Yours for the choosing, part 2

Overweight predisposes individuals, especially seniors, to a multitude of illnesses and health catastrophes! It isn’t surprising then that recently 13 active Sun City residents revealed among their top 2015 New Year’s Resolutions: Weight Control. A continued exercise and nutritional diet regimen can result in a successful weight loss or weight maintenance program.

As in the song, “Love and Marriage,” all of the fore-mentioned components do “go together like a horse and carriage…You can’t have one without the other.” Diet 101, of course, educates the participant that the most basic way to lose or control lost weight is by cutting calories at the table and increasing his/her body’s metabolism through exercising effectively.

To lose one pound of weight weekly for a 150-pound woman, 500 calories must be trimmed off her food consumption and utilized through an exercise program daily for a seven day period. In fact, with a couple of food swaps a day and regular moderate movement of the body, the loss of 10 pounds in 5 weeks can be a reality.

For those trying to lose pounds or control weight already lost, here is Wendy C. Fries “Ten Painless Ways to Lose (Control) Weight,” reviewed by Dr. Michael W. Smith on Web MD:

1. Add, Don’t Subtract. Add or substitute healthy goodies such as cherries and grapes; add them to your cereal or lunch. Add veggies such as snow peas to soups, stews, and sauces. While you are at it, add something physical to your daily exercise schedule also.

2. Forget About the Word “Working Out.” Think of the necessity of exercising to burn calories as “Fun Movement” instead. Choose activities such as beachcombing, hiking, riding a bike, or washing the car, even playing Frisbee (in season, of course).

3. Go Walking. Walking is the simplest exercise that most people can do on an almost daily routine here at Sun City (outdoors, weather permitting, and indoors on the walking track yearly). You might even walk inside/outside a shopping mall, park your car a distance from your destination for more steps to be taken, take stairs every chance that you have, and sign up for charity walks in good weather.

4. Lighten the Foods You Already Love. Substitute lower-calorie versions of foods you crave. While you’re trimming fat calories, keep an eye on boosting fiber which helps you feel satisfied longer. Lighten drinks with low-diet liquids.

5. Know The Importance of Proper Hydration. Water/liquid hydration aids in weight control by helping to fill you up before a meal and enabling you to exercise more often and longer.

6. Do Share and Share Alike. Sharing a meal cuts down on calories eaten. Sharing an exercise program/classes with friends can give more incentive for success.

7. Tune In, Tone Up. Exercise while you watch television or a tape. Whether pedaling a stationery bike, walking a treadmill, or doing yoga/tai-chi, make use of your time wisely.

8. Size Does Matter. A smaller plate or bowl filled with food gives a visual sign that you have plenty of food to consume. More frequent tiny meals/snacks with small but healthy food portions can also be successfully eaten throughout the day when the body is more active. This will aid in keeping your metabolism burning at max (see below paragraph).

9. Get Involved or Get to the Table. Don’t be too preoccupied with your diet. Keep busy mentally and physically. Eat at the table to become more aware of what you are eating.

10. Lose It Today; Keep It Off Tomorrow. In a study published in Obesity Research, researchers found that people who had lost 30 pounds and kept it off for two years required less effort to maintain their new weight as time went on.

Metabolism, or how fast your body burns the calories you consume, depends on genetics, your gender (men tend to burn more calories, even while at rest), and your age. As we all know, metabolism gradually slows down after the age of 40. Here are Seven (out of Ten) Ways to Improve Your Metabolism, reviewed by Dr. Smith also on Web MD, 8/19/13:

1. Build muscle through exercise. Muscle uses 3 times as many calories as fat just to sustain itself.

2. Step up your workout, aerobically and especially, anaerobically. Try more intense exercise classes or speed spurts of jogging/swimming workouts to deliver a bigger and longer rise in the resting metabolism rate.

3. Rev up on water that your body needs to process calories. This liquid can be found in fruits and vegetables also.

4. Spice up your meals to kick your metabolism up.

5. Power up with protein. Your body burns many more calories digesting protein than it does “eating” fats or carbohydrates.

6. Sip some black coffee and green or oolong tea for caffeine energy. Research suggests that either kind of tea may push the body to burn 17 percent more calories during a moderately intense exercise for a brief time.

7. Avoid crash diets. A 1200 calorie (woman) /1800 calorie (man) diet comes at the expense of exploiting good nutrition and may cause muscle loss. Often the final result leads to burning fewer calories and faster weight gain than before the diet.

Whether you choose to establish a healthy weight loss or weight maintenance program through your own physician, or through programs offered at Weight Watchers, Nutri-System, Jenny Craig, or TOPS, your important 2015 goal should be to improve your health by beginning today!

My next column will feature Sun City residents’ testimonials shared with you. The success of one individual who has lost 78 pounds in the past nine months should be especially instructive and supportive of experts’ statements made above.

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