Exercise is not Penance for a Poor Diet
The gym is recess not detention.
“One attention-grabbing idea being explored: Labeling foods with ‘exercise calories,’ or the amount of physical activity needed to burn them off. For example, a chocolate bar might say it has 230 calories, alongside icons indicating that amounts to 42 minutes of walking or 22 minutes of running.” Metro West Daily News
The view of physical activity has been slowly shifting to that of a chore and the above article only confirms this. In an effort to educate and inform the public regarding weight gain/loss and the role that calories play, we’ve created a mindset where exercise is used to counterbalance a poor diet. “You ate a cookie now you must pay for that with a 20 minutes run.” Or “That beer you had - 10 minutes on the bike.” Comparisons of this nature is what leads to the moaning, groaning and whining associated with intentional physical exercise. We’ve made the gym a detention hall for those who’ve broken the rules of healthy eating. When in reality physical exertion should be viewed as it was in middle school – RECESS.
The purpose and benefits of exercise are more valuable than the caloric deficit that results. Scientific research has confirmed that our bodies were made for movement: we have spring-like tendons the increase our energy efficiency when running (National Geographic) our energy systems are sophisticated and change based on the work being performed, biochemical reactions occur that induce feelings of elation, our bodies adapt and improve the more we repeat an exercise and our brain function improves with the increase in blood flow. Intentional exercise connects the mind to the body and can refine movement patterns so that when you need to exert effort outside of the gym you can do so in a safe and effective way.
Do not make exercise conditional on what you’ve eaten, instead move your body regardless of the calories you’ve consumed. Make exercise its own habit, this is not about weight reduction, (diet is about weight reduction) this is about doing the work that allows your body to be the best it can be. It’s about establishing self-confidence and independence: being able to hike a mountain, climb the stairs without panting, change out the water cooler by yourself and build your own body armor.
Most importantly, the ability to move is a gift that many take for granted until it’s too late. Ask yourself, if you lost the ability to move (as so many people have) would you miss the steps that you never took? In 2010, I ruptured my Achilles tendon (snapped it in half) 8 weeks in a cast, 3 months in a boot and months of physical therapy only strengthened my appreciation for the importance of maintaining a well-functioning body. Actor Cameron Mathison was diagnosed with Perthes disease as a child, and sentenced to wearing leg braces for FOUR years. When those braces finally came off he swore to get stronger and fanatically pursued sports and exercise because he knew what it was like to be a prisoner in a sedentary shell. (ABC News)
Are you acting like you have leg braces on, when you truly don’t? Do you want to keep viewing movement as a punishment or are you ready to lift the veil and see it as a gift that you are squandering? Don’t put yourself in detention, go out to recess and revel in the glory of movement.
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