Daily Movement for Health and Weight Loss
Advice for losing weight used to go something like this: you get energy from calories so if you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight and in order to lose weight, either cut the amount you’re eating or exercise more to burn more calories.
Now we know that it isn’t quite so simple as calories in, calories out. A calorie of broccoli does not actually have the same impact on the body as a calorie of doughnut. The broccoli gives your body other things besides energy that you need: fiber, vitamins, minerals. The calorie of doughnut causes your body to release insulin, raises your blood sugar, triggers your body to store more fat, and creates a dopamine response in your brain that leaves you craving more doughnut.
This is why 80-90% of weight loss is directly correlated to nutrition and not exercise levels. However, that doesn’t mean that exercise isn’t important. Exercise is vital to your health, and can and should be a joyful part of each day. If you hate to exercise, start by renaming the activity that inspires you to move your body. Don’t call it exercise. Just move!
Here are five reasons why movement should be part of your lifestyle.
1. It helps balance your hormones.
Movement helps move stress hormones through and out of your body. It increases leptin (the hormone that tells you you’re full) and decreases cortisol and ghrelin (stress hormones and the hormone that tells you you’re hungry).
2. It increases your metabolic efficiency.
A body that moves uses the fuel you give it differently than a stationary body. Lean muscle burns more calories while resting.
3. It improves your mental health.
Movement causes your brain to release endorphins, which improve your mood. Exercise has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. Getting in a little exercise early helps boost your willpower through out the day. Keeping that promise to yourself to move sets you up to tackle anything the day throws at you.
4. It improves the quality of sleep.
Moving your body makes you tired, in a good way! Incorporating movement into your day will make it that much sweeter to lie down and rest. Movement supports your circadian rhythms, which govern the sleep/wake cycles that restore your mind and body.
5. It maintains your range of motion.
It is true that if you don’t use it, you lose it. Strength, stamina, and flexibility will all decline without regular motion. Moving your body strengthens your circulatory and respiratory systems, which bring oxygen and nutrients to every cell in your body. This gives you more energy. Regular movement keeps your muscle tissue strong as you age, and keeps your bones strong as well.
How to move? It’s up to you. Think about what brings you joy. That could be hiking in your local park, it could be joining a class or a team, it could be swimming, dancing, jumping rope, biking with your kids, or taking a walk with your partner after dinner. If you love TV shows, it could be putting a stand in front of a stationary bike, treadmill, or elliptical machine and moving while you watch an episode. It could be increasing your strength with weight training. It could be a yoga practice. You can choose to make movement a chance to learn something new and spend time with people, or it can be a time for you to be alone to discharge stress. Morning is the best time to exercise, but you don’t have to limit your movement to the morning! Spread that movement throughout your day and you will reap its benefits in every area of your life.