Always consult your physician before beginning any new exercise or diet changes. That’s my disclaimer. You might be reading this because it is February and you really, really aren’t sure if that New Year’s resolution of losing weight is going to happen. Before I get into the meat of this article, ask yourself the following questions:
1) Is anyone in your family the size of the contestants on “The Biggest Loser”?
22) Are YOU the size of any contestants on “The Biggest Loser’?
3) Does your family have a history of heart disease, diabetes, etc.?
If your answer is “yes” to all three, then you are definitely running a risk of either dying early or spending a good part of your life filled up with pills, tubes, and other costly health care measures. If you answered “yes” to 1 and 3 and you are still fairly young, then you have seen the future of what could happen if you don’t start something now. Here are the three assessments you should make before you get rollin’.
Step One: Assess your mind with proper perception. I had a girlfriend a long time ago thatswore she was fat, chunky, needed to lose 30 pounds, etc. She clearly was not any of the above to me; she just need to exercise more. We were in the mall one day and I saw another girl the same size as her. I said “wow, don’t you think she’s kinda fat?” My girlfriend almost slapped me. “No way! That’s mean! She is NOT fat!” I told her, “I didn’t think so.”
It’s this lack of proper perception that leads people into spending hundreds of dollars on fad diets and books that don’t apply to you. And honestly, you shouldn’t be weighing yourself every day. Your total body weight can really throw you off of what you think is healthy. Muscle does not weigh more than fat (I don’t know who came up with this because a pound is a pound), however it does take up a lot less space.
You should start with a tape measurer around your stomach. The general good perception is that your waist measurement should be no more than half your height in inches. The Body Mass Index (BMI) sucks because according to that measurement, a lot of professional athletes like Payton Manning and Carmelo Anthony are obese simply because they carry more weight than they should for their height, according to the BMI.
If you met me, you could assume that I weigh 180 pounds, which I do. I have a fairly medium build at 5’9″ and I don’t have much of a gut (34″ on a good day). But you wouldn’t figure out that I used to weigh 147 before I joined the military. I gained that weight from being the lowest ranking airman in my aircraft maintenance squadron, which means that I got to do all the lifting, the pumping, the 75-pound toolbox carrying, etc. I didn’t make a lot of money so I ate at the chow hall which was full of high-calorie, high-nutrition food. I basically put on “good” weight. Every year we have to get a complete physical, and I always check out on top. And it’s not because I’m a fitness freak; it’s because of the perception.
Step Two: Assess your diet and make slow changes. Maybe you have an eating problem. Maybe you really, really like steaks and burgers and pies. So do I, and so do most Americans. But what I’ve learned is that red meat tends to hang out in your stomach for long periods of time. It takes 3 days for your intestines to break down a steak. What do you think all that meat is doing in your intestines for 3 days? It isn’t staying fresh, that’s for sure. It is slowly rotting until your body gets what it needs from it (protein and a little bit of fat) and then it comes out.
Eat less of what you KNOW is not good for you to have everyday. There are no more secrets to foods that aren’t high in nutrition but are high in calories. But if your lifestyle is constantly eating out, eating burgers and basically junk food, you’re reading this because you know it’s affecting your health. Start by eating a little less of it. Used to eating 2 apple pies at McDonald’s? Eat 1. Big Mac combos part of your daily routine? Cut out half the fries. Just start that way. Going cold turkey may work for some, but not for most. I know I don’t like to eat tons of fruit, but I’d drink a Jamba Juice smoothie every day if I could walk to one.
It’s easy to say you don’t have time to cook, but I know that there were days where I spent as much time in the drive thru as I did at home prepping a 30 minute meal. It isn’t hard. I’m no Emeril or Rachel Ray, but I can pretty much work a George Foreman grill. It just takes a little time. We all have more than we know. Think about what happens towards the end of your life when you’re hooked on pills and can barely walk because your body was full of junk food every day. You’ll be wishing you spent an extra 15 minutes a night putting something together versus a trip to Applebee’s.
Don’t get me wrong, we still go out to eat, but it’s always lunch and dinner on Saturday and on special occasions. Pick one or two days a week to cook something up. I have a relative who lost 10 fat pounds in a week just from switching out two meals and using leaner ground beef and cutting out all the “instant’ foods at the grocery store.
Step Three: Assess your exercise plan. You might have a job like I did where exercise and blood-pumping movement is just part of the job, so you just have to focus on changing your diet. However, if you have a job like I have now where I’m mostly at a computer desk or sitting in meetings most of the day, you’re gonna need to get that blood pumping. Maybe you aren’t ready to jump into the gym and join an aerobics class or run a treadmill. The key is to ease into exercise if you haven’t done it. Remember, this is about STARTING a healthy lifestyle.
The quickest way to do it as actually at work. Park far away. Far, far away. If you are exec, give up your spot to a different entry-level employee and fend for yourself. It will force you to walk probably an extra 10 or 15 minutes, which can actually do wonders.If you’re on the 10th floor, take the stairs. But not ALL the stairs just yet! Take 3 flights and then the elevator. Once that becomes easy, add another floor or park even further.Don’t try to target an area because fat just sits where it sits. You can target building muscle in certain places, but you can’t target burning fat in those places. Just get in the habit of doing a little more.
Once you’ve done all three steps, you’re ready to begin a great life change. It’s important to do those assessments in order because you can’t get anywhere if your mind is right. Eating is something you have to do every day, so that can be adjusted next. Then you work in the exercise.
Give yourself an easy start, like a month. At the end of a month of this you should be seeing and feeling some results. Again, start with a waist measurement and not the scale. Getting healthier for most people isn’t as hard as it’s made out to be when every book and infomercial gives you a different study or set of test results. It is math and perception. Calories you eat minus calories your burn equals your weight. It is what is IN those foods and consistency in burning calories that leads to true health.
