Are you looking for answers on how to lose fat or are you forever resigned to being a big fat failure?
Oprah Winfrey wrote the foreword for Bob Greene’s
book, The Best Life Diet (Simon & Schuster, 2006). It is difficult to imagine that a
successful celebrity like her once agonized over her weight problem. What she
wrote was revealing:
“At the time I was 237 pounds, miserable and so ashamed to have
joined the ranks of the perpetually obese that I had trouble maintaining eye
contact. I couldn’t understand why I was able to triumph over so many other
challenges and adversities in life, and yet when it came to losing weight I was
a big fat failure.”
How to
lose fat need not be a mystery – at least not in the way that people make it out
to be, but what is truly incomprehensible is why many people still cling stubbornly
to the idea that the next fad diet will end their weight problems in a snap.
Alright,
fat loss isn’t a mystery, but it’s still hard work. We say hard work because
you need barrels of discipline to focus on your weight loss goals. We don’t
promise the moon and the stars the way fad diets do. Just read the marketing
blurbs that are trumpeted over the Net. They use big words like “miracle weight
loss” or “phenomenal fat burner in just a week.”
Wake up
and smell the coffee. Or should we say calories?
Instead of
picking up that diet book on your next trip to the bookstore, why not pick up
some weights instead?
Shifting
Gears for Fat Loss
Speak to a
few fitness trainers in the gym or in your health club. Most of them agree that
while cardiovascular exercise generates immediate benefits for the heart and
works wonders for one’s stamina, combining a cardio workout with resistance
training will generate even much better results.
Health is
where the heart is – true - but overall health rests on stronger muscles and
improved flexibility. When you sign up for any fitness training, the fat loss
equation is built around the power combo of cardio workouts and weight
resistance training.
Make that
mental shift. Banish the thought of diets and start thinking of moving that
body.
The human
body is a wonderful mechanism; it was designed to be in perpetual motion. By
engaging in exercise, it stimulates the system and revs up metabolism. A health
writer also once said that exercise is the fifth component of bowel cleansing –
vital to our physical well-being.
Cardio
Workouts: the Upside
More than
15 years ago, the American Council on Sports Medicine suggested that exercising
six out of seven days was ideal for people trying to lose weight. More
recently, however, an increasing number of health practitioners are
recommending that people should increase that frequency to seven times a week,
at least for half an hour per session. Exercises such as power walking,
running, swimming, cycling and aerobic-related activities are excellent in
getting the heart rate to optimum levels.
Remember
that mind and body have this ability to adjust to change. Just picture an
athlete who is training for the Olympics for the first time. In the first few
weeks, he scales certain distances; as his training program becomes more
vigorous, he is able to scale longer distances and builds up tremendous
resistance to fatigue. You can be sure he’s not just running or sprinting, he’s
lifting weights as well.
Let’s take
a 45 year old woman who weighs 128 pounds. She walks at a brisk pace on the
treadmill at 4.0 mph, on a flat surface (no inclination of treadmill) and
continues that pace for 45 minutes. By the time she ends her exercise, she
shall have burned 174 calories. If she wishes to burn more, she can always put
an incline on the treadmill and increase her pace to 4.5 or 5.0 mph. It’s
really a question of how much you want to push yourself.
Resistance
or Weight Training
Myth:
lifting weights will make you bulky (this is often expressed by women who are
afraid of a “muscled” look).
Fact:
weight training is an ideal strategy to firm up and strengthen certain muscle
groups. Weak muscles are easily prone to injury and sagging.
Dr. Gary
Null, author of Power Aging and other books, and a regular
host on PBS says that improving muscle tone requires the use of light weights –
two or five pound weights are ideal; he recommends increasing the number of
repetitions per set – 12 to 15 if possible. If your goal is to build muscle
mass, then you would need to lift heavier weights with fewer repetitions.
The Mayo Clinic offers two
essential tips for weight training: (a) start slowly and (b) take the time to
rest.
If you’re just starting out, you
will be able to lift only a few pounds – this is normal. Your progress improves
as your muscles and tendons get accustomed to the weight exercises. Always do
your exercises gradually. Do not be tempted to increase the weight after a few
sessions.
Your muscles also need to recover
so take the time to rest. If you prefer to do weight training daily, the Mayo
recommends doing specific muscles on rotating days. On Monday, for instance,
you can choose to work on the large groups like legs, back and shoulders. On Tuesdays you can do small muscle
groups like your triceps and biceps.
“I like long walks, especially
when they are taken by people who annoy me.” (Noel Coward)