There’s a lot of confusion around fitness and medical weight loss, often due to conflicting stories you hear about what works and what doesn’t work. First of all, scheduling an appointment with a weight loss doctor and then following our advice means you’re getting acces to the latest research and methods on weight loss. But when it comes to your fitness plan, you might hear the following four myths. Don’t fall for them!
You have to work out first thing in the morning. You friend lost a lot of weight by getting up early and going for a run every day. But that doesn’t mean you have to follow the same program. You can exercise at any time of day, and you’ll still burn the same number of calories.
Cardio exercise is the only way to burn calories and lose weight. Cardio does usually torch more calories, per session, than other forms of exercise. That’s because your heart rate gets into the “fat burning” zone. But the key to weight loss is to simply burn more calories than you consume. That doesn’t mean you need to rely on one particular form of exercise. Instead, alternate cardio days with weight training days, so that you will also build lean muscle tissue. And of course, keep following your medical weight loss eating plan.
“No pain, no gain.” You’ve heard this one a thousand times! No, exercise shouldn’t hurt, beyond being comfortably sore when you first start a regular program. Beyond that, pain signals a risk of injury, and you don’t want to push yourself that far.
You have to look a certain way in order to be healthy. You might be surprised at how unhealthy some model-thin people are. And those photos are digitally altered, anyway. Focus on your own test results for things like blood pressure and blood sugar, and consider how much better you feel while exercising. Those are true signs of health.
Call our office for more information on a medical weight loss plan. And while we’re at it, let’s screen you for underlying conditions, so that we can be sure your exercise program is safe for you.
