The Health and Fitness ChannelJune 2003 IssueYour Truth In Fitness Source
THOUGH I'D HATE TO SEE YOU GO, IF YOU WISH TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION PLEASE SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS EMAIL AND FOLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS THERE. Do you realize it's a lot easier to lose weight than it is to keep it off once you've lost it? When you are trying to lose weight, you're singularly focused on the task at hand. But once you're down to your target weight, you have to balance weight maintenance with other factors in your life. On a daily basis, that requires you to continually correct yourself and bring yourself back on course. Weight management is a journey rather than a destination. PSYCHOLOGY OF WEIGHT MAINTENANCEPositive thinking patterns are crucial to successful, long-term weight management. People who are not successful at managing their weight tend to... MAKE EXCUSES that let them overeat
or not exercise. In contrast, those who are successful tend to... REMIND THEMSELVES OF THEIR LONG-RANGE GOALS. 7 STRATEGIES FOR WEIGHT MAINTENANCE1) MAKE EXERCISE A REGULAR PART OF YOUR LIFEWithout regular exercise, weight maintenance is exceedingly difficult. Of course, making exercise a part of your daily routine is easier said than done. I recommend you choose a range of activities that you enjoy and can turn to when you're in different moods - or confronted by bad weather. EXAMPLE: I run interval sprints
in the morning. On days when it rains, 2) REDUCE SATURATED FAT CALORIESMost Americans eat way more saturated fat than they need. We're exposed to a lot of fatty, but very tasty foods, so we develop a taste for foods that are readily available. However, you can change your taste buds and actually learn to prefer foods not necessarily lower in fat, but higher in 'good' fats. Some of the best fats you can put into your body are olive oil, flax oil, and fish oil. STRATEGY: Start small. Don't necessarily eliminate red meat, learn what the best (leanest) cuts are. Any cut ending in 'loin and round are usually as lean as, and sometimes more lean than, chicken. Cook with olive oil and use it on salads instead of traditional dressings. Make smoothies with an added tablespoon of flaxseed oil. BONUS: Switching from a higher saturated fat diet to one that has the same amount of fat calories, but are mono/poly-unsaturated instead, may help you lose fat. Higher intakes of fat reduce your appetite. Plus, the essential fats found in fish and flax are potent fat 'decouplers.' They help release and 'break apart' stored fat in your body to be used as fuel. Studies have also shown it is virtually impossible to accumulate fat from eating the Omega-3 fats found in flaxseed and fish oil. 3) CONTROL BINGESBetween 25% and 50% of all people who attend weight-management programs are bingers. The biggest trigger for binges is negative emotions - anger...depression...anxiety. STRATEGY: Keep a two-week journal to record your eating behaviors - meals, snacks, binges. Also recored the circumstances - how you feel, what you are doing and your thoughts when you are eating. This will help you identify triggers for eating and develop strategies to avoid them. EXAMPLE: When I get anxious or stressed, the first thing I do is to think of food. But all I'm really looking for is a release from the perceived stress I'm feeling at the moment. Since I've now identified these feelings as a trigger for eating (whether I'm hungry or not), I found an alternate way to take my mind off my stress -- I play with my dog. I'll get on all fours and romp with him until I laugh, smile, and play my stress away. And it didn't cost me an extra calorie to do so. Your challenge is to find something creative and distracting for you. 4) EAT MODERATELYTo successfully maintain a low weight level, you must keep your caloric intake under control. STRATEGY: Preplan how much you're going to eat at every meal. Most of us eat until we're full. This backfires on us because in order to feel satisfied from a meal, 20-30 minutes needs to elapse after you first start eating in order for the satiety reflex to kick in. The problem is, 20-30 minutes after starting to eat we've usually shoveled enough food into our gullet to feed a small army. Try eating more than the three meals we usually eat per day. Four, five, and even six times is better. Why? Because our blood sugar levels are steadier throughout the day. A lowered blood sugar level will trigger ravenous hunger pangs and cause logic to be thrown out the window. 