Exercise and Our Health.
Let's Burn Some Calories!
Exercise and burning calories is the other half of the equation of weight loss and since a healthy weight range contributes to our general health, let's look at the exercise factor this week. And I am referring to all kinds of exercise, including strength training, aerobic, sports and even low level activities which many of us don't consider a form of exercise. Low level activity does burn calories, and if done long enough even at a low intensity such as when we walk for a couple of hours shopping or walking through a park, the primary source of fuel used is body fat (think of a wood fire that continues to burn after the flames lower). Isn't this what we want to lose?
I love food as most of us do, yet how many of us focus more on our eating or shall I say, what not to eat in order to lose rather than burning more calories? More than 66% of us are on a diet at any give time, yet only 38% of us are exercising according to the "National Center for Health Statistics"(data as of 2004). Caloric restriction is important in any weight loss plan, but caloric expenditure or what I like to coin "Burning Calories" (I say this as I pull my vacuum out), really is half the equation. After all, wouldn't we like to burn a little more so we can restrict a little less?
Okay, just what significant effect does exercise have on weight loss? In a study reported by the Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports Medicine, using a small group of "average weight" women to perform intense, medium and light exercise on a stationary bicycle on 3 separate sessions after an overnight fast, showed a significant effect.
Using scientific methods to measure fat oxidation (this means the amount of fat we burned ) after each bout of exercise as well as a control group measurement from a non -exercise day, researchers found that the amount of fat burned regardless of the type of exercise, was greater still 11 -1/2 hours post exercise session than the amount of fat burned on a non -exercise day. All variables (exercise and activity, food intake etc. were controlled and remained exactly the same for the purpose of study). The intense exercise of course showed the greatest burn (no surprise!), but all types of exercise resulted in more calories burned for almost half a day later! Interestingly, the dietary fat eaten during the post exercise phase in all groups appeared to be burned at a greater rate than the dietary fat burned during non exercise days (more stored on the hips, that is!).
So, what is the lesson we can take from this study? Let's burn some calories exercising or engaging in physical activity so we can continue to burn more during the day! While we may not be able to run or cycle every day, there are more ways to burn our calories than just at the gym.
In fact, even if we didn't reduce our food by a single calorie, we could lose about 10LBs in one year just by burning an extra 100 calories a day (keep in mind we can't add an extra 100 either!)!
Okay, let's look at a few "burnt calories" for the average 140 LB woman after 30 minutes:
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Stationary cycling (150 watts): 240 calories
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Running (5 m.p.h.) 350 calories
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Walking: during a lunch break: 150 calories
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Calisthenics: 150 calories
* Food shopping (without eating food of course!): 100 calories
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House cleaning (moderate): 125 calories
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Vacuuming (This makes me feel better!) 150 calories
So, can we think of ways to burn an extra few?
June
www.junefit.com
Check out this site
http://www.caloriecontrol.org/exercalc.html to calculate approximately, how many calories you can burn for lot's of activities!
Sources: Prior exercise increases subsequent utilization of dietary fat " in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 2002; Center for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/ 