Fitness Articles

Weight Management Success, Part 2
By Larry Pahl, L.M.T.

OBSTACLES to Weight Loss

1. DESIRE -- You gotta wanna! The healthier you are, the
greater your chances for success in business and with your
relationships. Obesity equals athritis, diabetes, cancer and heart disease before you get old! Get up every morning and vow that for just one day -- today I will move more, I will drink water as my main drink and I will choose wisely when eating --eat for energy and nutrients.

2. BELIEF -- Believe in yourself and never ever give up! Put yourself on the path to a better, healthier you and get away from anyone who says "you can't". Five hundred lost calories per day thru a combination of calorie reduction and calories burned thru exercise will give you a net loss of one pound per week. Think of where you'll be in one year -- will it be worth it? YES!

3. ENERGY -- If you suffer from chronic fatigue, it's possible that its cause lies in what you eat, what you drink and how much you move. Fill up on fruits and vegetables whenever possible. Sugar and carbs should be viewed as fuel. If you fill your 'tank' with the fuel of sugar and carbs, make sure that you exercise that fuel down to zero by the end of the day as unburned carbs and sugar turn to fat! 

Energy is another reason to make water your drink of choice.
Water will do nothing but help you move more which will increase your metabolism so you burn more calories at rest
and keep you from drinks that contain sugar, caffeine and
alcohol, all of which compromise your energy. I truly believe that until you get serious about drinking 70-100 ounces of water per day, your ability to reach your ideal weight will be compromised.

4. TIME -- If having enough time is a challenge, know that
exercise is cumulative. Six 5 minute walks is almost as good as one 30 minute walk. If your daily schedule is hectic and leaves you worn out, try getting in 20-30 minutes of meaningful exercise in before you start your day and then add a few minutes here and there as opportunities present themselves. Walk to lunch when weather permits. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park in the worst parking spot or better yet, park a few blocks away. Buy a pedometer and have a daily goal of walking 10,000 steps.

Other than nutrition and stress management concerns, there is nothing as vital to obtaining optimum health as weight management. I want to congratulate you for you have taken the first step on the path to being healthy--the quest for knowledge. Indeed, this path is not a 30 or 90 day path. There are no shortcuts or magic pills. It's not about a special procedure or an awesome piece of equipment. Proper weight management is about first obtaining the knowledge necessary to make better choices. Better choices lead to better lifestyles--lifestyles which are sustainable for the rest of your life.

Weight management and physical fitness are joined at the hip. The higher your level of physical fitness, the higher your metabolism becomes. If you maintain a high metabolism you will burn calories on a very effective basis.

Step one is to dedicate yourself to a weekly plan of exercise which emphasizes movement at every opportunity. The process of converting fat into muscle begins with walking (briskly) and lifting light weights. It is reinforced with proper hydration, adequate sleep, intelligent nutritional choices and supplementing a good diet with the vitamins and minerals our bodies need to fight diseases, stay pain free and maintain high energy levels.

The bottom line on exercise is this: There is no substitute for exercise as the vital element for good health. Sedentary lifestyle is now thought to be responsible for as many deaths per year (400,000) as cigarette related deaths. Not exercising invites heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and osteoarthritis to name a few.

It is very likely that the overweight person will suffer chronic pain. This in turn often leads to drug and alcohol abuse. Ten million people in the United States are overweight 100 lbs. or more. Twenty-five percent of our children and sixty percent of our adults are clinically obese. Insulin is one of the fastest growing drugs in our country. Diabetes is commonly referred to as an epidemic.

No one is going to force you to exercise. If you have to start by walking slowly for 5 minutes a day, do it! Start today and don't quit. If you want to have good health, if you want to be pain, free and disease free, this is where it starts.

Find time to incorporate weight-resistance exercise into your schedule. Whether you are male or female, young or old, anaerobic, strength conditioning is vital for maintaining the integrity of your joints and bones and avoiding osteoporosis. The money you save by drinking water with lunch and dinner will finance your health club membership. 

Bones remain stronger as they are asked to do more work. Muscles will atrophy at an alarming rate when placed in a non-use mode. When it comes to muscles, "Use them or lose them" is quite accurate. This brings us right back to where we started--convert fat into muscle, little by little each and every day. And remember-- "If it is to be, it's up to me."

RULES FOR WEIGHT MANAGEMENT SUCCESS

1. Don't rely on short-term 'starvation' diets to lose weight. You'll only gain it back and then some.

2. Throw away the scale. It's more about inches than about
pounds.

3. Drink 70-100 ounces of water per day. Avoid caffeine,
soda, fruit juices and alcohol.

4. Start to move more at every opportunity. Raising your
metabolism by converting fat into muscle is your daily goal.

5. The lifestyle changes you make with regard to diet and
exercise must be sustainable over a lifetime.

6. Eat for nutrients(fruits and vegetables), energy and
to boost your immune system. "Eat for Your Bloodtype"--Dr. D'Adamo

7. Eat smaller meals with fruit and vegetable snacks in
between meals--keeps your energy level high.

8. Underwhelm yourself with regard to your new goals and
lifestyle changes. Remember it's not about perfect. It's about progress. Be patient. Weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week is ideal and is more likely to stay off. However long it takes, stay the course and don't quit. "If it is to be, it's up to me."

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Larry Pahl, L.M.T. and founder of Body-In-Balance Massage Therapy, specializes in weight management coaching, treatment of soft-tissue injuries and chronic pain relief.  Contact him at: 740-701-6519

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