Walking for Fun & Fitness
By: Bonnie Stein, M.Ed., CTPS

 

IF DIETS DON’T WORK . . . WHAT DOES?

By now we’ve all heard that diets don’t work.  Research shows that 95% of all dieters gain back every pound (plus more) within a year after they go off the diet.  By the end of two years, 98% of the dieters are lugging around all their old weight, plus some new fat.
 
The biggest problem is that diets make us fatter and fatter every time we go on another one.  Every diet makes us lose weight due to calorie restriction and deprivation. The problem is that when you go on a diet, you lose fat, water, and muscle. But, when you gain weight back (as 98% of people will) you’ll gain back only water and fat and no muscle.  So, you’ll end up being fatter than you were before.  Fat is more dense than muscle and takes up more space in our body.
 
Not to be the doom and gloom messenger, but the other magic formulas that you’re curious about - Fat Buster Pills, Cellulite Creams, Spot Reducing equipment, injections, special foods, special pills, special machines - surprise . . . they don’t work either.  Not long term and not permanently.
 
O.K., you say.  I know what doesn’t work.  I could have told you what doesn’t work.  Not the last 20 diets that I’ve tried anyway.  So, what does work? 
 
The answer is simple, but not easy.  As Dr. Anthony Abbott of The Fitness Institute has professed, “It’s not easy being fit.  If it were easy, everyone would be fit.”  True, and if diets worked, everyone who has ever gone on a diet would be the size and shape they want to be.  Diets are a $30 billion industry because their success is based on our failure.  If diets worked, the diet industry would quickly be out of business.  We’d all go on the diet that worked and that would be the end of that.
 
Unlike magic pills, here are some things that do work.  Incorporate these and you’ll finish the year in better shape than you started it.  This could be the year that you meet your resolutions head on!
 
•  Do something aerobic every day. Walking is my favorite. It’s easy.  Almost anyone can do it.  You don’t need expensive equipment, other than a good pair of lightweight training performance running shoes (my favorites for exercise walking). 
 
•  Exercise at the correct intensity.  While any kind of activity is good for your health, if you want to lose weight - you have to walk faster than the “K-Mart Stroll.”  Ya’ gotta mooooove. But faster is not better beyond a certain point.  On a scale of one to ten, aim for “seven” in intensity.  It should feel challenging, but not hard. You should be able to carry on a conversation with a little, labored breathing.  You should not be out of breath.
 
•  Don’t skip meals.  Diabetics should already know never to skip meals. Furthermore, research clearly proves that skipping meals doesn’t work for weight loss.  You’ll be famished and eat many more calories during the rest of the day, or even the next day.  Better to eat 5 or 6 smaller meals during the day, so you don’t let your blood sugar drop too low between meals.  If you don’t need medication for diabetes, this is a good practice to reduce your chances for needing medication in the future.
 
•  Eat fist size portions or smaller.  Face it – we eat too much fat and we eat too big portion sizes.  Aim to eat less than you think you need.  Eat mostly foods that grow from the ground and pair each meal with some protein.  Eat foods that are no larger than your fist.
 
•  Do not go on low calorie fad diets.  If diets worked, wouldn’t Oprah be slim and trim . . . and stay that way?
 
•  Be active all day, not just when you’re exercising.  Look for ways to be inefficient like walking up the stairs or taking extra trips.  Carry your own luggage.  Walk (don’t stand) on escalators.  At work, use the restroom on the next floor instead of your floor.  Don’t carry the portable phone around with you and if you watch TV at all - at least don’t use the remote control.  Better yet, take a short walk instead of watching TV in the first place.
 
Bonnie Stein M.Ed. is a racewalking instructor and Certified Personal Training Specialist based in Redington Shores, Florida.  Visit www.AceWalker