I was watching a television program and the series of four or five ads came on. What caught my attention was that two of the ads were about improving your body image. The first one had the people take a pill to lose weight. A series of individuals told how many pounds they had lost with this method. I glanced at the small writing on the bottom of the ad. The list of about a dozen side-effects had some very serious conditions. A brief note at the bottom stated that the people who were on this pill taking program also had a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity. Having been in the fitness arena for many years the standard program for weight loss is a reduced diet and increased physical activity. I thought that the people taking this pill could have followed the diet-activity portion of the program and not had to worry about the serious side-effects.
The second advertisement was about body contouring via the “nip a bit here and tuck a little bit there,” and you will have a nicer looking physique. It also had a few examples of individuals that had the before and after photographs showing the improvement. The problem with this procedure is that the long-range success is not always guaranteed. The initial cause of the excess accumulation of weight came from too many calories and not enough activity. If after the body contouring procedure, the person does not change their diet habits and activity level the weight will come back. I have known several individuals that have done liposuction and body contouring and some months later the original physique is back.
The necessary changes are not that difficult to follow. It might take some adjustment in your favorite high calorie food choices, but it does not include being hungry. Little changes such as buying lean meat instead of high fat meat, fat free milk versus whole milk, reduce the number of sodas during the day and try water instead. A session with a nutritionist is a good start to learning which foods are healthy and filling but not high calorie.
Increasing the amount of physical activity does not include running a marathon. I have used the example from my own experience with exercise and weight gain. When I ran marathons, I weighed about 155 pounds. After a power lifting experience for a few years, I weighed in at 185 pounds. Thinking I could still run, I took off for a three-mile jog. I still recall that short threemile jog was one of the hardest runs I have ever experienced. The stress on the feet and knees was unbelievable. And my extra weight was more muscle than fat, but it was still extra weight on the feet and knees. Being a personal trainer for many years, I made the decision that I will never tell a very overweight or obese individual to run to lose weight. Calories can be burned just as easily with walking, riding a bike, swimming or weight-lifting and not cause the stress on the joints in the legs.
The distance does not have to be that far to be an increase in activity level for a previous sedentary person. Start with a walk around the block and build up from there. The San Marcos Activity Center has a walking corridor that people use frequently. You will find other individuals to walk with, enjoy the art on the walls and be in a controlled temperature setting. If you are enthusiastic about losing weight after a short walk, a visit to the weight room for a session of easy exercises is an added calorie loss.
When you are watching a program on television and the ads appear for weight loss, pay closer attention to the small print at the bottom of possible side effects that taking the product might cause. That ad that included a reduced diet and increased activity was the best.
