It is so tough for us to relate to people why they shouldn’t waste time trying to ‘cardio burn’ the fat off. We just get looks of disbelief when we explain that the key to fat loss plus keeping the fat off and looking/feeling fit is NOT aerobics. Dancing, running, spin class, jumping around etc…will NOT fix your body fat and body image issues.

Here we offer you an interesting example which may best illustrate why.

One of our favorite endurance for charity athletes Isabelle Lottie http://www.53marathons.co.uk/ last year ran a record breaking 53 marathons in 53 days and this year to commemorate she ran 53 miles (85.32km) in one day!

Both these accomplishments prove she is a rare and intense example of athletic ability. It is activity, sporting fun and physical competitiveness which helps to maintain any inherent athletic ability you have. Furthermore, it allows you to measure yourself physically and decide if you are aging too quickly and if you want more physical fitness – but it is not exercise. To significantly slow fat gain and aging you will need not play or sport but specific exercise(s).

Exercise is to change and replenish your physiology (Pre-Habilitation) so that you can and will naturally feel like doing these other things. Endurance activity burns very little body fat but it does drain your muscles and stresses your connective tissue.

Have a look at Isabelle’s fitness report you see she burned almost 5000 calories which is no surprise considering 53 miles. Fact is just 1 lb of fat will easily provide 4000 calories. The problem is it won’t provide all those calories real time when running so Isabelle would definitely need to have been ingesting calories this day to complete the distance. She couldn’t just run that distance and make it the whole way on say 1 1/2 lbs of body fat.

What this should point out is just how inappropriate it is to try to ‘activity’ away your unwanted body fat. Even if you could starve yourself and cardio off a pound of fat could you do the equivalent of this 53 miles every week for months on end?! Not only could you not burn off even a ½ pound of fat (burn at least 2000 calories) in one sitting you couldn’t do it sustainably, your body would just destroy itself in the process. You can’t just not eat or eat only 500-1000 calories and burn 2000 or more calories per day on top of the calories ingested. Even without trying to understand the chemistry (the why and how your body protects against fat loss) you can see how the basic math doesn’t add up.

Some get confused because someone like this champ is thin and fit looking thus suggesting the conclusion that all that running makes you thin and fit. The truth is her inherited body type is thin, light and athletic and that is the main reason why she is even capable of training for this type of thing.

Activity is only useful for not putting on excess body fat not for trying to remove it after it is already there.

Exercise designed to build a strong body builds stamina and will allow a healthy metabolic rate which will allow you to eat properly rather than starving just to avoid being overweight. In fact, if you aren’t youthful and strong then any activity will hardly utilize any energy at all, regardless of how hard it feels…small engines just don’t burn much fuel. That is great for gas economy but spells disaster for human health. Be strong, stay strong and eat reasonably, then activity will come naturally and you will be champion of your own life.

Be Well,

Andrew and Tierney

-WeFit

You can follow and support Isabelle on FB at:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/5353-Marathons/188981147892380