Get Fit in 2009: Start with a Healthier Lifestyle
Part 1 of Fitness Series
Next time you are at the mall, in the grocery store or at work, take a look around. Most people I see are heavier than they should be. Many people know they are out of shape and genuinely want to change. One major problem is that our American consumer mentality approves of it. Even young children are fat. There are many reasons that obesity is on the rise and seems to getting worse. I would imagine that adults would give reasons such as: I am too busy to cook healthy meals and the drive-through is a more time convenient way to feed my family. I don't have time to exercise. My spouse and I both work and are too tired to exercise when the work day is over. I do not know where to start with a fitness regimen. I cannot afford a gym membership in today's economy. The excuses could go on and on, and some of them are almost valid. Hopefully, after reading this column, readers will realize that most of the rational are completely bogus. If you have time to sit here and read this article, you have the 15 or 20 minutes it would take to start living a more weight conscious lifestyle. As with any other exercise program, please get a physical from your physician and tell them about your intentions of starting a workout routine.
The combination of diet and exercise are the key components to start living a healthier life. Please try to refrain from fad diets, as they are nearly impossible to stay on and can also be dangerous. How long can someone avoid eating carbohydrates (I believe these are the South Beach and Atkins fads that have been wildly popular the last few years)?
Let's start out with a night out at dinner. Your server arrives at your table and asks for your drink orders and if you would like to order one or more of the fried appetizers on the menu before you begin your meal. If your normal answer is yes, then that is a habit you really need to change. First off, those fried cheese sticks are very expensive and offer almost no nutritional value. They will then ask what you prefer to drink. Another booby-trap in the world of going out to eat. What good is a soda, a diet soda or an alcoholic beverage going to do for you? Please, if you are serious about getting healthier, stick with water and a wedge of lemon. It's free, it quenches your thirst and it's good for you.
On to the main course. I rarely go out to eat, but when I do, it is usually with my girlfriend. Of course, everything on the menu looks fantastic, but here is a tip. Have you ever seen the dinner portions that restaurants are serving? I have to admit, that in the last year, with the shrinking economy, the portions have also shrunk, but they are still very large. Back to the menu. Assuming you know the person you are eating with, try to agree on something you are both in the mood for and would both enjoy. There are no rules that say each customer has to order a meal for themselves. When the waiter comes back and asks for your order, order what you have both decided on and ask for an extra plate. I have never encountered, at any establishment, a problem with this tactic. You will have no problem finishing your portion, and I also think there is something special about finding common ground by picking an item both people like. You also will not have that overfull feeling in your gut that tells you when you ate too much. The idea takes a little getting used to, and might make you look like a cheapskate, but the night out is for you to enjoy, so enjoy it the way you want to. We usually leave a more generous tip for the server (depending on service), because the bill is reduced significantly.
After dinner, in your new quest to become fit, ask your dinner partner if they would like to go on a little walk through the park. The fact you only ate half of what you normally would have eaten will may not make the couch the most urgent place to go and digest your meal. In this day and age of Tivo and DVR, you can catch that favorite show of yours at any time. Quality time with a person you enjoy will also help your relationship, and help you get healthier at the same time.
None of the tips suggested here seem to be very difficult, but it is small changes like these that will lead to bigger changes in your life, and aid you when the challenges offered get more difficult. I wish you the best of luck in your efforts to become a healthier eater and more importantly, a healthier person
Comments
Low-Carb Is ANYTHING But A 'Fad' Diet For Me!
While I can appreciate your attempt to educate people about how to live a healthier lifestyle, it is very disappointing to see you describing the healthy low-carb lifestyle as a "fad" diet that is "impossible to stay on" and even "dangerous." Such hyperbole about a legitimate, science-based way of eating is doing your readers a great disservice.
While it is true diets like South Beach and even more so the Atkins diet call for consuming less carbohydrates in your diet, there's a reason and purpose behind it. For many, sugars and carbs (which turn to sugar in the body) play a direct role in creating an excessive amount of the insulin hormone in the body. Insulin is what regulates blood sugar levels, but too much of it can lead to stored fat.
