Aerobic exercise: It's not the secret to long-term weight loss

Holly Leonard, CFT, Weight Loss and Fitness Expert BeFit Personal Training Studio Many people are caught up in the partial view thinking that "aerobic exercise burns fat." The truth is, you might optimize fat release during aerobic exercise, but you can burn fat anytime you are in an "aerobic state." Aerobic simply means that you are meeting your body's demand for oxygen. Therefore, any time you are meeting oxygen demands you are capable of burning fat. What is the "aerobic state?" Are you meeting oxygen demands as your read this article? Yes. When you drive? Uh-huh! When you sleep? You know it! If you learn to balance out supportive eating (as I discussed in the last issue) with results-oriented exercise, you can shift your body into a state where it is burning fat literally all day long! Yes you can over-exercise Perform too much aerobic exercise, or exercise beyond your body's ability to supply fuel, and you will end up fatter! Yes, I said fatter. Performing too much aerobic exercise, without a concern for proper nutrition and resistance training, can actually result in a loss of muscle and metabolic slowdown. When you are not supplying your body with enough fuel (calories from food) the body reaches into muscle stores and as you lose weight, you lose the wrong kind of weight. If up until now you've only been performing aerobic exercise and neglected the resistance training or supportive eating, it's no wonder you feel as if you failed to get the results you seek. Don't get me wrong. I don't suggest aerobic exercise is bad. It's critical for enhancing the function of the heart and lungs and for enhanced delivery of nutrients to every cell in your body. It's just that it should be viewed as a "piece of the overall puzzle", not the solution in and of itself. You need a balance People who get started on my programs begin by performing only 12 minutes of aerobic exercise per day .... and they lose fat! The reason is twofold. Firstly, they develop a nutritional concern for supplying the material for muscle maintenance, and secondly, their aerobic exercise is customized so it keeps them within their fat burning limits. In addition to keeping aerobic exercise moderate, and providing adequate nutrition for optimal fat reduction and muscle maintenance, it is also important to provide some resistance training to stimulate muscle development to keep your metabolism ramped up. End result ..... a lean, toned body! Stay tuned for next month's article on how to ramp up your metabolism with resistance training. Holly Leonard is a weight loss and fitness expert, and President of BeFit Health and Wellness Solutions, Inc. She is passionate about empowering people with the absolute fitness truth. To discover the secrets of obtaining fitness and weight loss results in less time sign up for her e-newsletter at www.befithealthandwellness.com or by calling 413.387.6785.