Words of reflection, encouragement, punishment, catharsis, narcissism, humor & accountability from a wife & mother on a journey to reclaim her body & keep her sanity. Sometimes heavy, sometimes light, always real life.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Weight Loss = MC Squared?
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Recently I've had a few people ask me some variation of, "What is more important for losing weight: eating right or exercise?"
*sigh* It's such a loaded question, usually packing the asker's predisposition for the "right" answer. I don't suppose there is an ACTUAL right answer--if there is, I'm certainly not qualified to know what it is.
For ME, weight loss looks a little like this: 60% what's in my head + 30% what's in my mouth + 10 % what my feet are doing. Taking out the main element of the mental & emotional component, food is the critical piece of the equation. This morning I came up with an analogy.
When I was in high school I took Physics to fulfill my school's science requirement. Physics & I fought a LOT. It didn't come intuitively to me & I didn't enjoy it, which made it a struggle. I faithfully went to class every day but when it came time to do the homework, I often shirked it & I NEVER studied.
Going to class is like exercising & studying is like eating. My success in Physics was mitigated by my refusal to give my mind the fuel it needed to process what I was getting in class. Similarly, my weight loss is hampered when I am in periods of giving myself low quality or low nutrition fuel, regardless of how much I am working out. Without the proper fuel, both efforts are wasted.
I passed Physics, but I don't want to squeak by with my body. For me & my weight loss progress (note: when it comes to my overall HEALTH, I think exercise takes a more pivotal roll, this is just specific to my weight loss) I have to focus on the food I eat--high quality, whole foods not low calorie, processed junk. When it comes to my body I want better than a C-.
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I took a boot camp style class last summer and the instructor told us that your diet is crucial for weight loss. No matter how hard you exercise if you're shoving a dozen donuts in your mouth afterward it's going to be hard to lose weight (and of course isn't healthy either)! I will say though that exercise helps me with my diet. After a good run or workout it's much easier for me to make healthier food choices because I'm on a high and don't want to undo what I just did.
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