My feelings on the obesity epidemic

I haven't posted in a while, and I really need to work on that.  As my readers know, and new readers will soon figure out, I am a Beachbody Coach.  Why do I mention this?  I mention this because there will be times when I appear biased, and on those occasions I am fully aware of that.  The one thing you can depend on, is that if I don't like a product, or don't use it, I will tell you.  If you post a question about something, I will get you the best answer that I can.  I started the blog to share my experiences concerning my fitness journey, but have decided that there may be an occasion where I post a non-fitness related posting.  I know I am working on one concerning electric cars.

Today, I wanted to address, from purely an editorial standpoint, the obesity problem in the US.  I am not a "hate fat people" person.  I don't.  My personal belief has always been that if you are happy with yourself great.  If you are not, then do something about it.  You don't get to play on both sides of the fence.  You can't complain about being overweight, then complain that you can't get help.  It is up to you.  I don't know of anyone who gained 100 pounds overnight, and I am sure no one will ever loose 100 pounds overnight.  There is no miracle drug. I don't care what you see on TV or in the magazines.  You cannot take a pill and loose weight.  There may be some that help raise metabolism for a short time, but they are not magic.  The only way anyone will ever be successful with weight loss, or weight gain for that matter is through a lifestyle change.  That is what it took for me, and I only wanted to loose 30 pounds.  I also wanted to get fit, and tone up my muscles.  I think have have done well.  I still eat things that are not great for you.  I love pizza and cheeseburgers.  When I go to a hockey game I have two sodas and peanuts.  I know there is a lifestyle change, but I still want to live. I am willing to accept the consequences of my actions.  I know that if I gain 5 pounds over the holidays, then I have to really pay attention to my exercise routine and diet afterwards.  It is up to me.  No one can make me healthy.  Only I can do that.  I have been lucky so far.  I have found exercise programs that I like and will stick to.  I even occasionally use my elliptical and Bowflex.  I am actually looking at ways to incorporate them into my current routines.  I have been working out now for almost two full years.  There were a couple of breaks; one for 3 months and another for 2.  I have paid the price for falling off the wagon.

Ok, back to my point.  There may be many reasons that someone is obese.  There may be personality issues, self image, or just poor choices.  I am not an expert.  What I am is someone that sees more and more obese people demanding special treatment because of their choices.  And yes, I say their choices even though there may be some personality issue as an underlying cause.  Why, because they can get help for depression, self-image and other issues.  They just need to want it.  You cannot eat your problems away.  This is mainly because overeating and obesity lead to other problems.  Again, if you are happy great.  If not, then get help and realize it is a journey.

There are consequences in life.  If you take up two seats on an airplane you should have to pay for two.  Obesity is the leading cause for rising medical costs in the US.  I am not providing a reference for this, but I have read this in several places over the last two weeks.  My concern is that if we as a society do not recognize that we need to change behavior, there are those that feel they will need to make the change for us.  One of the news personalities recently said that obesity was a government problem. If I go to a buffet, I go for the selection.  I don't take, "All you can Eat" as a challenge.  On the other hand, I am not in favor of the buffet police, or some government official telling me I can't have the occasional Big Mac.

To all my friends.  I am not standing in judgement.  Like I said, if you are happy great, if not then get some help.  I will gladly stand by you in your quest.  I know from personal experience that motivation is the hardest part of making a change to get fit and healthy. I have been there and still working at it.

How and How much do I eat???

Today I want to discuss something that was very confusing to me, and is the real reason that most diets fail.  Over the last 18 months, I have learned a great deal about the way to diet.  Now mind you that I am not good at it.  I have learned the right way, and the wrong way.  I have also learned that it is a good idea, at least for me, to follow a meal plan.  Since I live in a small town, I don’t have the ability to buy certain foods, so I try to watch what I eat and how much.  One of the things I learned was how you eat is important.  No, I am not talking about the old advice that you should eat slowly, but it is a good idea.  What I am talking about is the idea of eating five small meals a day.  According to Sam Ellyn, “Eating five small meals throughout the day can help you control your appetite, raise your metabolism and reduce your chances of overeating”.(2011)  I have learned that eating five meals a day keeps me from being hungry so I do not over eat at mealtime.  It is easier to push away from the table.  I have also found that this, as Ellyn says, keeps my metabolism up and therefore it is easier to lose weight and keep it off.  I like many other people, have tried to eat less and lose weight.  You do need to eat less but there is a limit to how little you should eat.  If you eat too little, your metabolism slows down and your body tries to store energy.  This can actually cause you to gain weight, and potentially cause damage to your body.

Ok, so how do you know how much you need to eat?  Your body requires a certain amount of energy to maintain itself.  This is called the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).   If you go below this rate, you risk the chance of causing damage to your body. You will lose weight over the short-term but could damage your body and you will eventually gain the weight back because you will not be able to maintain the low calorie intake indefinitely. 

