When mediocrity is an acceptable thing, it is sad to say that doing something is better than doing nothing. It is now common place to engage in a mostly inactive day that includes lousy food options and sitting on your ass from 8:00am to 4:30pm.
Combatting this is typically relegated to a perfunctory routine where you engage in a minimal calorie-burning activity such as walking on a treadmill or a half-assed workout on an elliptical machine at the local fitness center.
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Who This Article Is For
For all of you in the go-for-the-throat motivated and competitive group, this discussion is laughable. In that case, move on to something else. Please read another article that applies to your goals. Seriously, stop reading this.
If you’re still reading, the forthcoming discussion is for those who need a swift kick in the ass to move in the direction of progress via reasonable training and effective calorie burning.
The type of people who fall into this category may include those guys and gals who sit behind a computer monitor eight hours per day, five days per week. It may also involve those who simply sit idly each day making department or corporate decisions with minimal standing and limited walking or moving around the workplace.
The Truth About Calories and Body Weight
The truth is the more you move and exert during the day, the greater number of calories you’ll need to support those activities. As a general rule:
- Greater calories consumed + fewer calories expended = body weight gain
- Fewer calories consumed + greater calories expended = body weight loss
- Fewer calories consumed + fewer calories expended = body weight maintenance
- Greater calories consumed + greater calories expended = body weight maintenance
“The truth is the more you move and exert during the day, the greater number of calories you’ll need to support those activities.”
And before moving forward, heed these facts regarding calories in versus calories out:
- McDonald’s Cheeseburger – 300 calories/34 minutes of jogging
- Cobb salad – 457 calories/52 minutes of jogging
- Beef nachos, 1 serving (7oz) – 430 calories/49 minutes of jogging
- Burger King Whopper, large fries, and medium drink – 1,161 calories/2 hours and 20 minutes of jogging
- Four pieces of a 14″ pepperoni pizza – 1,120 calories/2 hours and 8 minutes of jogging
- Three servings of Goldfish crackers (2 servings/55 pieces) – 300 calories/34 minutes of jogging
- One medium-size banana and one medium-size apple – 105 calories and 93 calories/23 minutes of jogging
You need to admit that it’s a challenge to out-exercise bad caloric intake. Forty minutes of outstanding exercise can be trumped with ten minutes of bad eating. Poor food choices result in more calories being ingested and most likely stored as body fat.
Moving or doing something is at least better than doing nothing. But if you’re going to do something to counter poor calorie intake, you’re better off doing activities that are brutally demanding.
“Forty minutes of outstanding exercise can be trumped with ten minutes of bad eating.”
Yep, we’re talking hard-core interval training, intense boot camp or circuit training, or any activity that is balls-out and short by nature (i.e., wresting, MMA, hill sprinting, or tire flipping for hundreds of yards).
Simple Options for Daily Movement
Knowing the above, if you’re not a dedicated trainee but still wish to do something to counter poor nutrition and your admitted lack of physical activity, here are some options you can use throughout your day:
- Work in a multi-floor office building? Take the stairs as opposed to the elevator.
- Park your vehicle far away from the entrance to your workplace. Better yet, if feasible, walk to work.
- Do you sit in a cubicle or desk 95% of the workday? Every hour get up and move. Do some bodyweight squats, walk the stairs, walk the hall multiple times, perform a wall sit, or do anything that requires physical effort. It may not seem like much, but doing anything is better than doing nothing if you do it multiple times and on a daily basis.
- If your evening routine entails plopping your ass in front of the television for three hours until it’s nighty-night time, be active during commercial breaks. Walk or do squat, burpees, mountain climbers, jumping jacks, or push ups. Do something during the commercial breaks.
- Before you sit down to watch television, get your butt outside and walk a few blocks, or more.
- Those chips or ice cream you normally consume while emulating a couch potato? Replace them with an apple, celery sticks, or a crossword puzzle. It all adds up.
RELATED: Your Lifestyle Choices Are Killing You And Your Children
It’s a simple proposition. Poor calorie intake + negligible energy output = a greater possibility to gain body fat. Improved calorie intake + an effort to burn more calories = a greater possibility to lose body fat. Simple and safe choices can go a long way if done consistently and over time.
Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.
