Fitness for more than weight loss?
 

I have always found my favorite exercises to be things like yoga, pilates, walking, hula hooping...

For me each of these things goes beyond exercising for weight loss. Walking is calming in general and it's a nice break from the stresses of the day, even if it's in 5 degree weather.

Pilates and yoga make me feel so strong and connected to my body! Even when I can't do a pose in yoga I do what I can and I feel great after.

I have read that yoga and pilates are not particularly good for losing weight, at least compared to other exercises, but I find them to be my favorite forms and I'd rather eat a bit less calories and do some activity everday that I love instead of push myself to do things I hate. Pilates and yoga are also good for flexibility and muscle. I believe building muscle is crucial to dropping sizes and maintaining and helping with weight loss.

Hula hooping is better for weight loss but I require quite a lot of space to do it, since I like to do tricks instead of just waist hooping. The tricks are where it gets fun! But this means in winter I basically can't hula hoop. I have tried hooping outside but my winter jacket makes it hard to feel what the hoop is doing and I generally lose control of it.

I think the world of fitness is so large that I'm often afraid I'm doing the wrong thing. I just can't see myself in a gym, biking indoors or doing Zumba classes. When it's my exercise time I want it to be me, my body, my mind and my breath.

I have done Jilian Michaels Fast Fix Kickboxing and enjoyed it. It's very tough but only 20 minutes. I imagine cycling between yoga, pilates and that dvd should provide a good start for me, especially since yoga and pilates are progressive. I like to walk every day just to get some cardio.

One goal of mine is to be able to climb more than two flights of stairs without being completely winded. I hate how I feel in a public place after taking just one or two flights. My face is read and I'm breathing hard. It'd be different if it was 3, 4 or 5 flights but it's just one or two floors! And this goal is not even weight related, I just don't want to be so unfit at 21 years old!

Any advice? I consider myself generally knowledgable as far as nutrition, and I know a bit about cardio and strength training, but I just feel so lost when it comes to deciding what exercise is best.

for me, the best exercise is one that I enjoy and will do. Luckily, there are a lot of things I like to do, so I am never bored. Depending on the day and weather I might:
- run
- walk
- swim
- ride my bike
- hula hoop
- lift weights
- dance with my friends
- hike
- cross country ski
- snow shoe.

I don't do exercise for weight loss, I do it to stay strong, flexible and cardiovascularly fit.

I very much like your signature! I have genuinely never thought about it in those terms, and it makes a lot of sense that way.

I agree with Seagirl. Do everything that you love to do. It took me a long time to figure out which ones I actually loved: Pilates, weight training (weights and now, TRX) and indoor rowing. I don't love any form of cardio that's frenetic and short-lived. I would rather dance for five hours than hop up and down on a step-bench for 45 min. NOT fun for me!

As for exercise that burns calories, it all burns calories. Any and all movement burns calories. Just not that much in comparison to just using your lungs and your brain and pumping blood. When those treadmills claim that you burned 600 calories over the course of time that you were on it, that's not 600 calories above what you were already going to burn during that time. It includes your metabolic rate of calorie burn.

That's not saying that exercise isn't worth the effort. The cardiovascular benefits of exercise still exist, and they are very important. But for weight loss alone, it's about 80% diet and 20% exercise. Think of it in terms of calories. A calorie is a calorie, so 1200 calories of sugar equals 1200 calories of a balance vegetables, healthy fats and protein. As long as it's a deficit in calories, you'll lose weight eating either option. But the health benefits for option 2 will take you farther than option 1.

Exercise is no fun if you're doing it just for weight loss. Exercise means something different to everyone. For example, I enjoy high-impact aerobic classes like zumba or step. Mainly because it gets me completely out of my mind frrame and makes me think only about physically surviving lol. I don't want to walk on a treadmill because I'm not seeing anyone, or I'm tuning into a television or thinking about what I have to do tomorrow. I like running outdoors, at the track because it makes me feel in tune with other runners and I need camaraderie for some reason. I love dancing, tennis but I am not one for soccer or other organized sports. Yoga bores me to death but I do practice some at home to help me with injuries. Lifting weights makes me feel happy.

