The Health and Fitness Truth Blog

How many times have I heard this since first entering the health and wellness field 16 years ago? Thousands? Tens of thousands? I can honestly say that of all the thousands of times I have heard this, literally, it was maybe true 3 or 4 times. And, these three or four people actually COULD lose weight- it was just excrutiatingly slow. As many times as I have heard this- I admit that, I , myself, have said something similar. It’s the last thing people say before they have major weight loss surgery or liposuction. “I just could’nt lose weight- so I had to have this surgery”. I’ll admit, losing weight is VERY HARD WORK. I tell all my clients right up front that they will have to work hard and work long to be successful. I’m not trying to be negative- it’s just that I don’t want to continue the myth that it’s easy. It isn’t. So , why is this such a common mantra nowadays? Am I wrong? It is true? Aside from people with serious thyroid disease, this is often just a symptom of denial. My experience has shown that there are several fundamental reasons that people don’t have success with weight loss and thus THINK they can’t lose weight- and it’s not that exercise and healthy nutrition don’t work ( I have actually had clients who claim exercise and healthy eating made them fatter).
Here are my main observations:
-You do not know HOW much of a food you are eating- portion sizes are way too big. So simple- but unless you know and estimate portions sizes- you’ll invariably overeat.
- You eat well during the week but overeat on weekends. You can undo all the headway you’ve made during the week by eating out of control during the weekend.
- You underestimate how much exercise you need to do to lose excess weight. Many clients who contact me are doing 15-20 minutes of walking a day and expect this to create weight loss. You’d need to do 3 times this to really make a difference.
-You fail to keep a food log. Out of sight- out of mind. You WILL forget things you’ve eaten if you don’t write them down. A food log is 100% necessaary for success.
-You go on overly restrictive diets and then can’t stick with them. Overly restrictive diets set us up for failure. No one is perfect. Once we feel badly that we’ve cheated- the mantra begins.
- You expect to lose 2-3 pounds a week or more because that’s what the contestants on “The Biggest Loser” did. This expectation also sets us up for failure. Count on losing 1 pound week- that’s it- have patience and DON’T weigh yourself more than once every two weeks.
-You expect the changes to happen immediately. I have found that it can take up to 6 weeks before your body figures things out. Wait it out- it took you a long time to get there- why should the reverse happen overnight?
- You undereat during the day and overeat at night. A MAJOR one. You come to the evening so hunrgy, you overeat by 300-400 calories- but, because you were so hungry, it doesn’t even register.

So- check-in with yourself. Do any of these hit home?

Have you been watching “The Biggest Loser”, the new reality series on TV which features obese men and women trying to lose the most weight the most bodyfat in the fastest period of time? Like you, I watched the show, hoping to find the secrets of weight loss success that may help my clients. What I saw, although interesting and compelling, was horrendous. I really feel now that this show did a huge disservice to all the knowledgeable personal trainers and exercise physiologists who so carefully instruct their clients to lose weight safely and healthily. First and foremost, the amount and intensity of exercise which the participants performed was, bottom line, unsafe and almost unethical. To ask individuals as unfit and at such great risk to exercise at this pace is ridiculous. In the real world- no pun intended- this is grounds for a lawsuit. A 400 pound man sprinting? Hundreds of push-ups, squat thrusts, pull-ups? Major injuries are guaranteed with this type of overtraining. No sane trainer would ever allow their clients to exercise at this level. And, while I applaud the”losers” for their guts and determination,this level of exercise, and the weight loss shown on the show, is impossible for the average person to achieve. Last night, on a follow-up show, they looked at weight lost and bodyfat lost for a second place prize. Note something interesting- many of the participants lost a tremendous amount of SCALE WEIGHT- but not nearly the same ratio of bodyfat! One percent bodyfat is estimated to be about 3-5 pounds of fat. So, if you lose 50 pounds, you should lose a minimum of 10% bodyfat. Yet, this did not hold true for most of the “losers”. The reason? Because, instead of fat, they lost water weight- and worse than that- muscle tissue, the only tissue that maintains metabolism. This means that the exercise was excessive and calorie intake insufficient, resulting in “cannibalization” of muscle. Personally, I want to see these participants in a one year follow-up reunion. While I could tell that some have really made permanent changes, I wonder what will happen to them now that their metabolisms are run into the ground and they go back to a real life of work, less exercise, and normal healthy eating? What do YOU think?