There are several tools that can help you figure your BMR.  Beachbody has this tool, but you can find it elsewhere as well.  You can also figure it without an application. I am adding the calculations at the end of this blog so you don’t have to read through them to get the information about your diet.  My BMR is 1663 and my recommended caloric intake based on the BMR and exercise factor is about 2000.  I would divide this into my five meals so each meal should be around 400 calories.  You can adjust this to allow for family meals and make the meal plan fit your lifestyle.  You do need to watch what you eat, especially concerning fat content etc.  Here is the one mistake that dieters make.  When you lose weight, your BMR goes down, so you have to adjust your calorie intake to take into account that your body needs fewer calories and therefore if you continue to eat based don your original calculations you will plateau. 

Good luck on your weight loss goals.  Also, if you need to gain weight, you can use the same calculation, you just need to add calories to your BMR and exercise factor.  Just make sure you eat properly to build muscle and not store fat.

Bring It, but Don’t Bring it Weak

 

 According to Carla Diebold at http://www.Livestrong.com you can figure it like this. 

Step 1

Determine your height in inches and weight in pounds. These two numbers are a critical part of the BMR formula and their accuracy is important. To determine your height in inches, multiply your height in feet by 12 (there are 12 inches in a foot) and add the remaining inches to that figure. For example, someone who is 5 feet, 2 inches would do the following equation: (5 x 12) + 2 = 62.

Step 2

Utilize a specific calculation for men. Multiply your weight in pounds by 6.23 and then multiply your height in inches by 12.7. Multiply your age in years by 6.8. Now, add 66 plus your factored weight and height together and subtract your factored age. This is your basal metabolic rate.

Step 3

Utilize a specific calculation for women. Multiply your weight in pounds by 4.35 and then multiply your height in inches by 4.7. Multiply your age in years by 4.7. Now, add 655 plus your factored weight and height together and subtract your factored age. This is your basal metabolic rate.

Step 4

Incorporate the Harris Benedict BMR equation to determine daily calorie requirements. The equation considers several activity levels:
1. Little or no exercise = BMR x 1.2
2. Light activity (some exercise one to three days a week) = BMR x 1.375
3. Moderately active (light to moderate exercise three to five days a week) = BMR x 1.55
4. Very active = (dedicated exercise or sports six to seven days a week) = BMR x 1.725
5. Extremely active = (strenuous exercise or sports as well as physical labor on the job or professional exercise or sports training) = BMR x 1.9
To determine an appropriate calorie intake for a typical day, multiply the calculated BMR by the appropriate activity level. (2011)

To put this into perspective, I am 56 years old, I weigh 185 pounds, and I am 61 inches tall (5”11”). So 185 x 6.23 = 1152.55.  61 x 12.7 = 774.7.  56 x 4.7 = 263.2   1152 + 774.7 – 263.2 = 1663.5.  This is my BMR.  If I add the exercise factor it will tell me what I need to maintain my weight.  I exercise five days a week, and stretch for two, so I would use the Moderately Active factor of 1.55.  1663.5 x 1.55 = 2578.43.  If I want to lose weight my calorie intake should be between 1663 and 2578.  I should stay around 2000 to keep from being tired.

References

Diebold, Carla (2011), How to Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate, Retrieved on April, 28, 2012 from: http://www.livestrong.com/article/98116-calculate-basal-metabolic-rate/#ixzz1tOJvp0qf

Ellyn, Sam (2011) How to Eat Five Small Meals a Day to Lose Weight, Retrived April 28,2013 from: http://www.livestrong.com/article/200706-how-to-eat-five-small-meals-a-day-to-lose-weight/#ixzz1tOEDq4bZ

Why, Why, Why, Why

I said yesterday that I would have a special posting today.  We all know that to be successful with a fitness program we have to have three things.  These things are a good exercise program, a proper diet (one that feeds the body properly), and support.  All to ofter we try to loose weight or get fit while we are missing one of these three things.  Can you do it that way, Yes.  It is just harder.  There is one thing that we need even more than the other three, and without it our chance of success is lowered.  Not impossible, just harder.  What is that fourth element?  That all important element is Why!  Why are we doing what we are doing?  This is important for anything we do in life, but when it comes to fitness we don't always have it in place.  Prior to picking a program, of figuring out your diet you must figure out why are you heading down this road.  If you want to loose 10 pounds, why do you want to loose it.  The Why can be simple, but it must be something important to you.  It has to be something that inspires commitment. 

So next time you want to loose 10 pounds (or more), are looking for a new job, or just want to eat better before you start, figure out your Why.  You will be much more successful.