Exercise and weight loss
By Scott Jackson
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12:01 a.m. PT May 2, 2008
Weight loss often tops the list of goals for new exercisers. Frustration builds if they have been faithfully exercising for two or three months, only to find the scale hasn't budged. There are myriad answers to this question, starting with a big mistake that many people make.
If you have been gaining weight every year for many years, your first goal should be to stop gaining weight. If your car were careening out of control downhill, your first goal would be to stop it before you concerned yourself with getting it back to the top of the hill. So it is with weight gain. Stop gaining, then start losing.
Understand that your biography becomes your biology. What that means is that your lifestyle affects the cells that are created and replaced every day. It will take consistent exercise (as well as other wise lifestyle choices) over time to positively affect enough cells to change your body. The good news is that it is never too late to start creating a healthier biology by changing the way you live.
Your body has a priority list - it knows what is most important to deal with first. There is no way to safely re-prioritize the list. Feeling good is not necessarily an indication of health. We all have known people who have been feeling great, only to be diagnosed with cancer or some other serious condition. Remember that weight gain is often just one of many symptoms you may experience as a direct consequence of years of poor choices in food, sleep and activity levels. We get healthier from the inside out.
How can you tell your exercise is working if you are not losing weight? You may notice you are sleeping better, waking more refreshed, having more energy throughout the day. Chronic aches and pains may lessen and your general mood may elevate. Often, bone density improves and food cravings disappear. You may handle stress more easily and feel a bit more optimistic. And though your weight may not change, you may actually start "shrinking" in size.
Many factors influence our body weight and levels of body fat. Folks who suffer from sleep deprivation and night shift workers often have trouble losing excess body fat. Prescription drugs can interfere with a weight loss program - some even cause weight gain. Our body will have a tough time with fat metabolism if we are not fully and consistently hydrated or if we are under constant, long-term stress. The number of years you have been inactive may delay your fat burning as can continuing to overeat at each sitting (if you do, in fact, overeat). Eating one or two meals per day can slow your metabolism and poor food choices (yes, that means fast food, most prepared food and processed food-like substances) can keep your body in a state of inflammation, which will keep your health from improving. Endocrine health is another major player - affecting our fat metabolism, blood sugar and hormones ... thereby disrupting fat loss.
You've heard it before, but I'll tell you again - muscle and bone weigh more than an equal portion of fat. If you don't believe me or don't understand, take a look at a pound of beef and see how small it is. Now image how much chicken fat it would take to make one pound. It would be several times larger than the package of (muscle) meat.
Right about now, you may fear stepping on the scale is likely to be a depressing activity. If step you must, try to peek just once a month. After stabilizing their weight, most people can only lose one or two pounds per week and stay healthy. Better to go hunting in your closet for your favorite pair of pants that are a size or so too small. Try them on once a month and notice how they fit differently.
Remember, just start moving and keep moving. Better health is guaranteed to follow.
Scott Jackson, CSCS, MES, is the owner of Scott Jackson's Real Life Fitness Personal Training Studio in Nevada City and is an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, a Medical Exercise Specialist and an IDEA Master Trainer. Email questions to scott@reallifefitness.net, call 265-4041 or visit www.reallifefitness.net