5) THINK SMARTFocus on your long-term goal of weight maintenance, give yourself instructional thoughts and pat yourselfon the back for positive behaviors. MISTAKE: At the office, a co-worker is passing around slices of cake. As a slice comes your way, you see only the cake, not your goal. You rationalize, telling yourself that you've been good for weeks and you shouldn't be deprived whe everyone else is eating it. BETTER: As a slice comes your way, remind yourslef that you've worked hard to lose weight, you feel great and you want to keep the weight off. You tell yourself that the momentary pleasure of the cake isn't in your best interest. You decline the cake. As your co-worker moves on to someone else, you feel good about yourself and congratulate youself for forgoing temptation. 6) HANDLE LAPSESEveryone backslides on occasion. STRATEGY: Avoid turning a lapse into a relapse. Instead of having a second donut, go to the gym to burn off the calories or cut back on your calorie intake the rest of the day or tomorrow. The best way to minimize damage -- go to the gym. Studies have shown that sugars taken just before working out don't get stored as fat. Instead, they get used for fuel. Any excess gets stored into the muscles you've just worked as glycogen (muscle fuel). 7) CREATE A LIFESTYLE THAT IS SATISFYING TO YOUThe last thing you want to say at the end of your life is that you devoted the majority of your life to watching your weight. While weight maintenance is important to health and psychological well-being, your life should be about something more meaningful. Create a mission that makes you feel your life is worth living. Find a way to be creative, contribute to society or do something that's important to you. IN SUMMARY:MAKE EXERCISE A REGULAR PART OF YOUR LIFE See you next month! The "Fitness Corner": Your fitness questions answered.**QUESTION: Hank, I am 24 years old and I have a small amount of fat around my midsection
that I would like to trim up. I am 5'10 185 and I exercise a lot. I
work my abs constantly and I know if I could lose this small layer of
fat my six pack would show. What can I do to trim this area and keep
it trim. ***ANSWER: First and foremost; endless repetitions, numerous sets, and working your abdominals every day will NOT build an impressive set of abdominal muscles. What's the answer then? The consistent application of 2 things...a fat-burning diet and CORRECT
First, no matter how many situps, crunches, or any other type of abdominal work you do you'll NEVER lose the fat around your abs unless your diet allows you to lose fat EVERYWHERE on your body. It's very difficult to spot reduce so throw this idea that you're different and can do it out the window. Unfortunately, most people don't want to hear they have to diet when
they I'll give you a quick tip -- concentrate on reducing your meal portion
sizes. The biggest roadblock to reducing fat is, of course, excess Doing CORRECT abdominal exercises is the other problem most people have when trying to get their abs to show. Somehow, the idea that doing hundreds and hundreds of repetitions of their favorite abdominal exercises will reveal hidden "six-packs" has been promoted and practiced by virtually everyone trying to "get some abs." This error in ab exercising has caused much frustration when little
to Let me ask you this? Are the abdominal muscles a muscle group just
If you wanted to build up those areas of your body with lean muscle
Then why do so many people suddenly think their abs are a completely
Because of the mistaken belief that high repetitions will somehow Think about this scenario for a moment and you'll see how ridiculous
Is this possible? Of course not. The only way for this man (and You'll probably think I'm crazy when you read this, but you need to
Here's why - Let's use the scenario of a man or woman losing fat Your ab muscles are composed of rows of distinct sets of muscles. So the trick to creating the illusion of a ripped set of abs is to
This means lower reps and heavier weight -- exactly the opposite Next month I'll give you my favorite (and what I've found most effective)
FINAL TIP! Here's a good tip to help you stay on your diet when you get the urge
What's your favorite fruit? For me it's a nice, juicy, crunchy MacIntosh
Good luck and great success! Please send your questions to The Fitness
Corner
I hope you enjoyed this latest issue. See you next month with more tips and solutions to achieving your best body. Good luck, God bless, and all the best in health and fitness, Harry "Hank" Johnson Jr,
President
Harry is the creator of the "Amazing Fat-Loss/Ultimate Results Program" - specifically designed to help you lose fat quickly and easily. "When you want to lose 20 pounds of fat (or more) in 6 weeks (or
less) --
Also,
please send me your questions on getting fit, working out, To see back issues of The Health and Fitness Channel newsletter please Click Here. Sign
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