You may have noticed in my social media posts, class descriptions and general comments online that I never reference 'weight loss'. You may think this is poor promotion for a small organisation trying to help people improve their wellbeing. And perhaps it is.
I have, however, questioned myself on this many times and I've reached the conclusion that I simply don't believe in promoting weight loss.
Controversial? Let's see...
What does 'weight loss' really mean?
I firmly believe that weight loss means so much more than the basic maths of 'losing weight'; becoming lighter, being less heavy.
In terms of true biology, the weight of our body comprises so many essential elements ; our skeletal system, bone density, organs and tissues, height, muscle mass and fat stores . Some factors we just can't change.
Our skeleton is the framework to which everything connects - we can't change our skeleton. Our organs are their required size to fulfil their function in keeping us healthy and well. We can't change our organs.
Our bone density can develop through weight-bearing exercise - this could play a very small, micro-marginal part in our weight variation. But we don't want to be decreasing our bone density do we?
So, let's be blunt. What are we really talking about here?
When we strip it right down, we are talking about reducing our body fat percentage. Less fat = less weight.
But why are we choosing to quantify this, and nothing else?
Reading between the lines on weight loss
When people contact me about 1-1 personal training, joining a fitness class or worrying whether they'd fit in at a Yoga class, what are they really asking for?
In a recent survey sent to Body Physical subscribers, I wanted to find out more about their personal motivations, and also their barriers, to exercise and/or joining a structured class.
When requesting their responses, I intentionally omitted an option to state 'I want to lose weight', so that I could dig a little deeper into their personal goals and core values. (It is worth noting that there was an option for people to leave their own comments, to provide any further detail that I may have missed, e.g weight loss.)
And here's what I found out.
69% of people wanted to feel stronger/fitter
63% wished to improve their mind/body wellbeing
44% wanted to look better
44% wanted to improve their medical health
31% hoped to enjoy a better quality of life
6% were keen to find companionship with others
0% mentioned wanting to lose weight.
Now, you can read into this in various ways, but the fact is that not one person's primary motivation was solely to lose weight. Losing weight may attribute to many of these possible outcomes, but it is in no way, by itself, the most valuable outcome.
We all know of a multitude of ways (perhaps too many to mention) that weight loss is drilled into us, as a way of measuring our success, health and sex appeal, But are there a better ways to view ourselves and our achievements?
Of course there are! Read on...
So what are 'weight loss' classes/courses really selling?
More often than not, these classes and courses are selling different ways to diet.
Dieting is a non-movement method of restricting calorific intake in order to create a deficit and, therefore, lose weight.
As we know, this is primarily focused on ridding ourselves of that pesky excess body fat, without the need for exercise.
But, if our deeper needs are actually to feel stronger/fitter, to improve mind/body wellbeing, to look better and to improve our medical health, are these classes really going to fit the bill?
The answer to this very much relies on the individual but, without exercise, how are we going to improve our metabolism, increase our strength and fitness as well as improve our muscle tone and health?
These elements simply don't alter with dietary changes alone. It takes a lifestyle shift.
Exercise classes claiming to support 'weight loss' are mostly likely to be basing themselves on one or two main factors:
Calorie burning through movement (eg 'cardio' activities such as aerobics, walking, jogging, high intensity interval training [HIIT])
Metabolic improvement through resistance training (eg 'strengthening' activities such as weight lifting, bodyweight training, 'body conditioning')
The former option is an effective way to burn a larger amount of calories at the time of exercising, with movement methods that are more challenging than those you gift your body on a day-to-day basis. You burn more calories at the time you exercise, therefore begin to create a deficit. Unless you then treat yourself to a cake on the way home. (We know this to be true - we do it ourselves!)
This method of exercising offers a lesser overall metabolic effect and relies upon regular patterns of exercise to keep the calories burning and to encourage a weight loss effect.
