Have you tried losing weight over and over again and not succeeded? Have you tried expensive diets with a nutritionist, lost weight only to gain it all back? Have you spent money on supplements that promised more than they could deliver? If you are someone who has tried every diet fad and gimmick to lose weight without any success, and are feeling discouraged, rest assured that you’re not alone. As a fitness professional I meet people like you every day who struggle with the same issue. My advice to them is to live by the six most important rules (three of these rules I will mention today and the other three in my column next week) that use the mind-body connection to help their weight-loss efforts, rather than hinder them.
Rule no. 1: Accept that diets don’t help you in the long run.
Every year you try to eat less and less, but gain more and more. Sure, some of this has to do with the biology of aging, but it also has to do with the damage all those fad diets have done to your metabolism. There’s no miracle pill or plan that can lead to easy weight loss. When you pursue these radical wacky diets, you will lose weight, but then you will get sick of it and go back to your normal eating ways. This leads to gaining back the weight and back to where you started but more discouraged. By starving ourselves, our bodies get into a starvation mode, where they develop this horrific situation in which even 1,000 calories of consumption a day leads to weight gain. This metabolic starvation, in addition to not helping you lose weight in the long run, also leads to the destruction of your health. Instead of approaching food with a deprivation mind-set, consider feasible, small changes that you can make over the long term like increasing exercise and increasing "chew foods"”highly nutritious and fibrous but low-calorie foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc.
Rule no. 2: Focus on fitness, not thinness.
Are these two words, fitness and thinness, mutually exclusive in your mind? Can you be fit but not thin? Can you be thin but not fit? For a long time I associated thinness with fitness. Over the years I’ve learned that those two words do not automatically go together. With media images of ultra-thin (or size 0) celebrities setting the trend, it’s hard to remember that your health and well-being are about more than being a particular pant/dress size. Try focusing more on how you feel rather than what the scale says. By focusing on being fit and feeling healthy”keeping your age in mind”you’ll be better equipped to hit your ideal weight. Be realistic when choosing the role model you want to look like. My role model is my 74-year-old mom, who does yoga three times a week, strength training 2 times a week & cardio 5 days a week. You want to look ahead of you, not behind you. Remember that if you are routinely physically active and overweight, you are still less likely to suffer heart problems than your normal weight counterparts who don’t exercise. And conversely, normal weight individuals who don’t exercise are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Rule no. 3: Concentrate on commitment more than intensity.
You don’t have to log endless hours at the gym to become healthier, but a commitment to an exercise regimen is essential. When I'm talking to prospective gym members, the only thing I want from them is commitment. I want them to pencil in one hour everyday on their calendars to exercise at the gym. I don’t think you need a gym if you are self-motivated and dedicated to do it on your own. But being a member of a gym holds you accountable to show up there every day or at least most days of the week. The worst thing you can do is pay for a gym membership and not show up. This will not do you or your wallet any good. We seem to schedule everything in our lives “ lunches, dinners, parties, events, concerts, etc., but not our exercise time. It’s time to make a change and show some commitment.
Start with these three rules and see the difference. Three more rules will be discussed in my column next week. Until then, stay fit, stay healthy, stay happy!
- Nivedita Dempo is a fitness expert and the owner of Studio 101, Goa’s premier fitness centre
