Three tips for going beyond exercise to fight obesity
1. Avoid fat diets and exercise crazes. Go with a sensible plan that includes exercise and diet components. If emotions such as stress can trigger overeating, focus on that aspect as well.
2. Avoid radical changes. If you want to start more paying attention on your diet, take it one step at a time, such as drinking more water and eating more fruits and vegetables. Once you get a handle on the changes in your diet, move on to other areas you want to work on, such as ways to avoid stress eating.
3. Do your research. Before you sign up for weekly meetings with a counselor of nutritionist at a gym, make sure the professional is qualified with appropriate degrees and certification.
Source: J. Andrew Doyle, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health at Georgia State University
Since the 1990s, Angela Montesano has exercised plenty — about an hour a day, almost every day, lifting weights, climbing the Stairmaster, taking Zumba classes.
But it wasn’t wasn’t enough for her to meet her fitness goals.
So last year, Montesano enthusiastically signed up for something new at her gym: weekly get togethers with a nutritionist and counselor.
The counselor at LOA Fitness for Women (formerly Ladies Workout Express) in the Toco Hills area of Atlanta talked about emotional triggers to eating, such as stress. Montesano and other gym members went on a field trip to a grocery store. They read and scrutinized food labels.
“I learned a lot,” said Montesano, 58. “We talked about portion size and reading those labels. I was surprised how much sodium was in some of those frozen meals.
Sure, diet and exercise go hand in hand for weight loss and healthy living. Even so, gyms have typically focused only on the exercise piece of the obesity puzzle, offering everything from aerobics classes and weights to a sea of treadmills and ellipticals. That is changing, with many gyms putting greater emphasis on diet as well as the emotional aspect of eating right. They are bringing in dietitians to give tips on eating a healthy diet. And they are also bringing counselors on board to look at some of the underlying issues associated with overeating.
Experts say the consumers are demanding these changes.
During this lean economic time, many are looking for more out of their gym.
Obesity rates have soared in recent decades, with 28 percent of Georgians now obese, according to a new report by Trust for America’s Health, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Future predictions on obesity rates are even more staggering with 54 percent of Georgians expected to be obese in 2030. Obesity is defined as having a body-mass index of 30 or more, a measure of weight for height.
J. Andrew Doyle, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health at Georgia State University, said people today have lots of options for exercise, and gyms need to add services to add value and ultimately lure new members and retain existing ones.
“It’s good customer service,” said Doyle. “It’s not sufficient to lease space and fill it with exercise equipment. The other thing is you look at the overall composition of health, exercise is very important but it’s not the only component.”
BodyPlex in Atlanta offers customized meal planning and has an onsite smoothie bar. The gym also houses a chiropractor, massage therapist and wi-fi lounges to give exercise enthusiasts a place to just chill.
And at Core Fitness in in Roswell, clients meet Thursday nights to talk about food choices.
“We call it ‘The Exchange,’” said Core Fitness owner Corey Waller. “It includes myself and a nutritionist, and they have to turn their food logs and we we will take a look. If we see no vegetables, we ask why. And if they say they don’t know how to cook them, we show them how.”
Waller believes more people want a more complete lifestyle makeover.
“People want more bang for their buck,” said Waller. “They think, why I am paying this gym if I can buy a DVD. We have to provide more range, and we have to offer something that is more life changing.”
Waller said his four-year-old gym also holds contests, with the winner receiving as much as $1,000 worth of new designer clothes. Contests, he said, can be motivating, but more people are embracing a longer term approach to health.
“We say people come to our gym not for vanity, you come here for wellness,” he said.
Montesano continues to go the gym almost every day and loves working out.
She’s also incorporated many tips she learned last year, including using more herbs and less butter for flavoring dishes.
She now keeps an herb pot with basil on her deck.
The nutritionist also helped her give her favorite crab dip a healthy makeover by swapping out regular mayonnaise for a combination of low fat mayonnaise and plain yogurt.
For Montesano, her motivation to be healthy is one for the long-run.
About five years away from retirement from her career as a scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Montesano wants to travel the world, and walk it, too. She wants to climb a monumental staircase in Rome known as “The Spanish Steps” that includes 138 steps on a steep slope.
“I love to travel and want to be able to enjoy it. It’s no fun if, after you retire, you can’t walk up stairs,” said Montesano.