I really disagree that a calorie is just a calorie and I have recently come to understand this. Don't mean to hijack the thread it's just that "a calorie is a calorie" mentality can be very harmful as it is untrue. Sugar makes you crave more sugar and becomes addictive so it's more like "a sugar calorie leads to more sugar calories" in truth. Check out this video which made me think of calories very differently http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z5X0i92OZQ

Im sorry, but Geoblewis is correct... a calorie is a calorie is a calorie, because a "calorie" is a standard international unit of measurement... of heat, of energy, of work
A calorie is the amount of energy (heat) required to raise one gram of water, one degree Celsius. Its not the calories in sugar that craves someone to eat more sugar. its the glucose and the hormonal response. But, living in a vacuum, its entirely possible to lose fat eating 1200 of calories of sugar per day vs 1200 calories of chicken, or 1200 of veggies, etc. Note, i specified Living in a Vacuum. We dont live in vacuums. But the laws of thermodynamics dont magically change or cease to apply.


To the OP--> absolutely do what exercise you enjoy. Although i will add that if your number one priority is to be able to climb stairs easily, than pilates and yoga arent going to help a whole lot with that goal. Aerobic/anaerobic conditioning will be best (such as your daily walks). I think your workout plan is solid if you can stay true to it

Yes, Mkroyer, I plan to stay true to it. I do think the walks are helping with my stair climbing and my yoga is helping with my stress. I am viewing yoga as strength training and to help with flexibility and stress, and my walks are also good for stress but also good for burning calories and helping my heart! :)

It helps me to keep doing both of them every day. I just finished Day 5 on my yoga video and I think tomorrow I'll do Jillian Michaels Fast Fix Kickbox. I have been doing 15-25 minutes of yoga, and the workouts on the Jillian dvds are about 25 minutes. They really make me sweat, and it's hard for me to do them everyday, so I figure they are a good bridge inbeweteen yoga. I believe there is one 25min set to work on legs, which yoga doesn't work for me as much.

So my plan is to just keep doing something, anything, that I love everyday. I figure when I start pilates twice a week in January I'll do something like yoga, yoga, pilates, yoga, pilates, jillian, jillian...Lol. And walking 30+minutes each day for cardio.

Working out everyday helps me to stay consistent. I work out a different area each day so my other muscles can rest. I find exercise is really helping my stress levels, although I'm still super stressed because finals are coming. The exercise seems to be helping me make better judgements.

You guys have all made me feel better! I do think it's better I choose an exercise I will do consistently, rather than what I think will be optimum.

Since I am disabled. exercise is a whole different thing for me. I plan to do range of motion exercises as well as dancing to some favorite music. I am really stoked right now!

I really agree that the best exercise is one you enjoy. If you like it, you'll be more inclined to move your butt and do it! :lol:

I always thought you HAD to jog to lose weight. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't motivate myself to get up early and run or go running later in the day.

However no matter how tired I was I could drag myself to a spin class and now I wake up at 4:45 and eagerly get to the gym a lift weights. Difference is I enjoy lifting so I don't really mind waking up so early.

I see fitness and weight loss to be totally different things.

Weight is controlled by diet.

Fitness is controlled by exercise.

Can you lose weight through exercise? Well, some people can. It does burn calories. But if you make up for that by eating more, then exercise isn't going to help you lose weight.

So to me, I see my dietary choices as the key to my weight loss. I see exercise as a key to increasing muscle and bone mass and improving my cardiovascular function.

I enjoy a broad range of exercise- resistance training, walking, hiking, jogging, swimming. I think it makes more sense to do what you enjoy, because you'll do it more. There's some forms of exercise I don't like, and unless I see a compelling reason to do it anyway I don't. I do something I enjoy. Yoga falls into that last category- I don't enjoy it but there are compelling reasons to do it anyway, so I do it anyway. It's not my favorite exercise, but it does good things for my flexibility and for my back pain.