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Monday, May 22, 2006
What’s the best way to lose weight?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The most successful weight loss programs combine a heart-healthy diet with increased physical activity. That combination not only helps you lose weight but helps you keep it off longer than either way can achieve alone.
If you’re overweight, losing even 5 to 10 pounds can improve your blood cholesterol level. but you don’t have to lose it all at once. If you can cut 500 calories a day through a combination of eating less and being more active, you will lose one pound a week (3,500 calories = one pound). If you kept that pace up over a year, you’d lose 52 pounds!
Let’s make it even easier: If you cut just 250 calories a day through a combination of less food and more activity, you’d lose one half pound a week, or 26 pounds over a year. A heart-healthy eating plan can help you lose weight because when you cut back on fat, you also cut back on calories. Reducing the size of your servings is also a big help. It doesn’t take too much work to get your weight down if you go about it the right way.
Just be sure you consult your doctor about what you should be eating and what kind of physical activity is best for you.
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Weight Loss and Fitness Mythbust #1: Weight Lifting Makes You “Bulky” and Fatter
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The following is the first of many blogs to come about weight loss and fitness mythbusting. Your comments and questions are imperative, as I can literally write a book giving much more detail about each one of these “mythbusts.” I look forward to your questions and comments:
One of the biggest myths regarding weight loss and fitness, is that weight lifting makes you “bulky” and/or fatter. Funny thing is, it was not created by the unscrupulous weight loss industry. Instead, it is a general misconception created by people who have no scientific evidence to back it up. As a matter of fact, studies prove that weight training decreases body fat and is the most effective form of exercise in helping you decrease body fat. You don’t get the results while you’re doing it, but as a result of doing it.
You see, muscle is the only place in the body that utilizes fat as energy. As you get older, you lose muscle (known as muscle atrophy). This is the reason why you begin to gain body fat when getting older. You can compound the effects of muscle atrophy by going on a diet or doing lots of cardiovascular activity. Doing too much cardiovascular activity without eating enough can speed up the breakdown of muscle.) Therefore, the more muscle you lose, the easier it is for the body to store fat.
Have you ever known anybody to gain weight back after going on a diet (maybe you)? The absolute only way to prevent yourself from losing muscle is lifting weights. You also have to make sure you get enough nutrients in order to create more muscle. Besides improving your ability to burn more fat, weight lifting is proven to be effective to treating diseases such as diabetes and osteoporosis. Therefore, you must not avoid weight training out of fear of getting hurt or “bulking up.” If you’re unsure of where to begin, have someone monitor you. In regards to “bulking up,” it is a flat out lie. If it were true, then how do explain all of these men and women that you see or you hear about getting shapely muscles, sleek arms, rock-hard abs, and beautiful legs through weight training? How do you explain why they keep doing it? It’s simple- It’s because it works.
My experience has been that the fear of weight training is more guided by the understanding that pain and time are a part of the equation. In other words, you are going to experience muscle soreness and it will take time (commitment and dedication) to reach the goal. I’m talking about months of dedication, not a magic, quick fix program. You can lose all the weight in the world, but you’ll never get the strength, muscle tone, and health benefits of fat loss without weight training. You just have to accept that it is something that you are going to have to do.
