An Exercise Myth

I've been learning some great stuff from our resident wellness coach and our savvy nutritionist (who is also the nutritionist for the Dallas Cowboys).  Their talks are so enjoyable that I sometimes feel like I missed my calling by not doing something similar, especially the nutrition stuff.  It's so interesting learning how our bodies react to food and exercise!

One recent topic we learned about was the myth of the "Fat Burning Zone."  You've probably seen charts that tell you how you have to work out to burn fat.  

Well, it's a myth.  Your body doesn't start magically burning off fat.  It burns calories first and foremost.  The harder you work, the more calories you burn.  And not all those calories come from fat.

 It's a little disheartening to read an article like the one linked to above, that says marathon runners aren't lean, mean un-fatty machines...  "If long, slow, steady-state aerobics was the key to fat loss every person who crosses the finish line of a marathon or Ironman would have very low body fat.  This just isn't the case.  Numerous people who train for an endurance even gain weight."

Yay....The key, as always, is weight-training.  Putting on muscle that will burn more calories, even at rest.  I really hate going to the gym to do weights, so this just depresses me.  I knew it....but didn't want to accept it.  Ha!

So go lift some weights!