I was reading my Lifetime magazine called Experience Life, which you can access on the web and even subscribe too (i think) without being a member at Lifetime, and I REALLY recommend this magazine. It's written for "real" people. I like it more than ANY fitness magazine I have EVER read...really.
But anyway, there is an article in there called The Fit Way To Weight Loss, that just has me so excited. I think they do a great job with it, and it really reflects a lot of the things I know and this is how I look at fitness and dieting. Don't diet to get skinny, diet to be healthy and fit. Please, for all of you guys that are playing along with the "Biggest Loser" game, go read it!!!!! All of it, here is a little sample of some of the article. Okay, I'll get off my soap box now.
Switch Your Thinking by Gina DeMillo Wagner
Still Depending on calorie-skimping diets and deadly boring “calorie burning” workouts for your weight-loss strategy? Then you’re doing yourself a disservice. Here are some tips to help you switch into a fitness-centric mode:
Just for now, agree to set aside what you think you know about weight loss. If what you’ve been doing hasn’t worked as well as you’d like, a fresh approach may be just what you need. Taking the emphasis off your weight and putting it on fitness improvements instead will not only transform your approach to nutrition and activity, it will help “reboot” your whole mindset in a healthier direction. (For inspiration and direction, see “Weight-Loss Rules to Rethink” in the October 2006 archives.)
Give up the diet and “low-cal” foods. For a period of two to three months, focus entirely on empowering your body and fueling your fitness activities with frequent, small meals based on whole-food nutrition. (For tips, see “Eating for Energy” in the June 2007 archives and “Poor Substitutes” in the December 2007 archives.) As long as you keep your activity levels high and your intake of processed flours and sugars to a minimum, you’ll likely lose weight without even trying.
Pick up a heart-rate monitor and discover how much more motivating and more effective it is to work out in your appropriate heart-rate zones. Start out relatively easy, particularly if you’re new to exercise, then increase the intensity level as your fitness improves. Your monitor will let you know how hard you’re working and let you see the progress you’re making along the way. Consider fitness testing — available at better health clubs and sports clinics — to help you gauge your current level of fitness, identify your ideal zones and plot out an appropriate fitness-building plan. (See “Fitness Testing 1-2-3: Cardio Capacity” in the May 2006 archives and “A Better Way to Burn Fat” in the January/February 2007 archives.)
Set your anxieties aside. It’s OK if you don’t think of yourself as the athletic type. It’s OK if you “don’t know how” to exercise. It’s even OK if you’re not in love with the way your body looks or feels right now, or if you’re scared to set foot in a gym shoe, much less an actual gym. Just keep telling yourself this is an experiment — one you’re doing out of love for yourself and the loyal, hard-working body that’s brought you this far. Need help? Peruse this article lineup: “Overcoming Gym Jitters” (July/August 2005); “Feeling Groovy: A Fitness Primer” (July/August 2005); “Plan for Success” (January/February 2007); and “Ready, Set, Go!”(November 2006). Above all, focus on cultivating a mutually respectful partnership with your body. After all, you’re in this together — for the long haul.
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10 comments:
you and I have the same feelings on health and fitness. I feel so strongly that people should exercise to be healthy, and stop stressing *so* much about how they look. It's hard I'll admit but when you can turn your thinking around you'll turn your weight around, I gaurantee it.
GREAT post Heather. I also, want to throw in the latest People Magazine issue on weight loss (I can't link it because it is still on newsstands). But one woman who lost 171 pounds and has kept it off stresses that you should make one change at a time and start with moving. Just commit to exercise every day. After a few weeks, then make healthier food choices. Bottom line: weight loss should be a side-effect of living healthy, not the goal. This is coming from someone who loves the fast food and is still trying to make those healthy food choices:)
Thanks Heather! Great article. Thanks so much for sharing. You always have such good health and fitness info.
thanks for sharing heather. i'm going to print off all of those articles today & read. i'm not cutting out calories, i'm just become aware of what i'm putting into my body. if i want it bad enough, i'm going to eat it. then, i'll work out. for me, the biggest step here has been exercising. its good for me, and i'm enjoying it - but i never have really before.
that sounds like a great magazine! i should be more health conscious, but i do subscribe to the overall healthy lifestyle rather than die hard dieting.
Great post, as always. I love how you are so tuned into the health/fitness world. I agree 100% -- it s about getting fit and healthy rather than skinny.
Very good!
Awesome article.. thanks for sharing. I haven't read it all, but I have it bookmarked for later. I'm always motivated by these types of articles!
My quote comes from "Air Transport World", and goes into the effect high fuel prices will have on airline recovery.
Iguess the diet thing is "blown" here in China, but I am doing my cardio and stretchs right now...gotta go.
That is awesome, heather! I really need it, too. It is easy for me to get caught in my old ideas of weight loss...speaking of, I wanted to ask you about weight-lifting: How many times a week do I need to do this? Cardio (well, running) is what I tend to do all the time, but I know I need to branch out into weights....anyway, hopefully I didn't weird you out with my questions!! :) Thanks for any advice!
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