Fit Communications

A story posted in mid-July on MSNBC.com’s diet and health section begins as follows:

With excess weight a greater problem than ever, the question of whether
changing eating habits or exercise is more likely to produce weight
loss is vital.

No, that question isn’t vital. It misses the point entirely.

Here’s the point: Most of us aren’t as healthy as we could be because we make poor food choices, eat too much, and move too little. As a result, the majority of the population is overweight. These are indisputable–the kind of obvious conclusions the U.S. government presents in its 2005 Dietary Guidelines.

If those factors are endangering our health, the solution is striving for greater health by making better food choices, eating the appropriate amount of food for our activity level, and engaging in regular physical exercise.

So why does this article’s author–a registered dietician–pose the irrelevant question "should we eat better or exercise in order to lose weight?"

The problem–overweight–has multiple causes, including too many calories and too little activity. The solution has to involve both food choices and physical exercise.

You can find the full article here.

One of the forms I filled out for my doctor’s appointment today asked whether I had experienced weight loss or gain. I explained that I’d lost 20+ pounds over the past 18 months (going from 162 to my current 137) but that it was by design, not accident.

During my visit, the doc asked me, “Which diet did you use to lose the weight?”

That’s one I’ve heard a lot lately, and although there’s a quick, simple answer, hearing the question makes me want to launch into a philosophical discussion. The quick, simple answer is “Healthy food choices, portion control, and lots of exercise.”

Note that those three ingredients are long-term strategies, whereas “going on a diet” is a short-term fix. That’s the substance of the philosophical discussion.

I feel like an evangelist who wants to spread the word: don’t “go on a diet”; learn how to eat, and start moving your body. Read Walter Willett, join a gym, start your meal with a sald, put less on your plate than you used to, stop eating sooner, and learn how to distinguish true hunger from the desire to taste tasty stuff. There. That should hold me for a while.

Did I say last week that the body-pump class didn’t make me sweat or raise my heart rate?

I used a bit more weight today and did indeed sweat and feel an increased heart rate. Used more weight for the upper-body movements that were so easy last week, and the cumulative effect of all those reps, despite the relatively light weights, had the effect of whipping my butt. In a good way.

I think I like this class.

It reveals my weaknesses (not as much leg strength as I thought I had, not as much ab strength), which is a good thing. I doubt any female in the class today could bench as much as I can or do as many pullups, though many were whipping out pushups from the toes at a great rate while I stayed on my knees. All this is good for my humility, and I do love a challenge.

In other news: a regular reader reports a 13.5-pound weight loss after faithfully following the South Beach diet for a couple of months. As diets go, South Beach is sensible, although it gets tarred with the low-carb brush. It’s really not low-carb; instead, it emphasizes healthy carbs such as fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. I can’t find much wrong with that.

Best of all, any healthy food plan such as South Beach can teach 1) portion control and 2) superior food choices, both of which are essential for weight maintenance.

You go, Toni!