Exercise?

Today, in an Eating Coach class, one of the participants asked my views on exercise and how I see it working as part of the Eating Coach program.  I think it is worth passing on some thoughts for you to consider.

First off -- I love exercise.  Both personally and professionally, I think we should all move more than we do.  That is the way our bodies are designed.  If you want me to expand on this theme further, give me a call and I would be happy to come to your place of business or fav coffee shop and expand on the theme!

As far as exercise fitting into the Eating Coach program or any program that is a proponent of mindful eating -- I don't feel it has a place (as in, they are two separate skills or tools -- like you can use a hammer and you can use a saw, when you are building something you might use them both but the training you receive using the saw is really separate from the training you receive to use the hammer).

Exercise is a wonderful thing and it can make weight control easier -- no doubt about that.  But if you don't like to exercise or you don't have time, my hope is that you will understand that exercise is not NECESSARY to manage your weight.  If you consider weight management to be (for the most part) calories eaten versus calories expended, then burning more calories through movement is going to help you to achieve greater weight loss but you could just decrease on the "calories eaten" side of the equation too.  Either one will work.

You know the benefits of exercise -- even if you don't like to exercise, you can't walk through a grocery store without the magazine headlines preaching the benefits of movement.  You get enough of that.

What exercise proponents don't realize (or maybe the idea just doesn't make good headlines) is that sometimes even the most dedicated exerciser has periods of life when they cannot exercise.  Whether injury or illness, work or kids, life happens and the gym or morning run goes out the window and....then what?  Is that person doomed to have a waistline growing out of control?  No...not if they ratchet down the number of bites happening on the consumption side of the eating equation.

Yes, life happens and no, we can't always make time to exercise.  Learning to trust your hunger and fullness sensations makes sense -- your body will adjust your hunger for your physical activity level.   If you are not exercising like you normally do, your hunger level will decrease.  But this is only helpful if you have the skills to listen to what your body is telling you and not run on autopilot as you serve yourself the dinner portion of the more active you.

So ....I hope that clears the exercise versus mindful eating debate up a little bit.  And truly, if you want an impassioned speech on the joys of movement, let me know.  I'd be happy to throw myself into it.