A Weight Loss Journey

Top Three Tips

You know that!  If you want to lose weight, permanently, then you must exercise.  It’s probably the most important predictor of whether you will succeed at long term weight loss and weight loss maintenance.

In order for exercise to be helpful in weight loss, set your behavior goal at five 30-minute sessions per week (150 minutes total).  Can’t find the time for that?  Then break the 30-minute session down into three 10-minute sessions, five days per week (150 minutes total).  That’s just as effective for weight loss. Be certain to find something you enjoy so you will build consistency as well.

Try these aerobic activities . . . walking, biking, swimming, dancing.

2.   Do Strength Training Too

Strength training increases the amount of muscle tissue you have.  If you increase the amount of muscle tissue you have, you will increase the number of calories you burn every day by a corresponding amount.  If you increase the number of calories you burn, and don’t increase your intake, you will lose weight. 

Strength training is listed separately from the “exercise” category because of the significant weight loss benefits attached to weight training all by itself. Remember, world class weight lifters must eat thousands of calories a day to maintain their weight.

Muscle is active tissue, fat is not. For this reason, muscle “burns” a significant number of calories each day for its own maintenance.

While aerobic activity can help burn calories, more muscles give your metabolism a significant daily boost even at rest.

3.   Keep a food diary.

Figure out which foods you eat that hinder weight loss. Keeping a food diary can be a huge asset in successful weight loss. Devote some time each day to record what you have eaten and how much.  Also note what your hunger level was before eating, and notice if you were feeling significant emotions at the same time.

A food diary can provide self-awareness. It can identify emotions and behaviors that trigger overeating, foster greater awareness of portion sizes, and help you discover your personal food triggers. Study any patterns that emerge from your food diary and identify where you may be able to make more healthful changes, or at the very least, head destructive behaviors off at the pass.

A food diary provides an added benefit of keeping you focused on and committed to your goals.

Even something as simple as the table below will get you started.

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I am always thinking about some way I can make exercise a daily habit in my life. It seems that I am one of the most stubborn people I know. I always have an excuse. I’m too busy, too tired, too old, too sore . . .

A while back, I bought a couple of videos of Leslie Sansone’s walking program. An ExerciseTV trainer, Leslie developed her In-Home Walking programs as a way to give everyone a method for getting fit, losing and managing weight, and becoming healthier. They are so easy that you can almost always talk yourself into at least starting them.

When I had the “habit” I told myself that I only had to just stand up and start the recording. If I didn’t want to continue, I didn’t have to. However, after I got started, it usually felt so good that I finished the workout. Then I felt extra good because I had kept my exercise promise to myself, and also because I got my heart rate up and my muscles warmed up and stretched too.

YouTube has some videos of Leslie’s. Here’s a sample of one:

I’m thinkin’ that now might be a good time to re-establish my Sansone-habit. See if this works for you too.

What Causes It?

The exact mechanisms of the complex pathways of metabolic syndrome are not yet completely known, however, important factors include:

- poor eating habits,
- sedentary lifestyle, and
- genetic predisposition to insulin resistance.

How Is It Diagnosed?

The American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommend that metabolic syndrome be identified as the presence of three or more of these components:

- elevated waist circumference (Men > 40 inches, Women > 35 inches),
- elevated triglycerides (> 150 mg/dL),
- lowered HDL (Men < 40 mg/dL, Women < 50 md/dL),
- elevated blood pressure (> 130/85), and
- elevated fasting glucose (>100 mg/dL).

How Is It Treated?

The first line treatment is to follow a healthier lifestyle, i.e., check your lipid levels, watch for signs of diabetes, monitor your blood pressure and exercise. Specifically,

- stop smoking
- reduce LDL, triclycerides,
- reduce blood pressure,
- reduce fasting glucose levels,
- increase insulin sensitivity, and
- raise HDL

by:

- losing weight (reduce BMI to < 25)
- exercising at least 30 minutes (at moderate intensity) for most days of the week
- eating less saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol.

Exercising improves these factors.

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