Stop Exercising to Lose Weight
Stop Exercising to Lose Weight: Make Metabolic Soup Instead!
By: Mike simmons, md
Head MOVEMENT Coach, Three Point Balance
I’m going to make you a promise.
Before you finish reading this article I’m going to give you my recipe for Metabolic Soup.
But first, I want to ask you a question.
Don’t answer it out loud. Don’t hold up your hand. You don’t even need to write it down.
I just want you to think about it and answer it for yourself, in the privacy of your own home-nobody else needs to know.
Why are you exercising? What is your purpose? What are you trying to accomplish? What’s the point?
If I told you to make a list of reasons for exercise it might include:
I want to be healthier
I want to have more confidence
So I can feel better
Because I should
Everybody knows that exercise is good for you My doctor told me to
I want to look better naked
I want to lose weight
In particular, I want to focus on exercising to lose weight.
If you ask most people why they want to lose weight they’ll give you some version of the list above: “I want to be healthier, I want to have more confidence, because I should...”
But, for a lot of us, somewhere underneath the desire to lose weight, is the fear of what people think.
Sports Psychologist Michael Gervais calls it FOPO-Fear of Other Peoples Opinion.
Now before you start to beat yourself up for worrying about what people think, let me just say it’s normal. In fact, it’s instinctual. We all want to belong. Part of what has made human beings so successful as a species on this planet of ours is belonging to a tribe. And if the tribe rejects you, you’re in grave danger-at least that’s the way it was back when we were being stalked by saber tooth tigers. We needed a group to be safe. So I’m not telling you to stop worrying about what other people think of you, that’s a whole other topic. What I am telling you is that what people think is a lousy reason to exercise. It externalizes our self worth and traps us into feeling that success in weight loss is what makes us worthy. So any obstacle or failure or underperformance or opinion expressed leaves us vulnerable to chronic stress, or giving up. (1)
I recently experienced something like this myself. For the first several years of my coaching career I worked at a gym. During that time, even though a lot of my workouts were done at home and they were always done alone, I was very diligent with strength training.
But after Covid, when I changed to coaching exclusively on line I suddenly found it very hard to strength train. Even though I know all about the importance of weight training I just couldn’t stick to it. I struggled for almost 2 years and I couldn’t figure out why. I kept thinking there was something wrong with me-I was just lazy or I had some sort of character defect.
What puzzled me was that during that time of struggle I exercised every single day. Every morning my wife and I go for a strenuous hike over rough terrain with our 2 German Shepherds for an hour or more.
I never hesitated. I never missed a session. I never struggled with motivation, I just did it.
Why?
Why did my motivation in the gym disappear while my motivation to hike never wavered?
The critical difference was that my motivation for hiking had nothing to do with what people thought of me. I wanted to hike because I value spending time with my wife. I wanted to hike because I love watching the dogs track a scent or point out a sound that is way beyond my hearing-to vicariously sense the environment through their heightened awareness. In the gym I only cared about big muscles and big lifts so long as I thought people were watching. But coaching online I could adjust the camera angle and hide behind my sweatshirt I no longer worried that someone was watching me. My purpose for strength training disappeared.
I’ve since returned to strength training because I’ve reframed my why. I now have intrinsic motivation-a purpose that comes from inside. My reason for lifting is not extrinsic-it is not coming from outside of me. I’m not depending on what I think other people's opinion of me is to drive me to workout.
Alright.
That’s enough of my story.
You kept reading because I promised you my recipe for Metabolic Soup!
Here it is.
You got a pencil and paper ready? Here we go!
(Follow the hyperlinks for each ingredient if you want to learn more about it.)
A tablespoon of Lactate
A dollop of Cortisol
A dash of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor
A sprinkle of Insulin Like Growth Factor-1
Fold in a cup of Dopamine and add Serotonin to taste
Stir in two ounces of Endorphins and just to get your appetite up some Endocannabinoids
Let it set and then pour good measure of Human Growth Hormone over the top and just for spice a sprinkle of Testosterone
Science has identified hundreds if not thousands of physiologically active substances that are released with acute and chronic exercise.
We all think of exercise as a way to burn calories, and it does. But burning calories does not necessarily result in weight loss. In fact, it’s possible to gain weight while exercising. Or, you might lose weight, gain fat and lose muscle (a big problem with weight loss drugs). Or you might gain muscle, you’re actually leaner, but the number on the scale doesn’t budge. It’s not a simple equation.
Weight loss is not an adaptation that your body makes to exercise. It may be a welcome side effect, but it is not a given.
Before you get discouraged, read this.Exercise affects every single cell in your body.
Let me say that again. Exercise benefits every single cell in your body.
If you exercise you might not lose weight, but you will, without fail, make Metabolic Soup - the most nourishing soup there is!
Why you want a daily serving of Metabolic Soup:
It improves cardiovascular fitness and reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke.
It helps control blood sugar and insulin levels reducing your risk of type 2 diabetes. Even type 1 Diabetics experience better insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control.
It lowers blood pressure.
Exercise reduces stress, anxiety and depression and boosts mood. You’ve all heard of Paxil or Prozac or Zoloft. These drugs are known as SSRI’s which means selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. That’s a fancy way of saying it keeps your body from using up serotonin so you won’t be so depressed. Remember, one of the ingredients for metabolic soup was serotonin. Exercise increases serotonin naturally and in fact, it is just as effect as an SSRI in reducing symptoms of depression. (2) Not to mention it’s a lot cheaper!
What else?
Stronger muscles and bones, preserve muscle mass as you age, ward off osteoporosis, and prevent loss of muscle mass when restricting calories.
It supports brain health and memory.
And here’s an interesting one.
It improves executive function. Executive function is the ability to make short term decisions which delay gratification but serve long term goals that you have set. In other words it increases your will power!
And, finally
You just might live longer!!
Love yourself every day with a fresh batch of homemade Metabolic soup!
Focusing solely on your weight, particularly because of what other people think of you, will likely backfire. It might provide short term motivation but it sets you up for long term discouragement. Just like I learned with strength training. Focusing on weight loss as your purpose for exercise is a bitter recipe for disappointment and quitting. Exercise becomes a "chore" rather than a gift.
Instead, find the fire within yourself. What will you be able to accomplish if you reach your goal? What will losing weight enable you to do. How will it change your life? Celebrate the energy and strength and endurance you are gaining. Offer gratitude to your body for what it is doing for you. It is an amazing gift. Let fitness become your lifestyle, not another task on your long list of things to do.
Let exercise change your life.
1. The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying About What Other People Think/Michael Gervais PhD, Kevin Lake, Harvard Business Review Press, 2023 2. Antidepressants or running therapy: Comparing effects on mental and physical health in patients with depression and anxiety disorders, Josine E. Verhoeven et al Journal of Affective Disorders 329 (2023) 19–29 
AUTHOR
Michael Simmons MD
Head Movement Coach,
Founding Owner, Three Point Balance
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