Diet and Exercise

Diet and exercise. I really hated those words. I had always felt that somehow, the exercise part didn't really apply to me. But the fact is, study after study shows that the people who successfully shed their excess weight and keep it off, seriously increased their level of physical activity. This doesn't necessarily mean that they went to a gym or did calisthenics every day; it means that they began living a more active lifestyle. They found activities that they enjoyed doing.

"AN ACTIVE LIFE is not one of denial and deprivation, or one of pain and suffering. It is a joyful experience ~ an affirmation of what we can be physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. Activity provides energy to begin, the vigor to pursue, and the vitality to persist. It replaces overindulgence with moderation; substitutes positive for negative; and yields health, energy and the capacity to live."
    ~~Brian J. Sharkey, PHD

A report by the U.S. Surgeon General suggest that regular physical activity that is performed on most days of the week reduces the risk of developing or dying from some of the leading causes of illness and death in the United States. The report goes on to say that regular physical activity improves health in the following ways:

• Reduces the risk of dying prematurely.
• Reduces the risk of dying from heart disease.
• Reduces the risk of developing diabetes.
• Reduces the risk of developing high blood pressure.
• Helps reduce blood pressure in people who already have high blood pressure.
• Reduces the risk of developing colon cancer.
• Reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression and fosters improvements in mood and feelings of well-being.
• Helps control weight, build lean muscle, and reduce body fat.
• Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints.
• Helps older adults become stronger and better able to move about without falling.
• Helps control joint swelling and pain associated with arthritis.
• May enhance the effect of estrogen replacement therapy in decreasing bone loss after menopause.
• Stronger muscles help reduce the risk of falling and improve the ability to perform the routine tasks of daily life.

The Surgeon General's report also states that, "people who are usually inactive can improve their health and well-being by becoming even moderately active on a regular basis." Further, "physical activity need not be strenuous to achieve health benefits."

For people who are trying to lose extra weight, regular moderate exercise not only burns calories, but it helps preserve lean muscle mass and prevents the loss of bone mass that can be associated with dieting and weight loss¹. Preserving lean muscle is an often ignored but totally essential ingredient for healthy weight loss. Lean muscle mass can be thought of as a furnace that helps us burn extra calories. When the cells in our muscles are working, they are like tiny chemical plants that burn extra fat for fuel. Stored fat on the other hand, has little ability to do this. Keeping lean muscle tissue and even adding to it is essential for long term success. Put another way, the less muscle a person has, the less energy their body uses at rest, and the easier it is for them to gain weight.

Sedentary and extremely obese individuals should consult with their physician before undertaking any exercise program. They should start very slowly and be sure that their activates aren't going to do more damage than good. For instance, someone who is 100 or more pounds overweight might have heart problems that they aren't even aware of. Carrying 100 pounds or more of extra weight means our bones and joints are under severe stress already and in many cases are already showing wear and tear damage from years of being overworked.

I recommend the book, "American Yoga Association's Easy Does It Yoga: The Safe and Gentle Way to Health and Well-Being" More Info
And the video or DVD "Yoga for the Rest of Us, A Step-By-Step Yoga Workout" by Peggy Cappy.

Very heavy people have different considerations than most other people and our form of exercise should reflect that in an intelligent way. Consistency is much more important than intensity, particularly in the early stages of recovery. I started out by walking five minutes on a treadmill at 1½ miles per hour three times a week. That's all I could do without hurting myself. I also started parking further away from the front door when shopping. I began to take the stairway on my better days instead of the elevator. I began standing up to do minor chores like chopping vegetables instead of sitting at a table. As my fitness level improved, I slowly increased my treadmill time, frequency, and intensity. I also began working in the garden more, finishing home improvement projects, and doing some pretty intensive housecleaning. After losing quite a bit of weight, I rediscovered bicycling. It has become a passion of mine. I ride almost every day.

Be inventive

Findings from three studies show that cardio-respiratory fitness gains are similar when physical activity occurs in several short sessions (e.g., 10 minutes) as when the same total amount and intensity of activity occurs in one longer session (e.g., 30 minutes). That's really good news for people like me who start out being severely overweight. My endurance and stamina was quite limited and the extra weight was exacerbating my back and joint problems.

