TV Trainer Watchdog - Putting the Why in Fitness

It was the best of shows, it was worst of shows. In this week's Biggest Loser, you saw a great example of how to truly motivate yourself for lasting fitness, and some bad nutrition advice.

First, the good. During one of the workouts, while sweating from head to toe, one of the contestants (Shay) was asked by the trainer, "What do you want to get out of your experience here?"

Her response: "To be happy."

Funny, but she didn't say "lose weight."

Trainer: "How long have you been unhappy?" "You have to believe that you deserve to be happy."

The Watchdog says: "Now we're getting somewhere!"

It was the same with all of the contestants. Some were there for their kids, others there for their unborn kids, others for their spouses or signifcant others.

As much as the show focuses on the scale, it ultimately doesn't matter that much. Lowering the numbers doesn't give you a better life. Getting fitter, more capable, and able to participate in your own life is what really matters.

This is what really motivates the contestants (and all of us). Beneath the surface of "lose weight," or "get in shape," lies a deeper, more meaningful reason that fitness matters to all of us.

Shay now has that new awareness. Anyone who pursues fitness with an understading of the "why" is going to be more likely to have success.

And now the bad.

At one point, a trainer emphatically mentioned that to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you take in - with added emphasis by chopping one hand into the other! Too bad saying it emphatically can't make it more true.

This is one of the oldest myths in the book.

It's only partially true. First, each of our hormonal responses to foods is different - determined by our genetics and the type of calories eaten. Second, different types of foods are processed differently so we retain differing amounts of the calories from proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.

I love it when people make it seem like weight loss is simple with cute little sayings that aren't too difficult for them to understand:

"It's all about calories in vs. calories out."
"All you have to do is eat less and exercise more."

Rubbish. Just because we WANT simple solutions does not mean they actually exist.

Here's more details on just one reason why calories in vs. out is a myth:
The "thermic effect" of food.

Start with 100 calories each of protein, fat, and carbs.
To process them, your body uses:

3-5% of the fat, leaving you with about 95 calories of fat to store and use.

10% of the carbs, leaving you with about 90 calories of carbs to store and use.

25% of the protein, leaving you with about 75 calories of protein to store and use.

It's easy to see how the type of calorie consumed affects how much we retain. So it can't be just about calories in and out.

Eating 100 calories of each results in retaining 95, 90, or 75 calories of each, depending on WHAT (not how much) you ate.

Fats are easy to break down, carbs a little harder, and proteins a lot harder. How hard the food is to break down, determines how many calories are lost in the processing.

At this point, it's fair to say that simple approaches to health and nutrition don't work. Look how long people have been preaching the mindlessly simple "rules" of weight loss. They haven't worked so well, have they?

You're smarter and deserve better advice than the "calories in vs. calories out" foolishness.

Jonathan Ross
National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
http://blogs.discovery.com/jonathan_ross/
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