Importance of Nutrition and Exercise

Calorie Management determines your body weight.  A calorie deficit will result in a weight loss.  Calorie abundance will result in a weight gain.  This is true regardless of the make up of the diet composition (if calories come from carbohydrate, protein, or fat).  A nutritionally poor diet may result in weight loss, just as a nutritionally perfect diet may result in weight gain.  Your weight is determined by the balancing of calories you require and the amount of calories you burn (metabolism, daily activity, and exercise).

Each year, as part of the aging process, you lose lean muscle mass.  Muscle burns calories, so with less muscle, your metabolism will be lower (you will require less calories).  This loss of lean muscle and aging process may result in weight gain of body fat. The only way to maintain or gain lean is to exercise.

For best results, both weight training and aerobic exercise is recommended.  Weight training helps build lean muscle and aerobic exercise helps maintain muscle and lose fat.

• Weight loss without exercise results in approximately 50% loss of lean muscle and 50% loss of body fat.
• Weight loss with exercise results in the majority loss from body fat.

• An extra pound of muscle burns 30-50 calories/day.

• The more muscle you have, the more you can eat to maintain weight because your metabolism is higher.

• An extra five pounds of muscle can burn an extra 250 calories per day. 

Nutrition and exercise are the cornerstones of weight management.

 

Article by James Collins, Cox Fitness Center