Personal Fitness Professional - March 2008 - (Page 15) PHYSICALLY ACTIVE FOR MORE THAN ONE HOUR PER DAY — This is consistent with the findings from similar studies cited above. 19 MEDICAL TRIGGER FOR WEIGHT LOSS — If your weight loss was triggered by a medically significant occurrence, you are more likely to keep the weight off. I guess it goes to the issue of motivation. 23 Well, this is one you have very little control over. Yes, your “slow” metabolism is somewhat “fixable,” but only in very insignificant numbers — and only with an incredible amount of resistance training. Don’t count on your metabolism being increased in any significant amount. I have clients whose metabolism is, per day per pound, from only five or six calories to those whose metabolism is 12-13 calories. “Big deal,” you say, “a six-calories-per-day difference?” A 200-pound person who burns 12 calories per day per pound has a metabolism of 2,400. A 200-pound person who burns five calories per day per pound has a metabolism of 1,000. Yup, a 1,200 caloriesper-day difference. GO ONLINE TO WWW.FIT-PRO.COM AND READ ALL 39 FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO WEIGHT LOSS Warren E. Jones, JD, ACSM H/FI, NSCA CSCS, ACSM CEQ, is a personal trainer whose clients’ ages and status range, respectively, from “ninth grade to the ninth decade” and “the serious triathlete to the morbidly obese.” He can be reached at wej@cox.net. ● 26 HIGH RESTING METABOLISM — LOW CALORIE INTAKE — Duh! 20 Remember the “calories in, calories out” notion in your weight loss? It still applies. Don’t consume such a low level that your nutrition suffers, though; consult a good registered dietician. CONSISTENT EATING PATTERN ACROSS WEEKDAYS AND WEEKENDS — Don’t eat celery Monday through Friday and then party hardy on Saturday and Sunday with pizzas, doughnuts, fast food, fried foods, ice cream, cakes, cookies, etc. 21 EATING SIMILAR AMOUNTS OF DENSE FOOD — This just means that you’ll be more likely to keep the weight off if your intake is controlled by the energy density of foods. It is, the argument goes, the caloric density of the food we eat that makes us gain (or not keep off ) the weight. We tend to eat the same amount from day to day, in volume. Therefore, if we eat “X” pounds of nutrient-dense, energy-diluted food, we’ll keep the weight off, while if we do just the opposite, eating “X” pounds of energy-dense, nutrient-diluted foods, we’ll gain weight. 24 LOW LEVELS OF DEPRESSION — 22 This one reminds me of the “handle stress” factor. If you’re lucky enough not to have depression (a number of overweight people aren’t), you have a better chance of maintaining your lost weight. If you are clinically depressed, you’d better find some relief in physician-prescribed medication, psychotherapy or both. SMALLER PORTIONS OF HIGH 25 ENERGY-DENSE FOODS — Yes, it’s okay to eat any food out there, but limit the portion size. Eat those foods; don’t deprive yourself. Otherwise, you’ll give in later and consume a quart of ice cream. So, when you want that junk food, eat it, but make sure to eat just a bit of it. MARCH2008 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM 15 http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.