Cardio Free Diet

I am currently reading a book by Jim Karas called the Cardio-Free Diet and will be reviewing it as I go along. It is a really interesting concept and I want, throughout my journey to lose, to always be open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. At first I thought, okay the guy is a kook, but after I started reading, I felt the premise is actually not terrible.

First of all, he isn't saying that one should never engage in any type of aerobic activity or that cardiovascular exercise is totally worthless. What he said is that it doesn't change your body the way you think it will and that it can make you hungrier so that you overeat more than you would if you didn't do it, thereby erasing the benefits. He also points out that it is hard on your joints and can cause injury. Those are points I can't disagree with. I do feel as though I am starving after I do cardio and exhausted on top of it. I want to eat, then sleep for an hour. Strength training does not make me feel the same way. He also made the point that you don't burn as many calories as you think and as the machines estimate and that, even if you do, all it does is reduce the overall size of the body after hours and hours of grueling work, but it doesn't reshape the body. As he puts it, if you are a pear shape and you do cardio for a long time and really intensely, you will be a smaller pear shape. It is a very valid point. And tomorrow, I am going to blog about his views on strength training and how it is better for you.

I think we often want a "way" to do things, one book to follow for our "diet" and one book to tell us how to exercise or one system that just works perfectly. The reality is that every author, every fitness professional, every dieter has some wisdom to impart if we will listen. Sometimes we find the best way to grow is to change our plan all the time, for variety and as we learn more. This way, we take the best from both worlds, learn from everyone out there who has something good to say. Sometimes we try something and love it and it fits in our lives. Sometimes we try something and think this is great, but really doesn't work for us. We are often so afraid to change and reconsider deeply held beliefs. So, what I really want to do is to read all I can get my hands on and be committed to growing, not only throughout the process of losing weight, but maintaining it later. I don't want to be bound to conventional wisdom if it ever stops making sense. One example of this is the changing views on carbohydrates, but I will talk about that another day.