Thursday, October 29, 2009

DIET OR EXERCISE? WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR WEIGHT CONTROL?

The answer to this question became quite obvious to me after taking my daughter to a very popular restaurant chain last weekend. 

Each entree contained at least 900 calories (with most salads exceeding 800 calories per portion).
Knowing that we burn about 15-20 calories per minute doing the most strenuous types of exercise, I asked myself how long would it take me to burn off those 1000 calories.  1000 divided by 20 comes to 50 minutes of running (!) for every lunch entree on the menu in front of me.  And that's just not to gain weight!  Imagine how much more exercise it would take to actually lose weight!  For some reason, i lost my appetite at that point and ordered 1/2 a serving (with 1/2 the calories).

So, the simple point is that our modern servings come in such huge sizes that it is unrealistic to hope to burn that energy off by exercising.  Please, don't misunderstand me here - exrecise is very important to for health, but obesity is primarily caused by excessive calorie intake (and treated by reducing that intake).

Bon appetite.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

GETTING PERSONAL...


What do I see when I go get my cup of tea in the break room?! Warm, freshly-baked danishes! The overpowering aroma instantly called out to me, drawing me closer, tempting with every calorie-packed bite.  BUT, I did not panic.  I knew I had only several minutes to come up with an alternative or my willpower was going to be crushed by the temptation in front of me.  Luckily, I always keep around a low-calorie protein-packed snack to rescue me in situations like this one.  I ran for my Trim360 oatmeal (130 cal), which instantly soothed my hunger and gave me great satisfaction at saving myself from an avalanche of danish calories (~ 380 cal).

Am I the only one fighting these battles on a daily basis?  Can you share your battle scars?