Is Exercise More Than Just Burning Calories?

Lately, to keep active while staying off my feet and and from running, I've been riding on my stationary bike. You know, the bike with mechanical/magnetic resistance and LCD display of resistance levels, heart rate, calories burned, and other metrics.

What I've noticed these last few weeks of sitting on the bike that my level of focus on my exercise regime has dropped dramatically. I don't know if it's the fact that I'm not doing what I want to do (in other words, running outside than stationary biking indoors, though I could ride a bike outside) or something else, but either way, something's different.

So you ask, what's different? Here are a few things.

1. On run days, I would discipline myself in terms of food intake - what I could eat and when I can eat. In terms of "what," I wouldn't eat something that would be hard to digest, oily, greasy, etc. - such things could cause my sensitive stomach to turn against me during runs. In terms of "when," I would not eat (or drink) anything three hours prior to my run, to allow ample time for digestion, to avoid a similar fate mention before.
   
   Now, I find myself eating whatever and whenever I want because biking doesn't have that effect on me. No feeling of vomiting or side stitches during a bike workout, as of yet. It's not necessarily a bad thing, per se, because I can stay hydrated and energized throughout the workout. And for that reason, I should do it. But something that has been loose is the foods that I eat. On run days, I would never eat ice cream or pizza because it would kill me on runs. Now I eat these things because I can bike and not kill myself. I've given myself an excuse to eat these things, and incorporate them into my diet without feeling bad about it.
   
   
2. I notice that I'm watching the calories burn metric a lot when I'm on the bike. Don't get me wrong, burning calories is good! But am I just sitting on the bike, burning calories, just for the sake of burning calories? Is it because I had a slice of cheesecake for lunch, and I felt bad for eating it, so I forced myself to bike for 30 minutes to cancel it out?

#1 shouldn't be a major concern for me because once I start running, I'll be back in my normal eating routine... that is, if and when I can start running. And I'm pretty good about what I eat - there's just some days where I lose it and crave something, which is fine once in a while. I just need to make sure it doesn't become a daily habit, especially the unhealthy food!

#2 got me thinking. I mean, I have no problem with watching my calorie burn - it's a good thing. I'm all for a more active lifestyle, burning calories, and being fit. That's how one loses weight and lives better. But what I'm more concerned about is the trend that I noticed in my own lifestyle - eating something that I shouldn't or too much of, and then exercising to burn it off. What is my end result? I guess I may have increased my fitness a little or something just by exercising, but at the same time, I feel that I've put myself in a cycle of complacency.

What do I mean by "cycle of complacency?" It means that I can eat all the junk that I want, and then all I have to do is exercise to burn it off. But you say, "That's a good thing!"

It is, no doubt, but another question to ask is: Where does that leave me? What progress is made from that cycle? In my opinion, not much, if any.

Think of it this way. If I eat something unhealthy, it's like taking a few tiny steps back in my health. If I exercise, it takes me a few steps forward. If this is done every day, depending on how much I eat and exercise, the graph can look like the stock market. It may have an overall upward progression, but there are so many fluctuations in the process. It could even be an overall downward progression!

Is the point of exercising so that I can eat whatever junk food I want, and then burn it off, just to be at the same level of fitness I was at the day before? I would think not. I would rather see my health be a steady climb with no drops, or even an exponential increase! There has to be more to exercise than just to "get even." We all know of the benefits that exercising can bring and how it can positively impact other aspects of our lives, and it's true. But when we put ourselves in a cycle of the same things or going through the motions, sometimes we may not be mindful about other things, thinking that it'll be okay because we can just "burn it off." Although it can feel satisfying at that moment, but it may not be beneficial in the long run.

I guess the same goes with life, spirituality and everything else. Am I just going through the motions from day to day? Am I just doing some good things to right the few wrongs so I can be even? Is doing something "good enough" good enough?

Life isn't just about living. There's more to it. It's about making progress, continuously doing the right things, making the right decisions for ourselves. It means constantly improving ourselves in our health, relationships, careers, spirituality, faith, self-esteem, and everything that plays a role in the essence of life. Being even, or mediocre for that matter, in anything is not good enough.

What am I going to do and How are questions that I can't answer yet. That's something I can only figure out for myself because I control my own thoughts, feelings, attitude, actions, and ultimately, my destiny. I know I can't change everything in one day, and it's a life-long process. I'm going to give it a shot, and to see what differences I can make. It starts out with doing the little things right first, such as fixing my slightly cyclical bad eating habits.