With the Biggest Loser Challenge underway (courtesy of Hunter setting it up), I thought I would share some things that I have read over the last few weeks that might help kick start this process for some people. Weight loss to me is a no brainer but all too often people can become victim to quick weight loss schemes. “Lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks”, “Drop a pant size in a week”, etc. Granted, these schemes may work, but only temporarily. As soon as you go back to eating normal, the weight returns. Often times I hear from people that say they are working so hard to lose weight but nothing is happening. Although that may be true, there is such a thing as working too hard. The focus could be in the wrong area such as the gimmicky weight loss schemes, misguided perceptions, false promises, you name it. They could possibly be focusing on working out more and not eating a more healthy diet or vice versa. These 2 things NEED to go hand in hand for permanent and healthy weight loss to be successful. A smart, balanced approach may not seem easy but getting caught up in weight-loss myths will only sabotage your success. Here are three top weight-loss myths, busted. In my opinion, these are the no brainer myths and probably the easiest to not stray away from.
Myth: You can lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks.
Truth: You probably can lose 10 pounds in two weeks if you crash diet, but you’ll feel terrible and most of the weight will return once you start eating normally. To truly lose 1 pound, you need to eliminate 3,500 calories (the amount stored in a pound of fat) by eating less and moving more. If you cut 500 calories (or cut 300 and burn 200 through exercise) every single day of the week, you’ll lose about a pound a week..
Myth: If you exercise, you can eat as much as you want.
Truth: Unless you’re working out like an Olympic athlete, to lose weight you’ll still need to keep an eye on how many calories you’re eating. “Calories in” add up much more quickly than “calories out.” Consider this: two medium cookies cost you about 400 calories. To burn 400 calories, the average person needs to run or walk 4 miles.
Myth: You should expect to be hungry while dieting.
Truth: If you cut calories randomly, you’re probably going to feel hungry. On the other hand, if you plan out your day so that you’re replenishing yourself with nutritious foods every three or four hours, you’ll likely feel satisfied on significantly fewer calories. Aim to include a source of lean protein (skim milk, turkey) and fiber (hummus, carrots) in every meal and snack.
Another part to this not so complicated puzzle is moving. I don’t mean packing bags and boxes and changing your residential location. I mean, really move, exercise, get your blood flowing, stop being a couch potato. The recommended amount of time to exercise is 30-45 minutes a day. 30-45 minutes. That is all. So when I hear people exclaim that they don’t have time to exercise, it makes me lose my mind! Personally, I think that excuse is a way out. So what if my statement causes controversy. I work full time, I have a family that I care for and a house to maintain, yet I manage to find the 30-45 minutes to work out. I have put this question out to people before that complain about time being a factor.
“How bad do you want it?”
But I digress.
During the course of my reading, I found several websites that I pulled bits of information from. The first on the list are tips for exercising. I would be willing to bet that most people do not follow these recommendations. These are put in place for a more successful workout and to help prevent injury.
Tips for Exercising:
• Drink plenty of fluids before, during, and after a workout.
• Do warm-up exercises for 5 - 10 minutes at the beginning of an exercise session. Strengthening exercises, quiet calisthenics, and walking are ideal.
• Do not eat for 2 hours before vigorous exercise.
• When exercising, listen to your body's warning symptoms
The next bit of reading led me the benefits of exercise. Like most people, I understand the basics of the benefits so when I came across this list, I felt it was something that needed to be shared. In my opinion, the most important benefits are not those that change you from a physical standpoint, but rather your overall internal health.
Benefits of exercise:
The benefits of exercise include (and are certainly not limited to):
• Decreased risk of cardiovascular (heart) disease, high blood pressure, and stroke
• Decreased risk of colon and breast cancers
• Decreased risk of diabetes
• Decreased risk of osteoporosis
• Decreased risk of depression and dementia
• Decreased body fat
• Improved metabolic processes -- the way the body breaks down and builds necessary substances
• Improved movement of joints and muscles
• Improved oxygen delivery throughout the body
• Improved sense of well-being
• Improved strength and endurance
Once you have embraced just how beneficial exercise can be, the next step is to identify the types of exercise and how they may be able to help you. Types of exercise can be summed up in 4 words: Cardio and Strength Training. There are benefits to both and yes, both are very much a necessary part of a successful regimen. The recommended amount of cardio exercise is 3-4 hours a week, while the Strength Training recommendation is 10 -20 minutes, 3 times a week for beginners. For those that have been at this for a while, 30-40 minutes, 3 to 4 times a week is recommended for the amount of time spent with Strength Training.
Cardio Training:
Regular Cardio exercise provides the following benefits:
• Protection from heart attack, stroke, diabetes, dementia, depression, colon and breast cancers, and early death
• Builds endurance
• Keeps the heart pumping at a steady and high rate for a long time
• Boosts HDL (good) cholesterol levels
• Helps control blood pressure
• Strengthens the bones in the spine
• Helps maintain normal weight
• Improves one's sense of well-being
Cardio is usually categorized as high or low intensity. High intensity cardio exercise is further classified as high or low impact. Examples of each include the following:
• Low- to moderate-impact exercises: Walking, swimming, stair climbing, step classes, rowing, and cross-country skiing. Nearly anyone in reasonable health can engage in some low- to moderate-impact exercise. Brisk walking burns as many calories as jogging for the same distance and poses less risk for injury to muscle and bone.
• High-impact exercises: Running, dance exercise, tennis, racquetball, squash. High-impact exercises should be performed no more than every other day and less often for those who are overweight, elderly, out of condition, or have an injury. Naturally, if there is a medical problem that, should rule out high-impact.
Strength (or Resistance) Training:
Benefits of Strength Exercise: While cardio exercise increases endurance and helps the heart, it does not build upper body strength, lower body strength or tone muscles. Strength-training exercises provide the following benefits:
• Build muscle strength while burning fat
• Help maintain bone density
• it is also associated with a lower risk for heart disease, possibly because it lowers LDL (the so-called bad cholesterol) levels
• Strength exercise is beneficial for everyone, even people in their 90s. It is the only form of exercise that can slow and even reverse the decline in muscle mass, bone density, and strength that occur with aging.
Strength training involves intense and short-duration activities. The following are some guidelines for starting a strength regimen:
• The sequence of a strength training session should begin with training large muscles and multiple joints at higher intensity, and end with small muscle and single joint exercises at lower intensities.
• Choose a weight that is about half of what would require a maximum effort in one repetition. In other words, if it would take maximum effort to do a single repetition with a 10-pound dumbbell, the person would start with a five-pound dumbbell. In the beginning, most people can start with one set of 8 - 15 repetitions per muscle group with low weights. As individuals are able to perform one or two repetitions over their routine, weights can be increased by 2 - 10%.
• Breathe slowly and rhythmically. Exhale as the movement begins. Inhale when returning to the starting point.
• The first half of each repetition typically lasts 2 - 3 seconds. The return to the original position lasts 4 seconds.
• Joints should be moved rhythmically through their full range of motion during a repetition. Do not lock up the joint while exercising it.
• For maximum benefit, you should allow 48 hours between workouts for full muscle recovery.
I understand this is a lot of information to take in and can be somewhat overwhelming. Once you incorporate the changes into your daily life, it honestly becomes second nature. There is so much more information out there than what I have provided here. This is just scratching the surface and is hopefully enough to get you started on your own routine.
Stay tuned for the results of the 1st week of the Weight Loss Challenge.
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