Healthy living doesn't just happen. It requires information, planning and good products.
One of the things that surprised me when I began as a Personal Trainer was the number of people who looked slender and were at a "healthy" weight but were excessively fat. The scale said they were fiddle fit but their body fat measurements told another story. Weight and the ratio of fat to lean mass are different things entirely and the too often cited body mass index can be as misleading as helpful.
The lesson to be learned is that simply losing weight is no guarantee that your health is going to improve for the long term. Even a couch potato can lose weight by adequately adjusting their diet. However, the National Institutes of Health conducted a study in 2006 and found that people who control their weight by diet alone, do so at the expense of muscle mass, strength, and cardiopulmonary health.Recent studies have concluded that inactivity is equal to smoking as an indicator of heart disease risk. Weight loss by diet alone can significantly impact the way you look, but, the way you look is pretty insignificant in comparison to good health. There are abundant studies showing that moderately overweight persons who engage in regular adequate exercise are healthier than sedentary persons who maintain a healthy body weight.
Instead of focusing on weight loss, you will do much much more good for your health, and your appearance, if you will adopt a healthy lifestyle. When a healthy lifestyle is adopted, a healthy weight will be attained, the percentage of body fat will move toward the healthy range and strength, balance and cardiorespiratory fitness will improve as well.
When we are told we need to lose weight or summer is coming on and we decide for ourselves we need to lose weight, we immediately think of the greatest possible loss in the shortest possible time. After all, didn't Milly Model lose 90 pounds in only three months? Probably not regardless of the claims made. It is no easy task, as most of you know, to lose 10 or 15 pounds in a relatively short period of time, and it is much more difficult task to keep it off. It is much too easy to regain the lost weight. Their are a lot of reasons for that but they come down to the fact that you lost weight but you did not adopt a healthy lifestyle. The weight loss is over and you are back to the same lifestyle that put the weight on you in the first place. That is the only lifestyle you have habituated.
Adopting A Healthy Lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle is a lifestyle that maintains a balance of healthy eating, regular exercise and adequate rest (Yes, inadequate sleep will sabotage your weight - and your health.) Maintaining a healthy lifestyle isn't as difficult as it sounds. Suppose instead of attempting to lose weight, you cut out just 100 calories a day. We are talking only about 10 potato chips. There are about 10 calories per chip and 6 of those 10 calories is fat. I hope that just ruined your day. Can you live without 10 chips? Of course you can. You will hardly notice. It depends somewhat on where you get the sweet tea but there are approximately 200 calories in a 16 oz. (two cups)glass of sweet tea or soft drink. It really isn't going to disrupt your life to cut out a cup of sweet drink a day. The point is this: You can cut a hundred calories a day from you food intake without a noticeable disruption in your life.
Now, add a little exercise. If you really can't find time for the gym - I don't buy it but let's say that is true; walk. Most of us can walk. Walk 20 minutes a day and most will burn a hundred calories more or less. It never ceases to amaze me. Every day I see people driving around and around the parking area of the Y trying to find a parking space nearest the building so they don't have to walk so far to work out????? I don't even have words. If it is safe and the weather is nice, make a habit of parking at the far side of the parking lot whatever your destination. Anyone can fit a 20 minute walk or two 10 minute walks into their day.
KEEP A JOURNAL/LOG OF YOUR FOOD AND EXERCISE. Yes I shouted that. I know, it is an annoying little detail but the success rate of those who keep a journal is four times greater than the success rate of those who don't keep a journal.
Write me in a six months and tell me your success story.
One of the things that surprised me when I began as a Personal Trainer was the number of people who looked slender and were at a "healthy" weight but were excessively fat. The scale said they were fiddle fit but their body fat measurements told another story. Weight and the ratio of fat to lean mass are different things entirely and the too often cited body mass index can be as misleading as helpful.
The lesson to be learned is that simply losing weight is no guarantee that your health is going to improve for the long term. Even a couch potato can lose weight by adequately adjusting their diet. However, the National Institutes of Health conducted a study in 2006 and found that people who control their weight by diet alone, do so at the expense of muscle mass, strength, and cardiopulmonary health.Recent studies have concluded that inactivity is equal to smoking as an indicator of heart disease risk. Weight loss by diet alone can significantly impact the way you look, but, the way you look is pretty insignificant in comparison to good health. There are abundant studies showing that moderately overweight persons who engage in regular adequate exercise are healthier than sedentary persons who maintain a healthy body weight.
Instead of focusing on weight loss, you will do much much more good for your health, and your appearance, if you will adopt a healthy lifestyle. When a healthy lifestyle is adopted, a healthy weight will be attained, the percentage of body fat will move toward the healthy range and strength, balance and cardiorespiratory fitness will improve as well.
When we are told we need to lose weight or summer is coming on and we decide for ourselves we need to lose weight, we immediately think of the greatest possible loss in the shortest possible time. After all, didn't Milly Model lose 90 pounds in only three months? Probably not regardless of the claims made. It is no easy task, as most of you know, to lose 10 or 15 pounds in a relatively short period of time, and it is much more difficult task to keep it off. It is much too easy to regain the lost weight. Their are a lot of reasons for that but they come down to the fact that you lost weight but you did not adopt a healthy lifestyle. The weight loss is over and you are back to the same lifestyle that put the weight on you in the first place. That is the only lifestyle you have habituated.
Adopting A Healthy Lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle is a lifestyle that maintains a balance of healthy eating, regular exercise and adequate rest (Yes, inadequate sleep will sabotage your weight - and your health.) Maintaining a healthy lifestyle isn't as difficult as it sounds. Suppose instead of attempting to lose weight, you cut out just 100 calories a day. We are talking only about 10 potato chips. There are about 10 calories per chip and 6 of those 10 calories is fat. I hope that just ruined your day. Can you live without 10 chips? Of course you can. You will hardly notice. It depends somewhat on where you get the sweet tea but there are approximately 200 calories in a 16 oz. (two cups)glass of sweet tea or soft drink. It really isn't going to disrupt your life to cut out a cup of sweet drink a day. The point is this: You can cut a hundred calories a day from you food intake without a noticeable disruption in your life.
Now, add a little exercise. If you really can't find time for the gym - I don't buy it but let's say that is true; walk. Most of us can walk. Walk 20 minutes a day and most will burn a hundred calories more or less. It never ceases to amaze me. Every day I see people driving around and around the parking area of the Y trying to find a parking space nearest the building so they don't have to walk so far to work out????? I don't even have words. If it is safe and the weather is nice, make a habit of parking at the far side of the parking lot whatever your destination. Anyone can fit a 20 minute walk or two 10 minute walks into their day.
KEEP A JOURNAL/LOG OF YOUR FOOD AND EXERCISE. Yes I shouted that. I know, it is an annoying little detail but the success rate of those who keep a journal is four times greater than the success rate of those who don't keep a journal.
Write me in a six months and tell me your success story.
