failing is a combination of both. If you try to
accomplish a calorie deficit only by eating less calories, then you're body
thinks it's starving, and will go into "starvation mode" where it
lowers its metabolism in order to prepare for a period of little food (this is
a protective response from caveman days when food actually did become scarce,
unlike today). Another reason that the metabolism is lowered is because when
there is a period of little food, your body tries its best to protect the
brain. The brain always requires glucose (carbohydrates) to run; however,
glucose cannot be stored in the body. Therefore, the only way for the body to get
glucose is to eat its own muscle (muscle can be converted to glucose) - which
lowers your metabolism and causes the starvation response. So, the body
accomplishes two things by eating its own muscle: it provides glucose for the
brain and causes your body to require less food, since less muscle equals a
lower metabolism. When the starvation response is elicited, you smack into the
fat loss plateau and your diet fails.
When
you incorporate exercise into your routine, your body feels more comfortable
with not lowering your metabolism. If you are exercising frequently, the
starvation response is mostly avoided. Two important forms of exercise to
produce this affect are weight training and aerobic exercise (cardio).
The
goal of aerobic activity is to burn calories while avoiding the starvation
response. Many times when you mention "exercise" or
"cardio", people immediately get negative thoughts in their head
about the extreme difficulty of doing such exercise, but these thoughts are misguided.
Cardio gets easier as your body adapts, is very rewarding, and can even be fun.
As you
do more cardio, your body begins to adapt and become better at performing the
same work, but with less perceived effort. The body becomes more efficient and
moves nutrients and oxygen around faster because you build new capillaries, the
cells produce more mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell), your heart
becomes more powerful, your body produces more blood, and a host of other
adaptations that would cover a whole textbook. The main thing to note is that
you still burn the same amount of calories, even after your body adapts and it
becomes easier. However, with your new, more adapted body, you will be able to perform
more strenuous exercise that burns even more calories resulting in even more
fat loss. For instance, in order to burn 300 calories, you would have to walk
for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. In contrast, jogging for about 25-30 minutes
(depending upon your speed) will burn 300 calories. Obviously, the latter is
more practical unless you just have a huge amount of time on your hands.
Walking also doesn't elicit the endorphin high that running/jogging does either.
The
Overload Principle
When
you begin a cardio program, your first goal should be to adapt to the point
where you can burn a sufficient amount of calories. This involves the overload
principle. The overload principle is simple: in order to initiate adaptations
within your body you must exercise with either a greater intensity, duration,
or frequency. Depending upon the type you decide to overload (intensity,
duration, or frequency), you will adapt to that type. For instance, if you want to run faster in the
same amount of distance, you should run faster, and your body will adapt to
that. If you want to run farther, you should run farther, and your body will
adapt to that. For instance, if you do
the same aerobics routine everyday your body will never adapt any further -
since there is no need for it to. However, if you were to perform a more advanced
routine, this would initiate an adaptation in your body, and so on. Keep in
mind though, if you decide to stay at the same level of fitness and do the same
routine, then you will still burn the same amount of calories, and if your goal
is just fat loss this may be a potential option for you.
Just
Get Started!
If you
haven't done any exercise for a while, you should start out small. Start out with
just a brisk walk, then intermittent jogs while you are jogging, then finally,
you will be able to jog the whole time, and then increase your times/speed to
the point where you are happy. The hardest part is really just starting. Once you get your momentum going by exercising for the first time,
you have already accomplished the hardest
part.
Your
Body's Reward to You: An Endorphin High
In
addition to burning off unwanted fat, doing cardio gives you something called
an "endorphin high". This all natural high induces a feeling of
well-being, relaxation, improvement in mood, and increase in your ability to
think more clearly. It's theorized that this is the reason why many long
distance runners are "addicted" to running - they love the high they
get afterwards! Once you've experienced one of these, you're even more likely
to continue your regime and therefore continue to burn off fat.
The
hardest part about a cardio regime is starting. Remember to incorporate the
overload principle when trying to cause an adaptative response and to stay
hydrated while performing your cardio regime. Once you get passed that point and experience
some of cardio's effects such as fat loss without hitting a plateau, a feeling
of accomplishment, and that awesome endorphin high, you'll become addicted.
However, no exercise routine is complete without the proper support from an
intelligent nutritional program. ONE Training has nutrition programs that are informative, easy to maintain and allow you to succeed!
Adapted
from http://www.ofspirit.com/johnnylavot1.htm
The
Exact Reason Why Cardio is Essential: Avoiding The Starvation Response
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