Sunday, October 25, 2009

My Most Controversial Post--It is All about the Food

This summer I heard a radio personality mention he lost all his weight via diet and without any real 'exercise'. He went on to point out an article that said the same thing. The writer had spent countless hours and money with personal trainers but saw little actual fat loss; now there was some muscle gain and overall heath but not much else. So he really watched his food intake and then magic happened.

So during September, I ran. I ran all the time. And when I ran really well, I let myself have those cheddar fries with bacon and jalepenos. I felt great and felt more muscle but not much change in my jeans or my scale.

Then for the past two weeks during my kids' crazy production schedule of the Halloween play I had zero time to exercise. I decided to test the diet theory and ate very carefully. Annoying myself looking at calories, fat content and making sure a portion was a correct portion.

I have to admit, the food lover in me hated doing this. I did have a very small treat every three days so I wouldn't go crazy but overall, I stuck to whole grains, protein and very little fat and of course plenty of fruits and veggies. I quit snacking and cut out most my coffee.

Two weeks after the show, three pounds lost and loser jeans.

So as much I dread writing it, diet, at least for me, plays a bigger role in weight loss.

But does this mean no more running? Absolutely not! Exercise is invaluable for the heart, mind and soul. I truly believe that. It also gives your body muscle which in turn gives a better shape, even if you do have a few pounds of that high volume fat on your butt!

I just won't use a long run to justify a hot fudge sundae.

Diet and exercise work together to make a more fit you. Diet just has a bigger say in your pant size.

At least for this girl ;)

8 comments:

dani said...

lisa, one of my best friends is a gyn-ob, she told me years ago, "you can kill yourself trying to fit in a mile run a day, or you can cut 100-200 calories out of your day. it's the same difference."
much love,
dani xxxxxx

Tyne said...

Same with me! And since all my kids are so young (and Reece still isn't sleeping through the night) I can rarely get good, consistent exercise in...

Anonymous said...

I AGREE 100% ...!!!

susan said...

I agree 100% also...I have come to the conclusion that running does not EQUAL weight loss. Dieting is the best way to lose weight. I run because I enjoy it. During marathon training, I gained 3 pounds from mindlessly snacking from carb cravings! You need to find the perfect balance of food and exercise... IT IS HARD!!!

Clare said...

i totally learned this after bradley, but it doesn't matter how much you exercise. you have to watch what you are eating too! it is very annoying:)

mah-meeee said...

i just realized that it has been a long time since i got time to check my reader and i have *gasp* FIVE posts from you that i haven't read!

ahem, anyhow... i discovered the same thing too. lately i have been just overly busy and it made me watch what i ate. going for the more nutritious and healthy and skipping the ovious calories. and voila, i shed a few pounds just because of that!

i totally must start excercising and keep up this diet... there is hope yet for me to get into my pre kids jeans!

Anti-Supermom said...

So this is my problem...

just kidding, I know I need to watch what I eat but it's just so hard and well, not fun.

Unknown said...

It's definitely the key factor for me too. The food.

Hey, you won one of the Micheal Buble CD's I'm giving away. Email me your address so they can send it to you.

ealguire at sbcglobal dot net

Congrats! : )