subject: Fort Collins Fitness Trainer Says Many Desire to Exercise—Showing Up is the Problem [print this page] Fort Collins Fitness Trainer Says Many Desire to ExerciseShowing Up is the Problem
Julie, one of my personal training clients in Ft. Collins, has a twenty-five year high school reunion in just over a monththat's a big deal! Unfortunately, Julie also has some big bulges that she has neglected working on/smoothing out/or strengthening. Now she wonders, "Can I lose the 16 lbs. in five weeks?" As her personal trainer, I think she should be asking, "Is it safe to lose that much weight in such a short amount of time and can I keep the weight off once I reach my weight loss goal?" Let's take a closer look at both of these questions.
"Is it healthy to lose 16 lbs. in five weeks?" First off, weight loss is purely a numbers game. A pound equals 3500 calories. Divide this number by 7 (for the 7 days in a week) and you get 500. Therefore, Julie will have to cut approximately 500 calories per day from her current diet if she hopes to lose to just one pound per week. She's got 5 weeks to work with. f she cuts 500 calories/day, the best she can hope for is a 5 pound weight loss. Obviously, her weight loss goal isn't realistic. To lose 2 pounds/week (still below her weight loss goal), Julie would have to cut 1,000 calories/day from her diet. You may be thinking, "Hold on! I can't cut that many calories a day! I'd end up eating less than 1,000 calories any given day! I wouldn't have the energy to walk to my car! This doesn't sound healthy." You're right. But keep in mind that you can also burn calories through exercise! So if you knock a few (250 or so) calories off of your regular diet and then jump on the elliptical machine for 30-45 minutes, you're well on your way to weight lossat a healthy pound per week.
Also, we have to have calories to go about our daily lives. Calories keep our digestive processes operatingbreaking down our food for energy and keeping our muscles moving. If you drastically cut calories, your body will go into survival modeholding onto every calorie it can get. Without a healthy caloric intake, your metabolism slows down (not a good thing). In this state of lockdown, your body will do all it can to conserve energy. As a result, fewer calories get burned up and your weight loss efforts will stall.
"Can I keep the weight off once I reach my goal?" This is highly unlikely. The majority of weight you lose quickly is water weight. Also, five weeks is a relatively short amount of timewe can maintain an intense workout schedule combined with a dramatic reduction in calories for this long. But maintaining these drastic habits over the long haul is almost impossible. You can even damage your overall health and wellness.
To reach your weight loss goals the healthy way, follow these simple rules:
- Have realistic goals to begin with. Figure approximately a pound a week. There will be times when this number is higher (and even perhaps lower).
- Make water your friend! A couple of glasses pre-meal can partially fill you upputting a dent in overeating. Plus hydration is a priority whenever you diet and exercise. For this purpose, nothing beats water.
- Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet with plenty of fiber. Eat organic foods whenever you can.
- Keep a food journal. You'll stay accountable and your daily logs can help you see your progress, keep you on track, and alert you to any patterns/events that bring on overindulging or cravings.
