It’s that time of year again. The time when we attempt to atone for an entire year of little exercise and lots of food – magnified during the holiday season – by going overboard with our New Year’s resolutions.
The desire or effort to lose weight is certainly not a bad thing. Obesity is a very serious health condition, often with genetic components, that afflicts an estimated 72 million Americans, putting them at risk for type 2 diabetes, heart attack and even some kinds of cancer.
Losing just 10 percent of your body weight can significantly lower your risk of developing these health-related complications.
But the way we go about slimming down is often short-sighted (not to mention ineffective), with far too many dieters feverishly working out at the gym only until the desire to shape up no longer grips them. An hour or two of exercise each day soon gives way to every other day, and then to not at all.
Not surprisingly, a majority of Americans who lose a substantial amount of weight go on to gain back at least half of it within two years.
One recent long-term study of overweight and obese women who had lost 10 percent of their initial body weight determined that those who were successfully able to keep it off were those who successfully stuck with their positive exercise and eating habits. They were able to fit in 275 minutes of exercise per week – which translates into 55-minute workouts five times a week – for years after they lost their initial weight.
The women who had originally embraced their workouts with gusto only to gradually lose interest in them saw the pounds come back on. This happened with three-fourths of the women, who gained back, on average, half of what they had lost.
“Thus, the inability to sustain weight loss appears to mirror the inability to sustain physical activity,” the researchers wrote.
If you’ve resolved to follow a healthier lifestyle this year – and truly hope to keep that resolution – one of the best things you can do for yourself is to pick an exercise program you enjoy and can imagine yourself continuing with. Perhaps it is ballroom dancing, regular games of racquetball, or skipping rope in the garage.
If an hour workout most days of the week just doesn’t seem feasible, try breaking the exercise up into several smaller sessions, say a power walk at lunch and quick bike ride in the evening. Any sustainable type of exercise helps, and is an important part of counteracting any genetic factors you may have that contribute to weight gain.
Be sure to make fitness a part of your daily routine, just like brushing your teeth or eating a well-balanced breakfast. Keeping weight off requires more than just eating less.
Getting caught up in short-term weight loss and forgetting the long-term goal of staying healthy for life is a sure-fire way to fail.
Bill Lane Feb 18, 2009
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