WHY IS THERE MORE OBESITY THAN EVER, EVEN THOUGH UNPRECEDENTED NUMBERS OF PEOPLE ARE EXERCISING?
Earlier this week, the NIH’s National Center for Health Statistics released their massive report, Early Release of Selected Estimates Based on Data From the January–September 2017 National Health Interview Survey. Their conclusions? As is often the case, it was one of those good news / bad news kind of things.
The good news was that more Americans than ever before are meeting the government’s GUIDELINES for exercise (55% — about 12% more than two decades ago). According to the study’s authors, this means at least “150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity.” The bad news? More people than ever are obese (over 31%). And if you throw in those who are MONW, the percentage of our population who is overweight is greater than 75%. Gulp! What gives?
Honestly, it’s simple; far too many people are ignoring what they put in their mouths. I hear ABOUT A MILLION DIFFERENT EXCUSES as to why people can’t lose weight, but the most common has to do with why they can’t exercise.
I have pain in my __________ (insert body part of choice here), thereby I can’t __________ (insert exercise of choice here).
Here’s the thing folks; I’ve told you over and over again that WEIGHT LOSS is about 90% diet, and maybe 10% exercise. For Pete’s sake, all you have to do is look at current peer-review to see that exercise is not as effective for weight loss as you’ve been led to believe. And as the old saying goes, you can’t workout hard enough or long enough to overcome a crappy diet. Let me give you a great real-life example.
Earlier this week I saw a young man who was telling me about his father — an individual who can no longer walk thanks to an advance case of MS he’s had since he was a child. Despite being confined to a wheel chair, this past year he lost 100 lbs. That’s with zero exercise. How did he do it? Simple.
He cut the junk, the sugar, the starch, etc, and ate what essentially amounted to a PALEO DIET — kind of similar to what my sister did a few years ago (HERE). If you are wanting to add some exercise to speed the process up, what if I told you that a combination of STRENGTH TRAINING AND HIIT two or three times a week (half hour sessions), will help turn you into a fat burning machine?
For those of you who may have serious SUGAR / CARB ADDICTIONS or are struggling with CHRONIC CONDITIONS of just about any sort, be sure to check out THIS COOL LITTLE POST. Oh, if you found today’s post worthwhile, be sure to spread the wealth by liking, sharing, or following on FACEBOOK!
