The Truth About Why Natural Weight Loss Doesn't Start At The Gym

I get a lot of questions about losing weight, especially from men wanting to lose some weight around the mid-section. There is not just one answer, of course. But my first response to them are always that weight loss has to start in the kitchen. This is where you get some quick wins if you're committed.

Compared to the gym I believe starting in the kitchen is a smaller barrier to get over for some people. Eating healthy is simply a matter of exchanging one food for another more healthy alternative. You just have to know what to change!

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Consider the following very common foods and dishes and their calorie count.
  • Spaghetti with meat sauce, 600 calories
  • One Big Mac, 560 calories
  • Pizza with cheese, 1100 calories
  • Large Coke, 310 calories
  • French fries (super-sized), 610 calories
  • Slice of cheesecake, 400 - 600 calories (depending on size)
Just look at the calories in a Big Mac for example, 560, and you will probably not even be satisfied after eating it. Add french fries and a coke and you have consumed 1480 calories in one single meal. Throw in some bagels for breakfast, snacks and dinner and you are way over your 2500 calorie goal (if you're a man, 2000 if you're a woman).

The point I'm making is that only a few bad choices in a day will set your body in fat storing state and by over-consuming food and calories, perhaps without you even knowing it, you will fail any weight loss attempt.

If we compare the food calories with how much you actually lose in the gym the facts are even clearer. The examples are 45 minute workouts.
  • Cycling, 375 calories
  • Jogging, 458 calories
  • Lifting weights, 320 calories
  • Cross fit circuit training, 425 calories
So, if you eat one single slice of cheese cake you need to spend 45 minutes jogging just to get rid of the extra calories you have added. Then you need to work out even longer if you actually want to do something about your excess body fat. 45 minutes just burns the cake.

These are simple examples but I think it demonstrates the importance of doing the right choices in the kitchen as well as in the gym.

Start by setting goals for how you will turn your diet around and stop over-consuming calories and after that add exercise to your efforts and I promise you that you will see great results, faster than you thought possible.

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