Weight Loss Tool Underused by Many: Active Lifestyle
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What usually comes to mind when we think about weight loss and weight management? Diets, nutrition, healthy foods, exercise programs, weight lifting, cardio exercise, heart rate training; the list goes on and on. These are all good for your health and fitness.
But, maybe you’ve not paid enough attention to something you can do every day. Stay active as much as possible! When you sit down, your fat-burning enzymes shut down! Beware if you have a desk job or other sedentary job.
This was the subject of an ABC News article, “A New Way to Control Weight." Here are two excerpts from the article:
1. "It was hard to believe at first," said Marc Hamilton, associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia and leader of the research team. He said the team didn't expect to find a strong signal when they began researching what happens to fat when we remain seated. But the effect, both in laboratory animals and humans, turned out to be huge.
2. Hamilton is not suggesting that anyone quit exercising. But, he says, “his work shows that exercise alone won't get the job done . . . We have to pay more attention to what's happening when we aren't in the gym, because the body's ability to dispose of fat virtually shuts down,” he says, “at least if we're sitting down.”
I always encourage clients to stay active between workouts and even on the days they do workout. One of the best weight loss/management tools is an active lifestyle. You can’t workout every day but you can stay active every day. All movement burns calories.
I always use the example of my dad and many of his generation. He never formally exercised but he has never been overweight or obese. Two of the main reasons for his overall fitness is that he worked on a farm every day and his hobbies (such as fishing and hunting) required movement. The same things will work today to keep us fit but it might require us to be more intentional about staying active.
In a Mayo Clinic article titled, “Weight Loss: 6 Strategies for Success,” the following point is important:
We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
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