I was thinking about zumba yesterday. I started zumba-ing myself almost three years ago (I think February or March will be the exact 3 year mark). I was roughly 210 when I started attending zumba. I was in great shape. I was jogging upwards toward 30 minutes without stopping. I was riding my bike religiously miles upon miles each week. I started with one zumba a week and quickly progressed to 3 zumba sessions and even some double sessions (back to back classes when I could handle it) I was extremely fit. In the last three years of zumba, I somehow allowed myself to go from 210 pounds to 252.8 (that was my highest and my new years day weight for this year). Other than a few exceptions I did zumba religiously. (exceptions.....when I pulled my lower back out in 2011......the chest pains of late 2010....etc etc etc). I rarely skipped. It has been a constant in my life. Yet I found myself gaining. How could that be? I ate badly. I had weeks where I was totally on track with my eating, but I had weeks where I ate candy and desserts....because 'one piece of candy doesn't really hurt too much does it'? Of course one piece turned into two, followed by some potato chips and then topped off with a piece of cake. I was not in control of my eating. And that is the crux of the matter. You can lose weight without exercise. The food we are putting into our mouths really is the key to it all. (well, unless you are exercising 5 hours a day or something ridiculous). The good thing? If something keeps us from exercising??? We can still lose based solely on diet. It's not a two way street.
I was thinking about zumba yesterday. I started zumba-ing myself almost three years ago (I think February or March will be the exact 3 year mark). I was roughly 210 when I started attending zumba. I was in great shape. I was jogging upwards toward 30 minutes without stopping. I was riding my bike religiously miles upon miles each week. I started with one zumba a week and quickly progressed to 3 zumba sessions and even some double sessions (back to back classes when I could handle it) I was extremely fit. In the last three years of zumba, I somehow allowed myself to go from 210 pounds to 252.8 (that was my highest and my new years day weight for this year). Other than a few exceptions I did zumba religiously. (exceptions.....when I pulled my lower back out in 2011......the chest pains of late 2010....etc etc etc). I rarely skipped. It has been a constant in my life. Yet I found myself gaining. How could that be? I ate badly. I had weeks where I was totally on track with my eating, but I had weeks where I ate candy and desserts....because 'one piece of candy doesn't really hurt too much does it'? Of course one piece turned into two, followed by some potato chips and then topped off with a piece of cake. I was not in control of my eating. And that is the crux of the matter. You can lose weight without exercise. The food we are putting into our mouths really is the key to it all. (well, unless you are exercising 5 hours a day or something ridiculous). The good thing? If something keeps us from exercising??? We can still lose based solely on diet. It's not a two way street.
This was the hardest thing for me to realize...and probably why I never lost any weight when I used to do Jazzercise back in the day. It's too easy to eat back the calories you just burned off!
ReplyDeleteI try not to eat exercise calories, but sometimes I eat some of them.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words. I appreciate the support. :)
A couple of times I almost bought some Zumba DVDs off eBay. But I wonder if it's too full on for me. What do you like about Zumba and would it be worth getting the DVDs?
ReplyDeleteThe two things I keep trying to remember every time I'm shopping or trying not to give in to a craving are:
ReplyDelete1. It's 80% diet and 20% activity.
2. You can't out-exercise a bad diet. It always catches up with you in some form.
No idea where I first heard either of these things but in my weight loss experiences, they are both totally true. The first time I lost all the weight, I did so with only walking a few times a week and WW.
They go hand and hand. And it's very easy to sabotage your exercise effort with the wrong foods.
ReplyDeleteAnd to Scribbles:
I have the wii Zumba, the Zumba dvds, and I go to Zumba class. The wii is fun, the dvds do work if you are more of individual type of exerciser, and the class are just plain awesome!! It's the camaraderie with other exercisers, and the music is fresh and new. It all depends on your exercise preference. Try a class you won't regret it, ask MF.
Sherry
I did that too. I lost 55lbs in 2010 from January to April and in March I had started Zumba. Somehow psychologically, knowing that I was burning between 800-1200 calories in an hour made me think I didn't have to work so hard on the eating portion of the journey. That is why now (3 years later) I do not have allowances for my exercise. My calories may fluctuate between 1200-1700 (and upwards on a really bad day) but regardlessof how much I Zumba, I do not tell myself I am 'allowed that many more calories'. If I eat extra it is because I am either truly hungry or because I am not practicing this extra muscle in my brain called self control.
ReplyDeleteI really like this post because I could relate to it.
Zumba on! :)
Scribbles, I used to do LIVE Zumba classes (I weighed between 270-325) but I have very small children so in 2011 my family bought the Zumba DVDs for me. They are awesome and you learn the choreography and can really get into it at home. (I am currently in the 320's) so I imagine if I can do all that, then you can too. :)
ReplyDeleteSince I really don't do that much exercise I don't eat the extra calories. There may come a day when I might try it but for now it's working for me.
ReplyDeleteMy husband who could bike 4 hours a day and wasn't losing weight realized it is definitely more about your food choices!
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