If we take the time to listen to what our body is telling us, we can learn a lot, and in the process, keep ourselves from further pain, injury, or more. This week, I started running after a two-month absence due to a minor knee injury. I wanted to give my knee time not only to heal, but to get past the possibility of an easy re-injury. I think I got there, and my run on Monday was really good. However, while I didn't push the pace, I pushed the distance, and as a result, I have excessive muscle burn. Some people thrive on that feeling; I'm not one of them. To me, there's nothing worse than sore muscles (beyond a point). I was planning on running on Wednesday, but the pain was still too much, and I decided to run on Thursday (not remembering that I had a show scheduled with my wife that precluded running). Then there's today, and I have plans with friends. I may still have time to knock out a run before they come over, but it will really depend on what time I get home. But I digress.
What did I have to gain by pushing through the excessive pain? In past experience, when I've done that, one of two things happens: either I'm able to get past it and the pain goes away, or I develop an injury because I run in a way my body isn't used to, and I end up pulling a muscle, ligament, or tendon. I wasn't willing to risk it, so I decided to sit it out. While I didn't get the benefit of exercise on Wednesday, as I sit here and type this, I am not injured.
The same holds true for hunger. Since I cut out added sugars and grains, I haven't had to cope with cravings or false appetite. What that means for me, however, is that when I get hungry, I have to listen to my body and feed it. It's also feedback on the size of my meals. Last week, when I had an exceptionally large lunch, I wasn't hungry again until the next day at lunchtime. I skipped dinner that night because as I was getting ready to prepare a meal, I realized that I was still not only not hungry, but stuffed. I listened to what my body was telling me, and the next morning I went into my regular Intermitted Fasting (IF) routine without issues. I was hungry about an hour sooner than usual, but it was fine. I ate a little early that day, but ended up having no ill effect.
Every time I eat, I make note of not only what I ate, but the volume so that I can make adjustments to later meals. Feedback is worthless if you ignore it. Our body is telling us things all the time, not only through muscle pain or hunger, but also through things like our weight, our size, how our skin looks, the bags under our eyes, etc. There's a lot to take in and consider if you just open your eyes and allow yourself to see it. Don't ignore those feelings. Don't ignore the data. Use it all to analyze where you are at, how you're doing, and use it moving forward to monitor your progress and guide you to your goals and beyond. Our body wants to help us: we need to listen.
One thing I am adamant about is making sure people understand that you don't need to spend hours a week in a gym to lose weight. That's one of the top fallacies when it comes to weight loss that most people fall prey to. Gym memberships are, in large part, due to this misinformation. What makes it especially sad to me is when I see people working out, doing good, solid, hard work and then not seeing the results they crave. Most people give up and stop trying, while the persistent few keep going and going. Some in the last group will even see some success because they continue to raise their level of physical activity until they see some results only to eventually realize that the extreme amount of physical activity is not sustainable. Then, they succumb to their poor diet and gain the weight back (and in most cases, even more than before). That's why I advocate changing your diet; it works.
I lost 130 lbs in a year without a single step of exercise. However, for me to get the last 20 lbs, I needed to do some exercise. I ran for 30 minutes three times a week and did a single set of push-ups prior to each run. That's it. That got me 20 lbs more lost.
What happened to my weight when I was unable to exercise due to a knee injury? It went up 20 lbs. Literally the extra weight I lost with exercise came back. It seems that with a lack of physical activity coupled with the amount of food I feel comfortable eating, my weight will hover in the low 180's. But that's not where I want to be. I like the 160's better (and so does the military, whose standards I need to adhere to).
Enter physical activity. Coupled with a GOOD diet (in my case, that means low-carb Paleo), losing weight happens readily. In my case, adding physical activity back to my daily routine has already given me the results I'm looking for and even a bonus: better sleep. I typically sleep well, but the nights after a run, I sleep solid through the night. I don't wake up at 3 am looking at the clock and wondering why my brain won't stop. I sleep WELL.
As for my weight loss, I am scheduled for another run today after work. My legs are VERY sore, as the three-mile run I did on Monday was likely too far too soon, but the pain is just muscle soreness, not actual injury pain, so I'll try to run again this afternoon. If I make it past 2 miles, I'll be happy. In the past, running with sore legs typically starts off rough but after 1/4-1/2 mile, the pain goes away until after the run. I'm hoping for that today.
But please understand: you don't need to exercise to lose weight, but exercising with a good diet will lead to better/faster weight loss, and in my case, it led to weight loss+.