So, I was just reading an article about an upcoming study that is looking at the increasing epidemic of obesity with a different slant. Instead of attributing the weight problem in the US to the huge portions and highly processed, sugar and fat laden foods that are readily available, he is starting with the premise that the problem stems from lack of activity. He notes that generations ago much of the US population was living and working on farms, our lives were more physically demanding, everything is powered now from lawnmowers to vacuum cleaners to computer keyboards vs. the manual typewriter. Cars were simple enough we could work on them ourselves, we didn’t have self cleaning ovens (remember spraying and scrubbing?!), freezers weren’t self defrosting. Overall, life was more physical. While I agree with the statement that life was more physically demanding, the foods were not as processed, not as readily available. There was no microwave. Meals actually had to be prepared not just reheated.
Truth be told it is probably a combination of the two (cheap, readily available low quality food and a reduction in activity) that have caused the weight control problems that are rampant in the US right now.
I can say from a lot of personal experience that it is very difficult to manage one’s weight solely though increases in physical activity. It is far to easy to consume more calorically that one can burn physically. Many people can temporarily lose weight with diet modification alone. On the other hand, one can lift weights and do cardio all day, but if still consuming too much there will be little positive change with regard to weight loss.
Here at Personal Training Institute we recognize the importance of all three legs of fitness and weight control: nutrition, strength training and cardiovascular training. I liken them to the three legs of a milk stool. Each is equally important and the milk stool is of little use if missing one of its legs. Weight control is literally a math problem: calories out must exceed calories in to have weight loss. If a person can create a 500 calorie a day deficit, he or she can burn a pound of body fat (3500 calories) a week; a 1000 calorie a day deficit would mean 2 pounds of body fat a week. Let’s take a quick look at each of the legs:
Nutrition: by consuming a diet rich in fiber, protein and good fats a person can feel satisfied; not be hungry all the time; enjoy good foods and get quality nutrition while staying within a reasonable calorie goal. It all starts with proper diet. Too much means no weight loss, not enough means no fat burn; we need to make sure that our bodies are getting what it needs to function optimally and repair and sustain itself with the additional activity we are going to be doing.
Strength Training: this is the biggest secret when it comes to weight management. Go into any gym and looks to see where the lean people are (generally the weight training equipment). Where are the heavy people? (ellipticals, treadmills and bikes). The reason strength training is so important to weight management is that adding leans muscle increases your basal metabolic rate, meaning that your metabolism goes up and you burn more calories all day and night. Where the calories burning effect from cardio ends shortly after the exercise stops, the benefits of strength training last 24 hours a day!
Cardio: cardiovascular training is extremely important to our heart. It improves our VO2 Max, increases our endurance and burns additional calories. Keep in mind though that the calories burning effects from cardio training end shortly after the exercise stops. You do get some additional benefit of increased calorie burn shortly after the exercise stops while still in EPOC, but within an hour of ending the exercise you are back to your basal metabolic rate of burn.
So the important take away from all of this is that while yes, our lives in general are less physically demanding then they were 100 years a go, the obesity epidemic in the US is not due solely to this phenomenon but rather a combination of eating and activity. The best solution should encompass a combination of nutrition, strength training and cardio training. You can get all of this working together to get you to your goals at PTI for as little as $25 a session. Chew on that for a moment and come on in and get started today!
