Being overweight in America: a farce for your health and your future

In this article, I want to spend some time on an area that affects our society more than any other area with regards to obtaining and maintaining optimal health. The issue is weight control.

In 1980, a government survey indicated that more than 25% of all Americans of any age were overweight. In 1998, almost 35% of Americans weighed much more than what is considered safe and healthy. Not only is the trend not improving, it is rapidly declining. It shouldn’t surprise you that the number one reason people join health clubs and fitness spas is to lose weight. Most people seem to understand that exercise can help in the “battle of the bulge,” but few realize just how important it really is.

We are all aware of the fact that weight gain is the result of consuming more calories than we burn on a daily basis. Over time, these excess calories are stored as fat: 3,500 more calories eaten than burned results in a one-pound weight gain. Just 50 calories per day of additional intake than you are burning equals a minimum of 5 pounds gained in a year! Most people think they’re simply eating more than they should, but research evidence suggests the real problem is that they’re burning too few calories instead. The wrong approach to weight loss can make the problem worse than it was when it started!

When people lose pounds just by dieting and eating fewer calories, they actually end up losing muscle and bone along with the fat they can lose. The less muscle we have, the less available it is to burn the calories we eat. We become less active in our metabolism and it becomes even more difficult to lose additional weight. Does any of this sound familiar to you? You end up gaining 5 to 10 more pounds than you lost as soon as you start eating again, even if you eat the same amount of food during your meals as before!

If this is the case, what is a sensible approach to losing weight? It should be a program that includes sensible nutrition in the form of balanced meals, some form of aerobic activity like walking, and some form of strength training. Yes, strength training like lifting weights and building muscle! It’s not as scary or difficult as it sounds, so don’t jump to conclusions that make you feel like you can’t participate in a program like the one I’m describing. Let’s take a minute and mention some of the benefits of including strength training in your weight loss approach.

First of all, it increases your metabolism. Lifting weights is a great way to burn calories and build muscle, which in turn burns extra calories at rest. Building more muscle provides a more efficient “furnace” for your metabolism to burn more of those unwanted and over-consumed calories. Having a higher metabolism rate will even help your body burn calories during the time you are asleep, what an added bonus!

The second thing you should consider to help control your weight is to engage in an active form of exercise on a regular basis. This is best illustrated by the way you bring a more active lifestyle into your life. Being able to do the things you could do before but are now “too tired” or “don’t have the energy” to do them is just one of the many benefits of starting to exercise. Once you start, your body builds momentum with each day you exercise while building on the efforts of the day before. As this momentum continues, the same level of exercise becomes much easier and you get better just by staying consistent in your efforts. You are then in a position to add extra exercise because it begins to pay the dividend of providing you with the energy you need. It’s like a bank account: you can’t withdraw money until you deposit something and start building a reserve. Living a more active lifestyle is putting units of energy into your “energy account” so you can use them in the future. Start walking some of the places you usually walk, take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator. There are so many things you can do to start building savings in your energy reserve account. I will pay significant interest and dividends for life!

Exercise, such as lifting weights and walking, firms, tightens, and tones existing muscles. Everyone talks about being “out of shape” and most talk about excess “flaccidity” that has developed over the years. A pound of fat is bulkier and has less shape than a pound of muscle, so with muscular exercise you’ll look much better before the scale even shows you’ve lost pounds. How you carry the weight you have is more important than how much the scale shows. Firming and toning muscles also contributes to overall calorie burning.

If nothing else, exercising and burning more calories with the end result of losing inches and weight will help you feel better about yourself. One of the main reasons people don’t start an exercise program is that they don’t feel good about themselves. They are unable to muster the mental energy to put in the physical effort required to achieve any fitness goal. There is a lot to say to start. This is where the “magic” starts to take place. When you start, you already have a reason to be proud of yourself and feel better about yourself from day one. It doesn’t matter how much you can do the first day, the first week, or even the first month; remember, it’s already more than you were doing before, so be proud of your efforts! When you start to see any kind of results, it reinforces the desire to continue, which in turn makes you feel even better about yourself. The cycle continues as you set realistic daily goals that can be as simple as walking around the block. The next goal may involve walking around the block without getting out of breath followed by walking 2 blocks and the beat goes on!

Discuss what your ideal weight really is with someone who knows, like your doctor or fitness trainer. Weight loss, when done correctly, involves losing 1 to 2 pounds per week of fat while preserving muscle and bone. You must exercise to protect your muscles and bones, as there is no other way for this to happen. If you think about it, that’s 50 to 100 pounds in a calendar year and very few people need to lose more than this amount. Start by cutting out that second serving at every meal. Check out some books in the library related to a healthy and balanced diet and what should be included in each meal. Add to that daily 15-20 minute walks, along with starting to lift some weight and exercise, as we discussed last month, and you’ll be on your way!

You only have to burn 3,500 more calories than you’re consuming to lose a pound of fat. That equates to cutting just 500 calories per day which, divided into 3 meals a day, is simply cutting each meal by 170 calories. Skip that second piece of buttered bread, leave the gravy on your mashed potatoes, or just reduce the proportions you’re eating by 1-2 ounces. The point I’m illustrating is that it just doesn’t take much to cut 170 calories a day. You can also burn as many extra calories through the exercise you incorporate into your day without changing your diet much, so there are limitless ways to achieve this very realistic goal. Just get started and watch the results prompt you to continue with the process when you realize how easy it is!

(Special thanks to Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D. for providing much of the research gleaned from the writing of this article)