Exercise

Common sense says, to lose weight you have to diet AND exercise. I think common sense is wrong. Watch as I mount my soapbox...

Diet THEN Exercise!

Remember how I say on the home page that people know the keys to lifelong weight control…but are frustrated that that knowledge hasn’t made a difference. The same is true for exercise.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Why would I knock exercise? You could burn more calories if you exercised. You could develop calorie burning muscle mass. You could improve your cardiovascular system…and I would say, of course you could. In fact, I leveraged my diet success into finishing the 2004 LA Marathon…when in 2001 I couldn’t run a block without getting winded (no kidding)... But, unless you’re habitually exercising now, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Let me give you my unintended “Journey to the Marathon” as an example. All I did in 2001 was read, sleep and, um, watch tennis. My 6’1” body needed 2200 calories a day to do just that. Now, I used my automatic diet to lose a pound a week and within 8 months I was my ideal weight – and I was jogging (more about that later).

However...

...I did NOT start exercising for a couple of months AFTER I began the diet…and when I did, I walked for 30 minutes. To be sure, I had no problem walking for 30 minutes BEFORE I started my diet…so, in my mind, I still wasn’t “working out”. Plus, I had done my research and knew that my daily walk was barely burning enough calories to justify a Grande Latte...

But then, another few months later, something magical happened. I got bored walking one day, decided to jog a block…and I found out that I could! I felt lighter. It was as if someone had removed a 20lbs. backpack from my back (which, of course, the diet had).

A couple of months or so later, I jogged 2 miles straight! But, at this time, I was already at my goal weight! It took me another year or so to get bored of running and join a gym. There I got into spinning and, before long, met a marathon runner on the stationary bike next to me. We started talking and before I knew it I was training for the LA Marathon…powerful stuff! And it all started simply with getting bored of walking.

Now compare that with the typical suggestion to add a vigorous 20 minute run to your diet plan to be successful! How often? At least 3 times a week. Now I don't know about you...but even with a marathon behind me, that sounds overwhelming...

Here’s the rub. It is scientifically proven that new habits begun at the same time are also much more likely to be abandoned at the same time. So as tempting as it is to start all your new, good habits at once - say, on January 1 - it is a strategy that leads most people to failure. Sure there are a few inspiring exceptions…but the “results not typical” disclaimer is there for a reason.

My advice: Use the iPhone Diet to get your eating habits in order first!

Diet THEN Exercise!

OK, I’m getting off my soapbox now ;-)

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