Exercise and dietary control the best formula for weight loss

Craig D. Hayward, writing in Jackson Citizen Patriot

AS stated in one of my recent columns, if your goal is weight loss through an exercise program, then it is necessary to complete a minimum of 300 minutes (five hours) of moderate level exercise per week. That breaks down to one hour per day, five days per week, or 50 minutes per day, six days per week.

The discouraging aspect of losing weight is that a pound of fat holds 3,500 calories. Don't get discouraged — a loss of one pound of weight per week is an obtainable goal, because the good news is that exercise and dietary control together have a cumulative result.

Regarding the dietary side of the equation, many people fail to see results because they continue eating at the same levels as before commencing a program. This results in their eating beyond the benefits of the exercise they have completed.

Spoiling the benefits of exercise by incorrect eating is easy to do, particularly if you regularly dine out. The standard portion size of an entree across the Unites States has significantly increased in recent years.

For example, compare the size of the restaurant's serving plates to ones that you have in your home. Don't be surprised if they are significantly larger, plus they come to your table heaped full with food.

Have you checked the calories of your favorite appetizer and other items you order at the restaurants where you eat? You might be surprised to learn they commonly run into the thousands of calories.

Be aware also that alcohol is laden with calories, so those before and after-dinner drinks are adding calories to your diet without nutritional benefit.

Finally, look for other means of burning calories in your day-to-day activities, because it is easy to sit too long and eliminate most of the benefits of your exercise. How much time do you spend sitting during the remainder of the day, once you have worked out?

If you are sedentary, be sure to get up and move about on a regular basis. Additionally, look for alternative ways to burn calories: parking farther from your destination and walking, using a push rather than a riding lawnmower, and taking the stairs instead of an elevator.

Unwanted calories can be burned, or not eaten at all, if we are creative in our dietary and exercise habits. Each calorie burned or not eaten can help achieve that 3,500 -calorie-per-week deficit necessary to lose a pound.

The approaches suggested here will work, but anyone who has tried to lose weight and keep it off it knows it isn't easy. I urge you to stay encouraged and motivated, watch what you eat and keep moving.

Craig Hayward is chair and professor of Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation at Spring Arbor University.