The US National Institutes of Health recently announced the launch of a massive campaign to fight obesity- an epidemic that affects close to two thirds of the population of the US. YES, close to two thirds of us are now classified as obese, costing us nearly $117 billion a year in direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost wages from misssed work days. Even if you are not in this two thirds majority- you will be directly affected by this epidemic. Next time you have to wait in the emergency room for 6 hours to get your childs’ broken wrist looked at, think about why the ER’s have such a horrendous wait time. Poor self care - lack of exercise, gluttonous overeating and ignoring the warning signs of the diseases and illnesses related to obesity, drives millions to the ER each year for medical care.
The NIH plan recognizes now that just “telling” people to eat better and exercise is not enough. They admit,” On the surface, it may seem that the solution to the obesity epidemic is obvious: Get people to eat less and exercise more. But, the reality is that this change is very difficult to accomplish”. So, the plan calls for targeting obesity on both the behaviorial and environmental levels, as well as the more traditional approaches of improving medical and surgical options for the obese. The plan also calls for the”translation” of research data into real information that the average US citizen can relate to.
As a personal trainer, I know that it is essential that the “everyman” get real-life, specific suggestions and day-to-day strategic ideas in order to battle obesity. Willpower, which we have so relied upon to lose weight, is just not enough. “Willing” yourself to not eat and exercise more without specific strategies and support systems is a prescription for failure. Ultimately, failure makes us feel worse about ourselves, driving us to “eat” for comfort, the exact behavior we are trying to avoid. Support systems may include joining a nutrition workshop, enlisting an exercise partner, hiring a personal trainer, or walking with co-workers at lunch. Strategies for weight loss include food and exercise logs, keeping certain foods out of the house, eating at regular intervals to avoid extreme hunger which makes us overeat, or eating a small, healthy snack before going out to dinner or to a party.

Several weeks ago I wrote an opinion piece on how often to weigh yourself. Since then, I polled 30 clients and friends, asking them “How often do you weigh yourself? Is the scale motivating or depressing? Do you consider yourself overweight, just right, or just out of shape?” Of the 26 respondents, here are the results:

7 weigh themselves daily or every other day. Of these respondents, all considered themselves overweight, and 2 actually found the weigh- ins depressing . The other 5 found it motivating, as they were on “diets” and were feeling successful.

9 weighed themselves once a week, and most felt it was motivating, but all made the comment that it was only motivating when the scale shows a lower number.

4 respondents do not weigh themselves, and can tell if they are losing weight by how their clothes fit-and all felt that the scale was depressing.

4 respondents weigh themselves once a month, and did not feel particularly depressed or motivated by the number. This seems like a happy middle ground- even though this group was not any thinner or in better shape than the other respondents.

Finally two people, one man, weigh themselves only once a year. The woman who responded said she does not have a scale, and finds weighing depressing, and does not allow her two teenage girls to weigh themselves either. Ironically, this woman is very fit, and of healthy, normal weight.

Conclusions? There are several, despite the variations of opinion and technique. Those overweight people who are successfully dieting find it helpful to keep them on track. Most others find the scale depressing, and should STOP weighing themselves so frequently if this is so. Overwhelmingly, women judge themselves, and are influenced greatly, by what the scale says. If the number is lower, they are happy, if it is not, they are depressed. HOW CAN WE LET A MACHINE, WITH SO MUCH INHERENT INACCURACY AND FLUCTUATIONS, JUDGE OUR BEAUTY AND WORTH?

How often do you weigh yourself? I ask my clients this question quite frequently, and the answers vary so greatly, it amazes me. Some people- both women and men- get on the scale daily- others refuse to get on at all. What is really best for us to stay on track, but not frustrate ourselves? Fitness experts and nutritionists give lots of varied answers as well, and I, too, have changed my mind over the years on this touchy subject.

Except for clients with a history of eating disorders, I believe it is important to occasionally weigh yourself . Daily weighing is a waste of time. Your bodyweight can fluctuate 2-5 pounds in one day, so this is a perfect way to really frustrate yourself!! Thus, I have found that weighing in once every two weeks is a sensible habit- one which will keep you on track whether you are trying to maintain or lose weight, or even gain weight.

There are several reasons for why this two week interval may be most appropriate. First,weight loss is rarely exact or predictable. Oftentimes, my clients will not lose weight one week, but will lose two pounds the next. So, expecting the scale to change EVERY week is not appropriate for most of us. Plus, the scales we use at home are not super accurate- especially for small weight changes like one pound. On the other side of the coin, weighing yourself every two weeks does not allow you to gain large amounts of weight without knowing it. I actually have a client who gained over 30 pounds in a year and did not realize it- he always wore loose clothing and was not focused on his appearance.

If the scale does depress you, you can always try measuring yourself-but even this can be inaccurate- so be as careful and exact as you can. Ultimately, the best tool for assessing change is a bodyfat test- something that a personal trainer can easily do for you! I will be conducting a survey of my clients and friends on their “scale habits”- watch for it soon! Feel free to let me know how you handle weighing in.