Do I Really Need to Exercise to Lose Weight?

Week to week I always get asked "how much exercise do I have to do for weight loss?" This answer is an easy one -  NONE.

Technically for weight loss you don't need to do exercise to see a result and can be managed through better diet. So why at FitFarms do we ask clients to do 3-6 hours of exercise a day? Unless you are trying to calculate your force placement with the ground whilst running through biomechanical analysis then weight or mass isn't a great tool to use.

99% of my clients want to lose weight as it's associated to a feeling, an emotion or an action they could when they were at that weight. However because we focus so much on the science of achievement (the numbers bits) we never focus on the art of fulfilment aspect of training (the feelings and emotion side) which is what people truly want. Yes, you can technically lose weight through diet alone but diet alone isn't going to give you the same results as diet combined with exercise. Exercise has many positive impacts on the body:

• Reduces the risk of illness such as the common cold by 25%
• Improves levels of depression within less than 6 months
• Helps prevent and treat osteoporosis, especially in older clients
• Releases endorphins that can help with chronic pain
• Helps prevent cancer and can reduce risk of cancer returning by 30%
• Improves blood flow reducing the risk of strokes
• Improves flexibility and mobility
• Helps stabilise blood sugar and reduce effects of type 2 diabetes.
• Increase energy and alertness levels, even with those with chronic fatigue
• Reduce risks of falling and injury through improper balance or coordination
• Tones muscles giving a better shape to the body

These are just a few that I picked off the top off my head. Yes, exercise will assist with calorie burn and help with weight loss but it has so many other benefits which can help you live a better more active life.  So it's a decision of changing numbers on a scale or being the healthiest you can be.

Special blog post editorial from one of our FitFarms Health and Fitness instructors.

Image Credit: MotivationalQuoteSever.com