This article from Time Magazine has been making the rounds lately - several people have sent it to me, waiting to see my reaction. And while I pride myself on keeping my cool under pressure, I’ll admit, this one got me a little steamed.
The piece takes one idea that’s been common knowledge in the health and fitness industries for years - the fact that, when it comes to weight loss, diet is more important than exercise - and inflates it, using out-of-context quotes and biased information in an article that left me asking, “Are the good people at Time out of their minds?!”
Let’s just tackle a few of the biggest issues in the piece that jump off the page. First, the notion that “exercise makes you eat more.” Theoretically, this is true. A workout gets your metabolism humming, and demands more calories to make up for the energy expended, and your body craves its fuel: food. The trick, of course, is to equip yourself with the knowledge and willpower to make the right choices when it comes to selecting that food. And what are we actually proposing here, anyway? Ceasing movement altogether so that we can starve ourselves? And let us not forget that exercise also provides something that dieting can not: muscle mass. Without it, we’re left with bad backs, weaker bones, softer bellies, lower energy levels, and lower metabolisms - leading to (you guessed it) weight gain.
Then there’s the suggestion that you can easily “erase” all your good efforts with one 150-calorie Gatorade right after your workout. It’s true - if you choose to down a sugary drink right after exercise, instead of something with a lower-glycemic index that will help maintain your energy levels - then, yes, you’ve essentially “un-done” your calorie burn for the day. But notice the key word here: Choose. It’s about choices. The article mentions that people who don’t go to the gym are more likely to walk instead of taking a cab - is that really the case? In my experience, the fitness-minded folks are the ones who usually choose to put in that extra effort. And note what the author says about “greasy burritos” - I challenge you to find any gym-rat who’s wasting their time on food like that. People who choose the lifestyle of health and fitness are simply more likely to stick with it - because exercise and healthy eating go hand-in-hand.
We all know that exercise helps ward off a host of frightening diseases and ailments, from diabetes to heart disease to depression. The last thing our ever-expanding world needs is some noise from the media that actually discourages people from moving. There are already too many excuses out there for not taking better care of ourselves (time, money, family, stress). Let’s not use this article as another one. Keep moving, everybody. –>
With over 16 million workout videos sold since 1980, Kathy Smith has become a household name in fitness. A mother of two, Kathy also serves on the board of the USC School of Gerontology, the Women's Sports Foundation and is a recipient of the IDEA Lifetime Achievement Award from IDEA Health & Fitness, the world's largest professional fitness organization.
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