For many Americans, weight loss is a goal, and unfortunately has been a goal for five years or more. According the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, 63.1% or adults in the United States are overweight or obese. The FDA found that in 1992, Americans spent 30 billion dollars on diet programs and products. Today, that number has doubled. Most diet programs have been tried and found wanting. If weight loss happens, it usually comes back in a few months and sometimes even brings more than was lost. What is the missing ingredient to this seemingly elusive goal? There are actually three ingredients: an effective exercise program, a health-focused diet, and consistent effort. These are the three components you need to create a change in body composition.
Here are a few facts that you should know when attempting to improve your body composition:
· Fad diet systems would have you believe their product or service will have you losing weight in a jiffy and without the need for exercise. Granted, some of these systems do create a weight-loss effect, but the results are only temporary. The reason is that the weight lost in these programs comes across the board. Fat is lost but so is muscle. The muscles are the most metabolic tissues in the body, meaning they solicit the most energy. With the loss of muscle tissue, the ability to burn up calories is reduced as the metabolism drops. Most people understand that a low metabolism creates an excess of stored energy. This is only a good thing if you are a bear heading to hibernation. For the rest of us it means that the more weight lost on these diets means the less capacity to keep the weight off, if you lose weight at all.
· Without an exercise program, up to a third of all weight lost can come from muscle tissue, and this is especially true for women. Since muscles demand the most energy, we want to hold onto as much of it as possible. The way to go about doing this is to let the body know that the muscles are still needed. The human body is a wondrous, dynamic machine designed to run as efficiently as possible. If muscles are not being used, they gradually atrophy (get smaller) to reduce resource consumption. You do not want this to happen in your weight loss program. A well designed program provides stimuli to the muscles to such a degree that the body wants to keep them the way they are, or even improve them.
· Consistent working of the body increases the metabolism by creating an energy deficit as the muscles require more and more resources to operate during exercise, post exercise, and even at rest. The key word here is consistent. Results require effort over time. Think of how long it takes a person to become a certain unwanted weight. The answer is most likely months and years. A person should expect at least months of consistent effort in the kitchen and in the gym to achieve his or her weight loss goal. This of course is dependent on how much weight is needed to be lost but the principle remains the same.
· Working with a professional can increase the results that you see. Accountability is a big step to achieving weight loss goals. The use of a nutritionist and personal trainer provides not only wisdom and a solid plan, but also accountability. Many people start off with big dreams and a great attitude but at two weeks in, the idea doesn't seem worth the trouble anymore. A coach creating the avenue for you to reach your goal goes a long way to staving off the monotony of meal planning and what to do in the gym. A tangible result demands a game plan and a professional is there to create that game plan for your success so the burden is no longer on you to figure out how to do it. The professional keeps your head in the game and makes sure you are staying on the right path.
With the world at large getting even larger, it makes sense to drop the fad diets and pick up healthy eating behaviors and to increase and maintain activity. The aid of a fitness coach is an invaluable resource in achieving your goal and setting new goals to keep your body functioning properly and for a long time.
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