Weight Loss: Diet vs. Exercise

The two major players in the weight-loss battle are diet and exercise. But can the battle be won using only one of these tools? Many people opt for the easier route, which they believe is dieting. But when you consider how poor the statistics are for long-term weight loss through diets, you need to consider a combination of both. Normally, only about 5% of dieters are successful in keeping weight off, and weight cycling is very common. Usually one-third of weight lost is regained within one year and almost all is regained within three to five years.

How Weight Loss Works
The mechanism of weight loss is simple. It is encompassed in a concept called energy balance. When you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight. Therefore, to lose weight you need to burn more calories and/or consume fewer calories. The combination of both of these methods is the best way to lose weight and improve your health.

How the Pros Do It
Members of the National Weight Control Registry are people who have lost weight and kept it off successfully for a minimum of one year. Of these people, 89% use a combination of diet and exercise, although 10% have had success using diet alone and 1% used exercise alone. However, research shows that the combination of exercise and diet is more effective than diet alone. Furthermore, while diet alone helps you lose weight, it is exercise that improves your physical fitness.

Getting Started
Combining diet and exercise can be tricky when you’re trying to cut calories. It is important to make sure that you eat enough so that you have energy to get through your workout, but not so much that you tilt your energy balance back to the weight-gain side.

While guidelines suggest 1 to 2 pounds of weight loss a week, you should set a goal that is both realistic and manageable for your lifestyle and fitness level. Overly aggressive goals often lead to attrition and failure.

Your diet should consist of low-fat food choices and a modest reduction in the total number of calories. Without overwhelming yourself with odd foods and food labels, try simply reduce your food portions by about 10 to 15%. Try to be consistent across the week, instead of dieting more strictly on certain days of the week.

With exercise and activity, people who successfully maintained weight loss exercised an average of an hour or more per day. Longer-duration exercise is usually needed to lose weight and prevent weight re-gain. However, this may be too much for you to begin with, so start small and gradually progress the duration of your activity by 10% each week. For example, increase the duration of your walks from 20 minutes during week one to 22 minutes the following week.

Staying Motivated
Changing your diet and exercise habits involves lifestyle modifications, but maintaining these lifestyle changes can be the real challenge. Many people can lose weight, but only a few can maintain that weight loss. Much of this is due to the fact that the lifestyle modifications made to lose weight need to be permanent. It is normal to regain a few pounds after your initial weight loss. The key is to not get discouraged and stay motivated. The smaller the amount of weight that you regain, the easier it is to lose again, permanently. So frequent monitoring of your weight is necessary to catch yourself when you start to regain weight. Keep in mind that the longer you keep weight off, the easier it becomes. For weight loss to be sustainable, it must be a slow process of 1 to 2 pounds of weight loss per week. Stay focused and goal-oriented and know that successful weight loss is possible!

Additional Resources
The National Weight Control Registry: http://www.nwcr.ws/
About.com: www.exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/shortcuts.htm

Copyright ACE FitFacts. Orginal article: http://www.acefitness.org/fitfacts/fitfacts_display.aspx?itemid=2678&category=13#learn

Workplace Fitness: Ten Reasons to Encourage Fitness at Work

As business owners or managers, it is important to remember that our most important assets are our employees! We want our employees to enjoy their work environment, and to bring the best of themselves to their jobs every day. Encouraging our employees to embrace fitness as a lifestyle choice pays off in numerous ways!

1. Fit employees are less likely to get sick. A person who is physically fit is generally more resistant to the "bug going around" than a person who is not fit. Reduced absenteeism and reduced health care expenditures are the result of a fit employee base.

2. Fit employees have more energy. One of the many benefits of regular exercise is increased and sustained energy throughout the day. This energy allows the employee to stay focused on the task at handing, bringing the best of themselves to each task.

3. Fit employees have more self-confidence. A fit and healthy individual tends to have a high level of self-confidence, because they have proven to themselves that they can accomplish what it takes to obtain a level of physical fitness. This self-confidence empowers the employee to challenge themselves, and strive for higher levels of achievement in the workplace.

4. Fit employees inspire confidence. An persona who maintains a high fitness level, tends to be a person in whom others have confidence.

5. Fit employees tend to take on more leadership roles. Because of the many positive benefits of a lifestyle, a fit individual tends to make a good leader

6. Fit employees set and achieve goals. Extraordinary fitness often demands that an individual set and reach goals related to their fitness. Learning to stay true to your goals and see them through to completion is a skill that is naturally brought into the workplace. An employee with the proven ability to set aggressive goals, and then REALIZE those goals, is a valuable asset to any organization.