The latter technique is a way of building fitter and stronger muscles, which will in turn help to burn energy whilst the body is at rest. You may find less of a calorie burn at the time of exercising, but the metabolic effect will be taking shape for a while afterwards, helping your body to burn more energy overall, over a sustained period of time. It again requires a regular pattern of exercise - especially for women as our hormones can at times work against our body 'building' strategies.
Where we come in
Body Physical classes target the areas of our health and wellbeing that matter the most. Our classes and courses can absolutely help you to lose weight (if that is still your greatest motivation) but calculate me this -
If you are attending a class for 1 hour per week, in order to lose weight,
what are you doing for the other 167 hours of your week?
We need to form new patterns. New habits.
We must be willing to embrace new opportunities for happiness.
Body Physical clients, whether they prefer 1-1, group exercise, Yoga or wellbeing and seeking spirituality, all recognise the need for consistency, maintenance and when it's time to to break through plateaus - those areas of stagnation, when you seem to stop achieving your goals and need to make a change.
Attending one class is the best way to start. We all start here.
Trying something new is the only way to make a change.
How did our clients get started?
Most of our clients reported that their biggest barrier to starting a new class/course/exercise programme was being too busy with work, family and life in general. Others also said that they felt worried that they would be rubbish at it and might not fit in.
All of these comments were from our members!
These are people who initially struggled to prioritise time for themselves and who felt the same insecurities the rest of us feel when starting something new.
And now they are regular members!
Carving time out of busy schedules is not easy and making change happen is not as simple as writing something onto a calendar.
But is there a way you could make it happen?
Could you prioritise yourself for, perhaps, 1 hour per week? Maybe even two?
Our fitness classes combine cardio vascular fitness challenges, resistance training, bodyweight and interval training and a whole lot of laughs! We offer outdoor classes because we know that most people don't get enough fresh air and vitamin D.
Throughout the winter months we also offer studio-based fitness classes, set to music. All of our fitness classes are designed for small groups, so you never get to hide at the back! What that does enable us to do, in all seriousness, is to check your technique, offer variations to suit your body and ensure that your exercise is effective for YOU!
Our Yoga and wellbeing events are structured into intimate studio settings for the very same reasons. We want your class experience to work for you. We know that every body is unique, holds its own history, areas of tension and ease, strengths and weaknesses and we strive to support you on your mind/body journey.
Our feedback shows that:
Our clients love structured courses (it means that once booked, they feel they have committed to attend).
They appreciate variety that our classes bring to their training routines (no two fitness classes are ever the same - no plateaus here!)
They keep coming back because they build a community (they are all super lovely and supportive!)
New events are often popping up in our calendar so they like to challenge each other to something new (self-confidence is infectious!)
So, if we're not measuring weight anymore, what do we measure?
We are not saying that you can't weigh yourself anymore - for some people that is too big a habit to break, and we get that. But there are lots of other ways to measure your success:
How about...
Running for a bus? Could you do this before, can you do it now?
Calculating how far you can walk without discomfort?
Carrying shopping/small children* (*yours obviously, not random ones!)?
Lifting things around the house?
Trying on that favourite outfit that hasn't quite fit for a while?
Testing your heart rate recovery after a workout?
Gardening without back pain?
Bouncing back after a fall?
Analysing your range of movement in a squat position?
Trying your luck at a 5km run?
Checking your blood pressure?
We can help you with all of this and we want you to succeed!
"But have your clients lost any weight?!" I hear you cry.
I honestly couldn't tell you. I don't know because I don't ask.
Because I've learnt that isn't the most important question.
However what they have said is this:
"Each session really pushes me but in a good way, I always feel stronger and more confident in what I can do"
"I'm really enjoying the journey to getting stronger and fitter. Thanks so much for making it fun and being so encouraging!"
"Love the variety and that each week the class includes different elements, and even when you’re not feeling it when you get there, the group vibes lift you and you leave the class feeling so different"
So, before you next get onto your scales and begin to measure your self-worth by body-weight, please consider a change.
Perhaps grab your calendar instead, find a free hour in which your could factor in some effective YOU time and contact us.
Future you will thank you.
Comments