In January 2004, I weighed 410 pounds because my insulin was off the charts. My diet consisted of primarily sugar-based sodas and drinks as well as starchy carbs that were making me fatter and fatter each year. By simply implementing a carbohydrate-restricted nutritional approach into my regular routine, I was able to shed 180 pounds that year and it changed my life forever!
As great as the weight loss was, the improvements in my health have been that much better...dropped 20 inches off my waist, went from 5XL shirts to XL, came off of three prescription meds for breathing, cholesterol, and blood pressure, and my quality of life improved dramatically. When I say low-carb changed my life, it's not just some whimsical comment without any meaning. It turned everything about what was happening to me into this amazing experience that I'll never forget.
Here it is five years later and I'm STILL livin' la vida low-carb with no signs of being in any kind of health danger from eating this way. It is an extremely healthy way to eat and more and more research is proving this each and every day. I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of a book entitled GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES by Gary Taubes to learn more about the history behind carbohydrates and why they are the primary reason for obesity and disease today.
I regularly write about healthy low-carb living at my http://www.livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog web site and would recommend you check it out if you want to see real people living and thriving on a low-carb diet. Check out this post I wrote earlier this week celebrating my 5-year anniversary of starting on the Atkins diet:
http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/?p=3205
I would hope in the future you give better consideration to the topics you write about to make sure all the facts are in order first so you don't embarrass yourself with ignorance. A little due diligence on the subject would have prevented this from ever happening in the first place. THANKS for allowing me to share comments.
Jimmy Moore, author of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb"
http://www.livinlavidalowcarb.com
livinlowcarbman@charter.net
Sugar/Carb Addiction is Real
The reason that it is unfathomable to you that someone would not eat carbohydrates for the rest of his or her life is that we are a nation of sugar addicts (which includes starches that turn to sugar). Recent studies have shown that sugar is as addictive to heroin, yet it is 100% legal, available to children, and largely unregulated. In the not-too-distant future, we're going to suddenly "discover" that sugar is as harmful as cigarettes, and at the root of almost all the obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure that has become an epidemic in our society.
The reason Atkins and South Beach ended up being "fads" were because they work, but that most people have not been able to conquer the addiction that creates the need for them. So people went on them for the short-term, saw results (and their friends saw the results which caused more and more people to join them). But the pull of addiction was so strong, that most people either gave up before they reached their goal weight -- or reached their goal weight and thus thought they had conquered their carb addiction. This led to binging behavior, which caused people to put on even more weight, and more quickly, than ever before, since they needed an ever-increasing amount of carbs to feed that addiction.
We know this happens with alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs, and so we regulate them in an attempt to discourage the addiction from ever forming or at least forestall it until adulthood. But what kid isn't given candy from the earliest age? What poor person doesn't believe that cheap sugars and starches (junk food) is all they can afford? Why is it easy to gorge on a whole bag of chips or candy, yet still be hungry, yet we can't gorge on a whole bag of spinach or broccoli. Sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup is added to so many foods that don't even need it to create the addiction, just as nicotine was added to cigarettes.
Step back from the idea of Atkins or South Beach or any other diet plan -- the plan is not as important as whether you're allowed to eat addictive foods or not. If it's a low-carb plan, there's a chance that you will be able to break the pattern of addiction and reduce the cravings that we've been falsely taught to believe are hunger. If it's not, then while portion control can temporarily help, it's not a long-term solution, especially if it involves reducing fat which causes you to be satiated with smaller portions. (Try eating a one-pound hamburger and a one-pound bag of chips or box of chocolates-- believe me, the former is much harder.)
There's a reason that alcoholics aren't allowed a couple of drinks a day (even though a drink or two, especially of wine, might be good for your health). Most people can't successfully kick smoking without ultimately completely weaning themselves from nicotine. Yet we expect people who are surrounded by sugar and empty carbs to lose weight and constantly fault their lack of "willpower." That fundamentally misunderstands and willfully ignores the nature of carb addiction, and doesn't contribute to solving the health and obesity problems we have as a society.
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