7. Fit employees tend to have better attitudes. Fit employees generally "feel good". They tend to have a physical and mental "balance" that results in a more positive attitude in the workplace.

8. Fit employees are less stressed. Regular exercise releases the physical AND emotional tensions that life brings our way, thus a fit employee tends to have lower overall stress levels than an employee who does not engage in regular exercise.

9. A fit employee base presents excellent team-building opportunities. Team activities like softball or tennis are wonderful ways for employees to take their professional relationships to new levels, and discover new ways of working together. Obviously, employees that maintain a level of fitness are more likely to participate in these activities.

10. Encouraging fitness demonstrates a concern for employee's well-being, and pays off! Employees NOTICE when an employer shows concern for the health and well-being of their employee base through a variety of wellness programs. Further, it has been shown that employee turnover is significantly lower among employees that take advantage of a wellness program implemented by their employer.

By Bob Doyle
Source: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Doyle4.html

Why do muscles tighten up?

Tight muscles are not only frustrating and painful, but can also limit movement. Worst of all, they can make it harder to stick to your exercise program. Knowing how to manage and prevent tight muscles will help keep you exercising. Muscles can tighten up for a number of reasons. Three times when muscle tightness can occur are during periods of prolonged inactivity, during exercise, and after exercise.

During periods of prolonged inactivity, for example, long days and weeks working at a desk, some muscles can get tight as a result of their restricted movement. When you are seated at a desk, your hips are in a bent, or flexed, position. This puts the muscles on the front of the hip (hip flexors) in a shortened position, and the muscles on the back of the hip (glutes ) in a lengthened position. In addition, as you sit at a desk reaching forward to work on a computer, your chest muscles (pectorals) will be in a shortened position, while your upper back muscles (rhomboids) will be in a lengthened position. Over time, this can result in muscle imbalances with the shortened muscles becoming “tight” and the lengthened muscles becoming weak. If you look around you, you’ll notice many people have developed poor posture with forward rounded shoulders and underdeveloped glutes . The key to preventing this tightness due to decreased range of motion is three-fold. It is important to maintain proper posture, even while seated. You should also specifically strengthen those small muscles which have become lengthened and weak. Lastly, you should make sure to stretch the tightened muscles, specifically the chest and hip flexors.

Another time when muscles tighten up is during exercise, for example, a muscle cramp. Cramps are unpleasant, often painful sensations caused by a variety of factors that include muscle fatigue, low sodium, or low potassium. Muscle cramps can also happen even when you’re not exercising. When muscles contract, the muscle fibers shorten, increasing tension in the muscle. When the contraction is completed, the muscle fibers lengthen and decrease tension. During a muscle cramp, however, the muscle fibers remain shortened and are unable to lengthen due to fatigue or improper hydration and nutrition. Forcibly stretching the muscle when it is in such a tight, contracted form can tear the muscle fibers and lead to injury. Allow the muscle spasm to relax and recover before attempting to stretch out the cramp. In order to prevent these from occurring in the future, make sure to be properly hydrated, properly fed, and not overly fatigued when exercising. If engaging in exercise bouts lasting longer than 60 minutes, consuming an electrolyte replenishing drink may help prevent muscle cramps.

Muscles can also tighten up following exercise. This is felt as muscle soreness. Delayed onset muscle soreness (or DOMS) can be felt as pain and stiffness in the muscles for 24 to 72 hours post-exercise. DOMS is most intense following exercises that focus on eccentric contractions where a weight is lowered or slowed. Examples of eccentric exercises include the downward phase of a bicep curl, or downhill running. The soreness and tightness felt is a result of small ruptures within the muscle. It can be prevented by gradually increasing the intensity of a new exercise program. While the soreness will usually disappear within 72 hours of onset, increased blood flow to the sore area, either by moderate intensity exercise or massage may help alleviate soreness. Stretching does not prevent soreness; however, it is still important to perform some static (holding) stretches after exercise to maintain or improve flexibility.

Proper exercise, stretching, and nutrition strategies can help prevent and correct what can be called muscle tightness. Proper posture, choice of exercises, and stretches will prevent tightness due to decreased range of motion. Proper exercise intensity, as well as pre, during, and post-exercise hydration and nutrition can help prevent muscle cramps. Appropriate exercise progression and static stretches after exercise will help prevent DOMS and maintain range of motion, respectively.

Copyright ACE Fitness. Orginal article: http://www.acefitness.org/blog/1478/?DCMP=RSSask-the-expert