I guess I knew this before, but today I was reading one of my regular sources of interesting information. Two quotes from a doctor Yoni Freedhoff, who is a leading expert in obesity, caught my eye and rang very true. It explains why so many people struggle with weight loss and more importantly, weight management (keeping off lost weight). I will post the quotes and give you my two cents, hence the name of the blog!
Here are the quotes:
"The more weight you'd like to permanently lose, the more of your lifestyle you'll need to permanently change"
and then the next one falls directly in line with the previous;
"Therefore if you don't like the life you're living while you're losing, you're much more likely to gain it back"
I personally have frequently used the phrase "If you want something to change in your life, you need to make changes in your life." Sounds simple and redundant, but it truly is much harder than it sounds. I have wrote before about routine and it being the killer of progress. People like their routines and to change them throws their whole World into a tailspin. No wonder those looking to change their weight, battle so hard to get anything done. And when they finally accomplish great things by losing the unwanted weight; they turn around and pile back on the weight and add some extra pounds for good measure. That leads us to the first quote.
The keys are centered around the "permanent" weight loss and "lifestyle". I think the biggest issue is the concept of lifestyle. Many of us get a fire in our belly to "get in to shape" to which I say "Isn't round a shape?" But seriously, the idea is usually based on a short lived plan to change eating habits and go to the gym. Problem is the changes are usually too radical for our lifestyle to achieve permanent weight loss, really, our lifestyle hasn't changed. Lifestyle changes need to occur across the board, whether we are at work, sitting at home, out at a restaurant, on vacation, etc. Therefore the lifestyle changes we make have to be realistic within our own little World. Think about it, it better be something we can live with or it just won't work. If you consider what I have just wrote, you may begin to see why "diets" and the latest, greatest fad programs often leave us feeling trapped or tied to the program forever. And often don't give us permanent weight loss. Now quote two.
As I touched on in the above paragraph, we have to enjoy the lifestyle changes we make. First determine your goal. Remember the more drastic the weight change the more drastic the lifestyle change. No one said this would be easy, but it isn't as hard as it seems. If we design the changes with us in mind we stand a much better chance of permanent success. Keep in mind the quote, if we don't enjoy life while we lose weight, we are more likely to gain the weight back. The white elephant in the room is the concept of exercise. The problem being, most of us hear the word exercise and we immediately picture a gym full of muscle popping guys admiring themselves in the floor to ceiling mirrors. WAKE UP! Exercise is not about gyms. It is about anything that involves moving our bodies. I am not saying don't go to the gym, but if you find the gym intimidating then realize exercise is about elevating our heart rate and whenever we move our bodies our heart rate is elevated. When our heart rate is elevated we burn more calories, when we are burning more calories our metabolism is increased. Do you see a trend here? I think the most important and most over looked change that we can ALL accomplish regardless how much weight we have to lose or the reasons why, is walking. It is a simple change that should be manageable by everyone. I am not talking about marathons or hours and hours of walking that can't be fit in to our busy life (this would be said with sarcasm, because we are SUPPOSED to change our lives to fit in exercise!). Did you know that the average, naturally thin person walks about 6000 steps a day, whereas someone who is overweight walks on average 4000 steps a day? The difference is only 2000 steps!! Before you go crazy thinking 2000 steps is an astronomical amount; 2000 steps = approximately 15 minutes of walking! Here is the best part, it doesn't have to be all at once!! Two minutes here, five minutes there, three minutes there and before you know it you are walking 6000 steps a day and have fired up your metabolism to that of a naturally thin person! It is all about caloric balance. Energy In/Energy Out. You need to burn more calories than you consume in a day. When it comes to burning calories think of it like this; bank withdrawals. Regardless of whether you make one withdrawal of $15 or you go to the bank 3 times a day and make $5 withdrawals you will have $15 at the end of each day! Three 5 minute walks is the same as one 15 minute walk. As you can see it is simple to add 15 minutes of walking to each day. Park further away from the doors, extra lap around the grocery store, walk at lunch, etc.
Now of course this low level walking is only a start. You will see results, but at a much slower pace than if you do more. Ultimately, I feel it is a start that should be easily attainable for someone needing to take baby steps to get started. Small, minor lifestyle changes that can be adhered to as a way of life, rather than a weight loss plan. Instead of looking for the 'easiest' weight loss plan, try to come up with a lifestyle plan. The weight will come off even when you make some minor changes that you know you will be able to make a part of your life permanently. The key is to change things in such a way that it becomes a lifestyle not an instruction or a step to follow.
Think about weight loss as long term and try to find a way to develop a new lifestyle that incorporates healthy choices and activities.
I myself am working on some bigger lifestyle changes. It has been a long time coming but I think I have determined some important things about how I think about food. Walking is something I enjoy, but I too struggled with how much walking is enough. I never thought the short walks were worth anything. I have had to work on appreciating the smaller walks for what their value actually brings. The value is an increase in my burnt calories for the day, maybe not hundreds at once, but a withdrawal from my calorie bank for the day. At the end of the day the sum total of burnt calories needs to be higher than the deposits of food. I have also tried to think of food as fuel not food. My body needs fuel, which means I fill up the tank when it is getting low and stop adding fuel once the tank is topped up. Thinking of it like fuel also helps me make better eating choices. That is probably the most amazing thing for me, all my cravings are gone! Honestly I can't remember the last time I "craved" something. It seems true what they say, "If it is forbidden we want it more, but once we remove all the restrictions we can enjoy it without reservations."
That is what has inspired me today. Thanks to Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, who provided some very important quotes that should be put on a post card and given to anyone who has even considered losing some weight.
My Two Cents
Jamie
No comments:
Post a Comment