Exercise + Nutrition, Not Enough?
C’mon, What?
By
Dr. Rick Kattouf II
Nutrition & exercise is not
enough? Wait, what? Does this bring back memories of C&C Music Factory and
their hit song, "things that make you go hmm." If so, good for you!
Nutrition and Exercise is not enough? C’mon now. I am sure you have read this
or heard this before because it comes up frequently especially in advertisements
regarding medications such as cholesterol-lowering meds.
Often times, the ad will start
out with, "when nutrition and exercise are not enough." Now, let's
dive more into this a bit deeper. What body type is typically part of this
advertisement? Well, the individual associated with the ad is overweight and/or
obese. Once again, "things that make you go hmm." So, to review;
we are referring to an obese individual and we are saying the following…when
nutrition and exercise are not enough, really?
Let's sum this up; the message of
the advertisement is that your cholesterol is still high even though you are
exercising and watching your nutrition. But once again, the ad is referring to
an overweight and/or obese individual. Which means the individual has
not done all they can in the world of exercise and nutrition, make
sense? They are still overweight/obese. So how could they have exhausted all
exercise and nutrition options? This is absurd. This is just one of many
excuses individuals use (Start Making
Better Choices, Stop Making Excuses)
The only time that the statement
regarding ‘exercise and nutrition is not enough’ is if we are talking about an
individual, male or female, that is amazingly lean and ripped. Why? Well, it's
simple, this means that this individual has done virtually everything they
can in terms of nutrition and exercise. They have the lowest amount of body fat
possible; they are extremely lean and ripped and their cardiac conditioning is
super-high. Therefore, they truly have done virtually everything they possibly
can with nutrition and exercise. And we have to also make note that this
individual has been super lean, super fit and super ripped for months and
months and months and months and years on end. Once again, this would then be
confirmation that this individual has done everything possible in terms of
nutrition and exercise.
Statements like, ‘when nutrition
and exercise is not enough’, should make individuals scratch their head. How
can we talk about an individual that is overweight and/or obese and put the
tagline, "when nutrition and exercise is not enough?” We can't put that
statement with it, not even close, it just makes no sense. It would be like
saying ‘running is not enough’ to be a better runner and the person is only
running 3 miles total per week.
And not only do we see such
statements in ads and television commercials, but it happens in the real world.
A short time ago I was approached by an individual and this person says,
"Are you Rick?" I said yes and then this individual proceeded to tell
me that they were recently at their physician, had blood work done and their
cholesterol and triglycerides were very high. This individual was very
perplexed by this because their next statement was, "but I exercise
regularly and watch what I'm eating; exercise and nutrition just must not be
enough." Now, what do you think the body type of this individual was?
Well, if you guessed overweight/obese, you are exactly right. It's unfortunate
that so many individuals have been programmed to believe that this
‘exercise/nutrition is not enough’ is actually a viable option. Once again,
unless an individual is lean & ripped, they still have body fat to lose and
therefore they have not yet exhausted the nutrition and exercise combo.
Here's a quick example. An
individual brought me on board as his personal fitness, sport-specific and
nutrition coach. He was in his 50’s, worked out regularly and competed in many running
and triathlon events. He was significantly overweight, despite all of his
exercise and he also noted that he "watched his nutrition." For the
past 10 years, this individual has been on medication for high cholesterol.
Fast forward 12 weeks with this individual following the plan I Rx’d for him to
a T, and he loses 25 pounds of body fat and for the first time in 10 years, not
only was he able to reduce his cholesterol medication, but he was able to
completely eliminate all medications he was on. And, as if that was not enough,
he dropped his cholesterol more than 50 points. This is a 50-point drop and
taking no meds.
Point being, we can never, ever,
ever point to ‘nutrition and exercise not being enough’ unless we have an
amazingly super-lean physique that shows we have truly done everything
possible. And again, the only way to show that an individual has absolutely
exhausted every possibility in terms of nutrition and exercise is for an
individual to achieve a very lean, ripped and well-muscled physique. This means
they have done virtually everything possible to drop body fat in order to get
and remain lean. But until then, if there is additional body fat to lose, that individual
has yet to exhaust what nutrition and exercise can really do.
In summary, when individuals say,
‘nutrition and exercise is not enough’; what they are really saying is that their
exercise and nutrition choices and habits are not working. The
all-too-often beer, wine, cookies, cakes, chips, crackers, wings, burgers and
fries that they choose is not allowing them to achieve their desired medical
test results and body composition results. So, maybe their nutrition choices are not working (despite them exercising, and trying
to eat better); but in no way, does this mean nutrition and exercise is not
enough, not even close.
WORKOUT SMART, EAT RIGHT, GET RESULTS®!
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Rick Kattouf
II, O.D. is a 2x Best-Selling Author and Fitness & Nutrition expert and has
been named one of America’s PremierExperts® and one of the World Fitness Elite®
Trainers of the Year. Rick is a Sports Nutrition Specialist, Heart Rate
Performance Specialist, Master Personal Trainer & Triathlon Coach. He has
been seen on ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates around the country as well as in
the USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Ironman.com, Livestrong.com, FIGHT! Magazine,
Florida Cycling Magazine and The Independent in the UK. Rick is the CEO/Founder
of TeamKattouf® Inc, CEO/Founder of TeamKattouf® Nutrition LLC, CEO/Founder of
Virtual Gym LLC, Creator of TeamKattouf® Nutrition Supplements, Host of Rx
Nutrition, author of Forever Fit, Creator of 5-Round Fury® Nutrition
Supplement, 5-Round Fury Fitness® workout app, Creator of Coach2CEO, Creator of
Fuel Keeper®, Entrepreneur and Inspirational Speaker. Dr. Rick has personally
coached individuals in 30+ states and 10+ countries.
