I asked Chubby this question once whilst starting to write these blogs. We were trying to work out how we could explain where exercise fits in to the motivation behind weight loss. We have all heard more times than we care to admit the “eat less move more” mantra and “calories in versus calories out". This is basically the whole point of our concept as it highlights that this is the only way to consistently lose weight and keep it off whilst maintaining the rest of your life in an equilibrium that actually works. The whole point though is that if it were really that simple why are we all not doing this all the time and why do we all not look like Elle McPherson or whoever has the body you crave.
The whole point of us is to give you the motivational tools to eat less and move more. It is to make you understand that you are not alone and that this is despite the simplicity of the five words the hardest thing to actually do on a daily basis. It is to give you a break to make you see that everyone has a different way of achieving this (or not!) but fundamentally they all stem back to the same excuses and simple problems that we will identify and help you overcome.
So exercise, first and foremost this is not going to make you thin. No amount of exercise is going to make you thin on its own. Chubby said that the fattest she has ever been was when she was training for a half marathon.
If you continue to eat the way you have always been eating which has meant that you have piled the pounds on in your late forties and you start to exercise you will notice a difference but the unconscious result will most likely be that you eat and drink more as you will feel hungrier after some forms of exercise and of course you will feel you deserve it. That extra portion of chips with the salad at lunch out with friends and or muffin and sugary latte after the 45 minute exercise class will mean that you actually end up with a net weight gain for the day. Most people know this or at least know that they are kidding themselves but that is the key. Stop kidding the kidder in you. 45 minutes of yoga probably equates to a bread roll and butter in calorie terms. A 45 minute run at medium pace covering 6km equates to a portion of chips and a glass of wine. You would need to run for 75 minutes at a good pace to work off the muffin and sugary latte. It is this simple maths equation that needs to be done all day every day in order to keep within the boundaries. Dull? Yes! Worth it? Yes if your motivation levels are high enough.
This leads us straight to the whole point of exercise, yes it helps with the calorie counting to keep it under the 1390 or whatever your daily limit is, but ultimately it does a lot more than this which is all far more important in many ways. How many times have I said that ultimately it is the motivation not the actual act that is the crux of all this and the most difficult thing to bottle or explain? Exercise is the most amazing motivator, as long as you can get yourself motivated to start exercising in the first place. (Some tips for this below.)
Most importantly as the sub title of this blog has already asked you, “have you ever felt sad after exercising?’ Our answer to this is a firm “no”. We wracked our brains (didn’t take long) to see if we could think of a time. We actually came up with about three or more scenarios when we felt the exact opposite. We felt on top of the world, we felt euphoric, we felt we had achieved and could achieve anything. We felt motivated and inspired to take on the world. This all sounds so blinking cliched and trite but you know we are right. That slightly smug feeling when your muscles ache in the morning because you pushed yourself a little further during a weights session the day before. That sweaty red face whilst trying to recatch your breath after a sprint at the end of an exhilarating run. It didn’t start like that but it can end so well.
It probably started with a twenty minute “faff”, you know what I mean, where are my running shoes, socks, earphones? How cold is it? Do I need an extra layer? Do I need a tissue? Last minute gulps of water etc etc.. then looking at the watch to check you really do still have time to go.
You are out the door….then the decision process for how long the warm up will be… five minutes walking is good for eliminating muscle damage you tell yourself, six minutes later you are still walking at a brisk pace and then have to persuade yourself to break into a gentle jog, minute by minute you start to lose yourself in the music (or Archers podcast in my case…I know - but I love it!) And before you know it you are off and it doesn’t hurt anymore (after eight minutes for me it stops really hurting) and you feel great and you go faster and faster… Well not always there are the runs that you literally feel every step and just keep mantraing zealot like to yourself over and over “one foot in front of the other” and you cut the route short… instead of the big loop you turn sooner and it is the smaller loop and then suddenly you decide you can’t make it the whole way so you turn back a little sooner… but it doesn’t matter you have done something. You could have sat at home and made any one of the 4,729 excuses that I have for not going out running but you didn’t….and how did you feel when you got back… even if you did the shortest route and were hardly sweaty… did you feel sad? NO you felt like you had at least achieved and it is all a building block… it all counts.
