Diet vs Exercise

I’ve been told quite often by people who think they know that the best way to lose weight is to exercise.

Those people who think they know? They are men. They think they know better than I do what works for my body.

Okay, I’ll be honest. My husband is one of those people. He honestly believes that exercise is very, very important and he feels that if a person is active enough, they can eat whatever they want and maintain a svelte, healthy physique.

I disagree with him vehemently and I’m not afraid to tell him so.

See, way back when I was in my last year of college, I worked out every single day. I got up around 6am and went to the IU’s health and fitness facility and worked out.

And I’ll say right here that I hated every single minute of it. I hated it so, so much.

But I did it because at the time I bought into the idea that exercise is more important than diet.

So I’d work out every morning and I’d go back to my residence hall and I’d eat breakfast and then I’d go back to my room and sleep for another couple/few/several hours.

I was the maid of honor in Julie’s wedding that summer after our last year of college. When we went and got fitted for our dresses I assured the woman who was measuring me that the size she put on me wouldn’t fit come June because I was working out. I was just sure, so very, very sure that I’d be at least one size smaller by the time the wedding date rolled around.

Imagine my surprise and complete dismay when the wedding date did finally roll around and there I was, fitting perfectly into the size 14 that the woman at the dress place had put me in several months ago.

I decided then and there that exercise sucked. It absolutely wasn’t worth the effort if it didn’t even give me the results I’d been promised.

That summer, I stopped exercising and I also sort of stopped eating. Not really. But kind of. I went on a pretty calorically restrictive diet.

And I lost weight. I lost a lot of weight.

That settled it. I realized that the myth of exercise doesn’t work for me the way that the fact of calorie control does.

Which is why I started the South Beach diet today but I have no plans whatsoever to start an exercise program. I will lose weight for my brother’s July wedding and I’ll do it my way.

I know that Jillian Michael’s would kick my butt for saying all this but for me, it’s true.

Okay, so maybe, just maybe, once July gets here and I’ve managed to be at least one size smaller than I am today, I’ll consider adding some exercise into my schedule. I know it can’t hurt and it might actually help.

But I make no promises.