You might have tried before and failed, but don’t let that stop you from making the “get fit and lose weight” resolution again this year.
This time, try making a plan, easing into it and truly changing your lifestyle. To make it happen, you’ll need to attack the problem on two fronts: nutrition and exercise.
Nutrition
Get ready, because you’re not starting a diet — you’re changing your life.
“Diets don’t work and fads fade. Lifestyles last,” said Rene Norman, licensed dietitian with Nutrition Consultants of Tulsa. “I think the healthier way is saying ‘I’m going to make changes that are going to stay with me the rest of my life.’ That’s the first part of a program. This is for life.”
Define needs, set goals
“Take it week by week. This week have at least one more piece of fruit during the day or start drinking six to eight cups of water or something that doesn’t have Sugar or caffeine.”
But set them reasonably
“People say ‘I’m only going to cook from scratch.’ If you work and have kids,” Norman said, “does it make sense to cook from scratch? No. Let’s find some healthier alternatives.”
Know yourself
“Very few people can do a 180. If you overreach by saying ‘I’m going to eat completely healthy by next Tuesday,’ it isn’t going to work.”
Less meat, more plants
“That means enough fruits, vegetables and grains to be able to get the kinds of nutrients we need.”
Those nutrients include Fiber, Antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. “When you do meal planning around those, the rest can flow from there.”
Anti-inflammatories can be found in Flax Seeds.
Don’t stop reading!
“Anybody who tells you healthy cooking is blah, they just aren’t trying. Healthy foods, when done well, can be just as favorable as some of the treat foods out there because you can get that complexity of textures, flavors and colors.”
Turmeric, a spice found in curry, also has Anti-Inflammatory components. Curry? Yep.
Look for color
The more colorful your diet, the healthier it is, Norman said. That’s because each color has its own benefit. Licopeen — the red in tomatoes and watermelon — might help prostate cancer. Orange and yellow vegetables have betacarotine, which contains the Antioxidant carotenoid that helps fight free radicals in the body that might lead to cancer. It’s also a major source of Vitamin A.
How much is healthy?
For men, losing one to two pounds per week is safe. For women, it’s safe to lose one half to one pound a week.
“The reason is so many people go on drastic diets and lose a lot of weight and gain everything back plus more. The slower the weight loss the healthier it is because your body has time to adjust.”
Exercise
John Taylor, lead trainer and supervisor at the SouthCrest Wellness Center, recommends people do a life check before starting a fitness regimen.
“What I mean is, realistically look at where you are in life right now,” he said. “If you have a spouse, a lot of commitments and kids, if you try to start working out four to five times a week, it’s a setup for failure. Look at your life and realistically set up something and say ‘I can do that.’ Any trainer worth their weight in gold wants to get people to say ‘I can do that’ and then take them to places they never thought they could go.”
Start slow
“The first time you do it one day a week, two things happen. One, you did 100 percent more than the week before. Two, you’ve made a start and actually made change in your life.”
Craving instead of dread
“When you’re more active, there’s more oxygen going through the body feeding the body and you have more energy. When you have more energy, you get through what I call the 3 p.m. syndrome, where you feel like someone pulled the plug and you’re holding onto the desk until 5 p.m. You feel better, you tend to Sleep better. Overall, it starts to give you a feeling you like. Your body says, ‘Let’s keep doing this.’ So you do two to three days a week and start to set up your own workout program and then you take over.”
Do what you like
“People aren’t going to continue to do things that they don’t like. If you don’t like cauliflower, it’s not going to turn into something you want.”
Take a walk
“Most everyone can do it. There’s no competition and you can walk at your own pace. This is the simplest way. It’s cardio and strength all in one and it’s the most cost-effective.”
The SouthCrest Wellness center has an indoor walking track with surveillance and available first responders in case someone trips or anything else happens.
Start at home
“Take a couple of cans and do arm curls or an over the head motion, simple stuff to get you moving. That’s the idea, get the person moving. Once they’re moving they tend to stay in motion. One of my favorites is chasing the spouse around the house. You get great exercise and you never know where you’ll end up.”
Expert opinions
“Some people battle with weight and that battle is mostly fought in the mind. A lot of people believe they can’t do it. They’ve tried before and failed before. Come in. We’re professionals. Sit down and say this is what I’ve tried before.”
Mike Averill 581-8489 mike.averill@tulsaworld.com
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Copyright © 2008, Tulsa World, Okla.
Tags: Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant, Body, Cancer, Cooking, Energy, Fitness, Food, Gain, prostate, Sleep, Strength, Weight, Weight loss, Women
