Why Slaving Over the Treadmill Alone May Not Do the Trick

I downloaded this health app from Google Play just a couple of days ago.  It's called Noom Weight Loss Coach, one that keeps track of food and exercise, much like what My Fitness Pal does.  I'm just trying out different apps.  This one has got tips popping out and this just popped up to me on my tablet the other day. 

So here's something to mull over:

Screenshot from Noom Weight Loss Coach

The first line with the large font is obvious enough and quite easy to understand.  A lot of us have excuses for not exercising.  Even I have a hard time dragging myself out of bed sometimes just to join a 5-kilometer run.  If I give in to my lazy self, I would never have ran any of those races hahaha!  It's easier to be a couch potato right?

The succeeding sentences are a bit harder to swallow, but I could attest to the truth in that statement.  I'm never one to really watch out for calories.  I just am not so good with keeping track of all of that (and yet I keep downloading various apps haha!).  If I eat, I just want to eat and not worry about calories and all.  But when I started doing food substitutions and eating more fruits and veggies instead of the usual meaty stuff, I am unconsciously doing that -- lowering my calorie intake without feeling starved.  It's actually basic.  How much you put in your mouth, your body must need most of that for certain body functions.  The surplus calories, we just wish we could excrete, much like when we drink too much water.  But the thing is, some gets stored by the body as fats.  That depends on the food we consumed.  Stuffing one's self every meal and hoping to burn all that by hitting the gym is probably not such a plausible idea for weight loss.  On the premise of the above equation,  I'm imagining a nation of half-marathoners because Filipinos love to eat! 

Exercise of course, is still important but most of us look at it as just a means for damage control  (a.k.a shedding all those reserve fats).   Exercise is good for a lot of things other than that, like building muscles, for strength and stamina, good blood circulation and a whole lot more.  To be honest, I started exercising more and eventually got in the habit of running again, not solely to lose weight.  I did it more for those other reasons I've mentioned and to help with my hypertension.  I am running more for the benefit of my heart and lungs, rather than having to-die-for abs, which I still don't have (and still wishing to have lol!).  I just figured that weight loss and fat reduction would eventually follow. 

It's all about mind setting, I suppose, and disciplining one's self.  And although it is still not deeply ingrained in me (getting there someday) I try my best to make healthy food choices and to eat just the right portions. After all, it is easier to run with less weight to carry around, right?  And it takes the pressure out of exercising and I get to enjoy my run!