The Foundation of Exercise

This is the second installment from Maria regarding foundational principles for health.  The first was on nutrition and now I would like to share some thoughts about nutrition and its connection with exercise. 

Our bodies are designed to feel stress (hunger, sleep, desire…) and then we are designed to expend energy to overcome or satisfy whatever is creating the stress we are experiencing.  In the past if we were hungry we would have to catch something to eat, or walk into the woods to gather food, raise crops, walk to the places where food was sold, etc.  We would have to run away from danger or stand and fight.   All of these activities took energy and this was not only a way to get food or survive danger, but these activities played a role in burning off some of the calories we took in. 

Today that process is short circuited.  We can get into our cars and drive to get food, which burns very little calories.  Also the calorie density of foods today is much higher than when we ate foods that were directly from nature.  There were no machines to process our food, but rather we had to process them ourselves.  If we wanted a tortilla, we would have to pick the corn, mash it up into flour and then make and cook the bread.  This would be a several hour process and burned many calories.  Now all we have to do is open the package and put on our favorite toppings (also processed for us). 

Processing really robs us of a very natural way to burn energy and get nutrition.  A simple example is when we drink a glass of apple juice vs. eating an apple.  If we eat the apple the sugar we get from the apple is more slowly introduced into the body as the stomach works to separate the sugar from the fiber of the apple.  The glass of juice is already broken down so our body has less to do and the sugar hits the blood stream faster and all at once.  This theme is repeated over and over again with so much of the processed food consumed in the US and around the world. 

Moreover, our brains are designed to want high calorie density, because when food was scarce the higher calorie content made it more likely we would survive famine to live and have babies;continuing the species.  Thus, it is very hard for us to refuse foods that are the highest in calories because we are fighting our evolutionary brain design.  It is important to understand this so that as we are working on keeping our weight under control we can understand what drives us and how we are designed to become and stay fit. 

Finally, much of our stress is more emotional than physical as it may have been in days past.  In the past if we ran from a tiger or physically fought to defend our lives (assuming we survived) we would not only burn calories, but grow stronger and increase our stamina.  Today we run and fight emotionally and that is not the way our bodies are designed to relieve stress.  Thankfully, our bodies cannot tell the difference between running from a tiger who may want to eat us, or running on a treadmill, or walking around the block, or riding a bicycle, or dancing.  In these ways we can use our bodies to eliminate some of the chemicals we produce as a response to stress.  We can help resolve stress through physical activity because this is what we are designed to do.  If we don’t do this our stress response can turn against us and lead to health deterioration.

Maria Motta FNP

Well said, Maria.  I agree with everything she has said here.  Understanding the biologic underpinnings of our body helps explain why it is so hard to lose weight.  It is impossible to do it without a combined effort in regards to healthy eating and vigorous, regular exercise.  

Dr. Fuller