Are you wondering if you should add workouts to your busy schedule or to just skip dessert?  
 
Well... here’s the scoop on the unsung benefit of exercise for weight loss
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Exercise, especially resistance training, makes your body want healthier foods. It makes dietary changes more tolerable and sets you up for significant weight loss that can be maintained over time. 

In addition, when your muscles have been worked, consumed calories go towards helping them recover instead of being stored as fat.
 
The idea is to focus on exercise first and ultimately it will be easier to make better food choices. It's not that you can eat crap and exercise it off. Sorry about that… 
 
BUT
 
Your body will develop more gorgeous toned muscles and lose fat. So there’s that!
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Cue my husband “Are you a personal trainer writing an article to put people off exercise?” 
 
Nah. But let’s consider this-

“You can easily eat hundreds of calories in minutes, but depending on the activity, it can take hours or more to burn these calories". Noom

Or more specifically - “A single slice of pizza, for example, could undo the benefit of an hour's workout. So could a cafe mocha or an ice cream cone.” Vox

Do you feel justified in the extra calories? I don’t know about you but if I don’t make a conscious effort to think about whether I NEED the calories there’s no stopping me!​​​
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"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Mary Oliver
 
I’m guessing, like me, you don't want to backtrack when you've worked hard on something. Maintaining weight loss is easier than losing it so let’s get there and stay there. 
 
Showing up for yourself daily by working out keeps weight loss front of mind for long term success regardless of whether that’s walking or hard workouts.

“Ninety percent of people who lose significant weight and keep it off exercise at least one hour a day, on average.” David Prologo 

General activities like walking, gardening and being active count too towards that hour.
 
​As an awesome bonus, you may have the positive influence of other people at the gym or your trainer which, if you’re exercising daily may influence your food choices. Win win.

Feeling too low to workout?

Exercise helps with low mood and depression… BUT... it can feel like the hardest thing in the world to get started when you're down. 
It’s a vicious cycle. You don’t feel like moving because you feel low. Your hormones get messed up because you're not moving and that makes you feel even less like doing anything!
So what to do? 
When you're feeling low you can pick a tiny habit that you are 100% sure you can complete daily. Pick something so small that you can muster up the energy to do it no matter how you're feeling. For example - it could be a 5 min stretch routine and/or walk around the block.
What you feel you can stick to will be very unique to you. Choose what works for you.
To sum up. Your mission - should you choose to accept it - is -

1. Pick a habit you know 100% you will be able to do for the next 7 days NO MATTER how you're feeling
2. Write it down somewhere you can see it or in an app
3. Do it and tick it off each day
4. ​When you're done, pick a new habit or extend the current one

​This helps three fold -

• You'll get a dopamine hit once you've ticked off the task, however small.
  
• Your body will be happy it moved! - bodies are supposed to be in motion a whole lot and will feel all wrong if it's not
  
• You'll help regulate your blood sugar so you won't get so many food related low moods

Of course, the more you exercise the more pronounced these outcomes are but... if you jump in the deep end with crazy intense workouts that leave you feeling like crap and unable to do anything the next day,  your depression will kick your butt!

I promise if you start with something doable, you can build on it and start to have regular exercise as one of your happy mood buoyancy aids!

If you want a super quick workout, focus on one set of muscles per session so you can save time warming up and stretching out only the muscles you're working.

Example:
Day 1 Hamstrings
Day 2 Chest & triceps
Day 3 Squat based / quads
Day 4 Back & biceps
Day 5 Glutes & hams
Day 6 Core
Day 7 Rest

*Abs and delts can be added on any day