The tiniest effort magnified 365 times is massive… do the maths (as our friends in America say!) 365 x 300 is 109,500 calories burnt…. That is supposedly equivalent to 32lbs of weight 2 stone 4lbs! Imagine you work out on average and burn 300 calories a day over a year you can keep off 2 stone and 4lbs in weight.. mind blowing! But more to the point you have felt happy however many times you have actually made it out the door, or into the pool or gym! This happiness then translates into positivity which combined help every aspect of your life. Are you more likely to make a good decision or smile at your family and friends if you are happy …..hmmm you don’t need me to answer that question… it starts the virtuous circle…. All from putting one foot in front of the other!
This all assumes you have a history of an exercise regime in your life and that you have let it slip. If you haven’t then you have so much to discover and you soon will feel as we feel and have felt. There are so many ways to exercise and that really is up to you and your particular circumstances. We would all love Joe Wicks to ring the doorbell at 8am every morning after our house has been cleared of school bound children and the beds and kitchen have been Cinderellad by the non visible housekeeper but let’s face it we then wake up and can think of every excuse under the sun not to do any exercise on our way to or from work. I cannot tell you how annoying I find the advice to set my alarm a little earlier in order to get up and exercise. The only exercise that would be happening sixty minutes before my scheduled wake up time would be me reaching for the alarm to turn it off.
Don’t think I am going to run 10k, just think one foot in front of the other and see how I go, don’t take my word for it, try it you always do far more than you think you will on the days you set out with very little interest or motivation. The one foot in front of the other mantra works for running. Similarly if in an exercise class just think I will do the first 20 minutes and see how I go. Chances are 4 times out of 5 you will finish the 45 minute class. Just keep moving, keep going and eventually you will have achieved enough for that day. You don’t need to do that much every day or even do something every day if you can survive on the 1390, or whatever calorie count works for your body to lose weight on. Obviously this all gets easier as you do more and stick to it. With all habits whether good or bad the more you do the easier it is and the less you do the harder it is to get going on it. This is where you need your E.L.F. squared buddy. Use her or him, arrange to meet up to run or walk together. In fact if you are a let’s meet for coffee type of friend get out walking with that coffee. Incredibly whilst talking and walking with a coffee in hand you could burn 200 to 250 calories in an hour. That is your glass of wine and second egg at breakfast taken care of there and then. This obviously assumes that you have time on your hands to meet up for a coffee and or chat. Alternatively if you have children falling off your hips or other caring commitments then you can make every excuse under the sun but only you will truly know where you can cut through the crap and arrange to do something. There are very few, I would actually say no people that cannot make the commitment to make time at least an hour a day three times a week if that is what they want to do. I could list loads of different scenarios but there is no point because either you will make every excuse as to why you can’t do it or you will have already thought of something yourself. As you might have already read in “knowing me, knowing me” only you know how to cope with these scenarios and make the difference. We can guide you to being in the right headspace and tell you why you feel like that if you can relate to our experiences but ultimately only you can do it.
Once the exercise regime has started then the virtuous circle starts. The euphoric feeling after the exercise session is closely followed by the slightly more toned legs/stomach/arms depending on what exercise you are doing. The sanctimonious feelings of I don’t want to drink tonight because I am cycling/running/yogaing in the morning are not always captured. Some get into this, some don’t. It really doesn’t matter whether you do or don’t. If you do, happy days if not maybe you will be one of the “actually I will have the salad rather than the buttered cabbage side” as I would need to run an extra mile to work that off. Even if this is still not you it doesn’t matter. These are all added extras. The fundamental is the most important thing. If you are exercising you are creating more calorie burn and so will be able to achieve your daily calorie goal more easily. The fact that you will feel happier and look better even if you don’t cut out one square of chocolate is the bonus.
We’d love to hear about your own experiences of Expanding Late Forties – your successes and failures of shrinking your waist and expanding your mind. Use the form below to get in touch and we might even post it on the site.
