Don’t focus on the results your weight management program will give you. It's the process that gives you the health and body you want and need.
It's important to consistently do the things that lead to your body becoming lean and toned. If you are overweight, it didn’t happen in two weeks. You can’t expect to transform your body with a two week diet.
In the fat loss and weight loss arena, you largely determine how much you will weigh. There are medical and genetic exceptions to this weight gain principle but don’t start with exceptions. For purposes of this article, you are ultimately responsible for your body fat and body weight.
Despite the popularity of many "other reasons" for our nation's overweight and obesity problem, I still maintain that the primary reason for weight gain is a caloric imbalance.
Simply put, you will gain weight and fat if you consistently eat more calories than you burn. Some will say that this theory is outdated. Don't believe them. I realize its important to eat the right types of foods for nutrition and health. But, you will also gain weight if you eat too much of the healthy foods.
Here are two practical steps to help you succeed with the weight management process:
1. It's your life on the line. Choose to live it as healthily as you can.
Optimal health is defined by Dr. Duke Johnson, author of the book, “The Optimal Health Revolution.” In it, Johnson wrote "Optimal Health is the best health you are capable of, given your past and your genetic heritage."
If you read the book, he explains that this means you will consistently eat the right foods, choose the best supplements, exercise regularly, rest properly and make healthy lifestyle choices.
2. If you do try a quick weight loss diet--which I don’t recommend--what will you do after the diet? You have a lifetime to go! Again, consistency is the key.
According to Christopher Sciamanna, M.D., the problem comes with what you do after the diet. Sciamanna discovered this the hard way: After losing 30 pounds, he described his new, lower weight as "shockingly challenging" to maintain. He and his colleagues at Penn State University's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center decided to study weight loss maintenance.
Part of their study was to examine results found at the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR). For the past two decades, NWCR has focused on a single group of people. To qualify, they have to lose at least 30 pounds and keep the weight off for at least a year. The findings aren’t surprising. The participants were successful primarily because of the following habits:
a. Exercise at least an hour a day, almost every day
b. Follow a low-fat, low-sugar, low-calorie diet
c. Eat, more or less, the same foods all the time
d. Minimize TV watching
e. Eat breakfast
Enjoy the journey it takes to transform your body.
Sources:
Christopher Sciamanna, M.D., Penn State University
National Weight Control Registry
www.military.com/military-fitness/weight-loss/stay-lean-for-life
Duke Johnson, M.D., “The Optimal Health Revolution”
Reviewed May 19, 2011
Edited by Alison Stanton
Mark Dilworth, BA, PES, CPT is a Certified Personal Trainer and former NCAA Division I athlete. Mark is the owner of My Fitness Hut, Her Fitness Hut, Sports Fitness Hut and My Nutrition Hut. Mark’s Fat Blaster Athletic Training System has been proven to give his clients the fit, sculpted and athletic-type bodies they want. Visit Mark’s main site:
Your Fitness University http://yourfitnessuniversity.com