Several short walks a day may not seem like much to some people, but for those of us who are severely obese, they are like money in the bank. Any movement is better than being totally sedentary. It may not feel natural or comfortable at first, but perseverance pays off. The benefits of even mild regular movement add up over time and the dividends are paid in increased health both physically and emotionally.

I didn't have to start out with conventional styles of exercise, but I did have to start out. Standing up from a chair without using my arms to push off took more effort, but when possible, was a positive and self-empowering thing to do. It also helped build strength in my legs. Taking slow walks around the back yard to study the flowers close up was quite beneficial, both physically and emotionally. Parking at the end of the lot and walking a few more steps was an important part of regaining my health. Marching in place during TV commercial breaks was one trick I used. There are usually about 10 minutes of commercials during a half hour TV show so this really adds up over an evening.

Change and Growth

I was not only trying to change my relationship to food, but my relationship to physical activity. Sometimes, in the very beginning, all I could do was to stand up and swing my arms about and breath deep a few times. But I needed to remember to do it with certain consistency. I found that keeping a written log of my efforts was a powerful motivation. I needed to learn to hold myself accountable because of "exercise amnesia". That is, I'd start out with grand intentions, but by the end of the week, my initial effort would be only a distant memory. Exercise amnesia happens because I never liked exercise. I put it very low on my list of priorities. I'd start off with a bang but very quickly my grand intentions faded into inconsistency or inactivity. I knew that if I was to improve my life, I couldn't afford that kind of complacency. I needed to be very gentle with myself, but I also needed to be firm and consistent. Consistency and self-discipline were not a pattern in my life up to that point.

But, I Hate Exercise...

Exercise and increasing my activity levels certainly have wonderful health rewards, but I always knew that. I had a lot of negative memories and feelings associated with exercise. They developed from bad experiences in gym classes at school, embarrassment due to excess weight, teasing, and poor performance playing at childhood sports and games. I was always chosen last for teams by the other kids. I was not a sports minded kid—perhaps because sports were not part of my family environment. I associated exercise with tedious calisthenics and painful military like drills. I just never experienced the joy or good feelings from exercise that other people seemed to experience.

If one's perception of exercise is negative, it's hard to get started and stay motivated for long. For too long, I put off starting an exercise program because I saw it in All or Nothing terms. I envisioned grueling painful ordeals that seemed to me like "mountains" just too high to climb. I'd compare myself with the image of a thin athletic person and feel totally inadequate. I use to try and motivate myself with "shoulds" and "musts" as if exercise was a form of punishment. With that kind of attitude about exercise, it's no wonder I resisted it.

I had to begin to restructure the way I felt about about exercise by starting to think about it differently. I didn't have to accept those negative feelings as facts. For instance, gardening or other active hobbies are wonderful ways to build a health promoting lifestyle as is walking the dog or going for nature walks. I didn't have to feel pain or go till I was out of breath, in fact it's not a good idea. I could find things to do that I enjoyed.

Mind-Body Connection

Regular moderate physical exercise helps promote positive attitudes about our bodies through establishing and strengthening the mind-body connection. I found that getting in touch with my body on this level was a key aspect of learning to listen for, and honor, my satiety signals.

Caution

Exercise can also be misused. Exercise becomes another form of self-abuse, another aspect of our eating disorder, if we become compulsive about it or extreme.

I believe:

I believe that being active promotes wellness, quality of life, and a sense of well-being. Physical activity and exercise promotes our overall fitness and our psychological health. It is a necessary and indispensable part of recovery from compulsive overeating and binge eating disorder. Fitness suggests having the vitality to fully participate in life. We don't have to stick to the old no pain no gain mentality. Finding a variety of activities and exercises that we enjoy helps insure our continued interest.

I've also found that even moderate activity helps greatly in curbing cravings. In fact, I don't think I'd be in recovery at all if I didn't start a program of moderate regular exercise.

Active at Any Sizee -  The Weight-control Information Network - U.S. Gov. publication that talks about very heavy people starting an exercise program. I find it a very compassionate and understanding publication and highly recommend it as a starting point. They even use pictures of very heavy people doing the exercises. Many helpful ideas!

This web site is for informational purposes only and is not meant to serve as medical advice or to replace consultation with a professional dietician, nutritionist, physician, or mental health professional. None of the information presented within this web site is meant to diagnose, prescribe, or to administer to any physical or emotional ailments or conditions.