Monday, April 11, 2011

When you have a large amount of fat to lose

When you have a lot of weight to lose, and specifically a lot of fat to lose, there are some things you should keep in mind. I wanted to quickly go over these things with people and maybe give a heads up on what to expect as you drop weight and return to better health.

First thing to remember, if you have a good deal of fat to lose (fifty pounds or more as a range), it’s all about the diet. Yes, I’m a personal trainer, and yes, I always encourage everyone to exercise as much as possible, but I’m not a dummy, I know what it takes to lose weight, hey, I lost close to 60 pounds myself, so I know where you’re coming from. It’s often stated that losing fat is 80% diet and 20% exercise. Losing the fat means cracking down on the nutrition; this is especially true at the beginning. I’ve seen many folks who lost upwards of half the fat just by learning how to eat healthier. You don’t have to be a clean eating superstar to become healthy, you can be reasonable about your eating habits and still be in very good shape. But it does mean cutting out most of the saturated fats, hydrogenated fats, simple and processed carb treats, and making most of your meat choices as lean as possible. It’s the little things you need to do to become healthy, order that fish baked instead of fried, choose mixed veggies instead of the French fries, eat more vegetables at every meal, ask for dressings on the side, avoid the fat and sodium laden glazes, and watch your condiments. You do all these things and you’re well on your way.

The second thing to remember is that as the weight comes off, you need to adjust what your calorie deficit is. If you’re obese, then you can probably afford a 2 to 3 pound per week deficit. That’s plenty for anyone IMHO, but you may notice yourself losing weight faster than that at the beginning, that’s ok, but recognize that as you lose the fat, your weight loss will slow down. This is expected and natural, don’t worry about it, and just keep going.

Third thing to remember is that plateaus happen. Your body isn’t mechanical, it won’t follow your well laid plan exactly all the time. Sometimes your body will stop and adjust, this can take a few weeks, even up to a few months in extreme cases, don’t let that stop you, just take it as part of the plan. Don’t even worry about this until you’re up over a month, and at that point, if you’re still not losing, examine what you’re doing and decide whether you’re making the right choices.

Lastly, exercise may not be the main ingredient in losing weight at the beginning, but it’s what will help you stay healthy at the end. Exercise is vital to staying healthy. Exercise promotes muscle strength, bone health, immune system function, cardiovascular health, correct sleep patterns, and removal of excess fat. Exercise is a great stress reliever and releases endorphins in the body making you feel better the rest of the day. Exercise shapes your body, making you look better and have higher self-esteem, which can manifest itself in many aspects of life including relationships, work, social gatherings, public speaking … etc. For all these reasons, it’s vital that you include exercise in your journey. And I don’t just mean walking or using the elliptical. Don’t get me wrong, cardio is fine, but it’s only part of the process, exercise should include resistance, stretching, AND cardiovascular activity. Include at least one day of each every week, with multiple days of at least one for at least 30 minutes and at least a moderate level of activity for optimal health, more if you can fit it in.


-best wishes

Banks

5 comments:

  1. Great advice! I have lost 70 lbs so far and have at least 60 more to lose. I lost most of it by changing my diet. I do cardio, but really need to start working on resistance and stretching. I have a gym at my apartment complex I use, but am intimidated to start using weights. I was wondering if a Pilates video may be good to start toning/building muscle & improve flexibility?

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  2. Steve I have a question for you. Do you feel at the beginning when you are just starting out it is ok to just start with cardio? I am on day 28 of making a healthy lifestyle change.

    First 2 weeks were cutting out things like soda, carb intake, many fats, adding more veges and getting a handle on portion control. After 2 weeks I added in some walking - 1st week 3 days 8 miles, 2nd week 3 days 10 miles. I intend to keep going with cardio for another week or 2 before I add on any strength training bc honestly I am tring to make a life change...not just lose weight and I am taking it at a good pace so I can stick with it.

    Do you think this is on track??? Am I wrong with just starting with cardio?? Overall I would love to lose 30 pds....that a long term goal - I am down 7 pds and my short term for May was 10-12 pds and June I would like to be down 13-15 pds. Are these realistic goals??? And congrats on the amazing job you have done! PS we are also in Beverly!!

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  3. Firstly, sorry for not responding quicker guys, I have to set my notifications up, as I guess they're not working right.

    @cody jo - Pilates are great for what they are designed for. They are a good routine for lengthening, stretching, and strengthening muscles. Generally, for stabalization muscles, pilates are great. Things like your core, the small muscles around your knees, and your ankles, pilates are great, but as to the large muscle groups, pilates will only give you small benefit, so while I think pilates are a good workout, I don't think they should be viewed as a replacement for resistance, and most definitely not be used in place of cardio or HIIT training.

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  4. @Carcia73, Hi Lisa, long time no talk :)
    You need to get in touch with me, if you're in Beverly, you need to get together with the wife and I, maybe for our Mem day cookout. Which, I'm not sure will actually be on labor day this year (probably the week after).
    Anyway, to answer your questions.
    1st, walking. OK so I view walking as a gateway exercise. Few things, for those of us who aren't injured or for some reason can't progress to more strenuous exercise, walking should only be used as a starter, after a few weeks of walking you should be progressing to something harder, jogging, swimming, a bike, elliptical...etc. Walking is not a super cardio workout. Its ok just to get you back in the game, but I'd move on from it as fast as possible.
    Second, your goals, on first glance, they sound pretty reasonable, of course without knowing far more about your situation, I can't say for sure. Email me privately and we can talk more if you like. Since you live in Beverly, we could talk about some options for you.

    hit me up on Facebook, we'll talk.

    -Steve

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