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Jo Your Personal Trainer Answers Letters About Weight Loss and ExerciseFeb 23 '06 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Weight loss is not a complicated process. All plans are based on calories. There is no getting around that. Eat more than you expend and you will gain weight.
Please talk with your doctor before starting any weight loss or exercise program. Since I can't talk about weight loss without including exercise I thought I would share letters from readers and my answers. I hope this helps you but feel free to leave questions and I will post them and the answer here. Please note: I am not a nutritionist or a dietician. I am a Certified Personal Trainer and have struggled with food issues my whole life. I know how hard the process is. Thanks for reading. jo When thinking of a weight loss plan I recommend several criteria. 1. What is your budget? If it is small and you are motivated I'd recommend a good book that will help you not only figure out what to eat, how much to eat, but how to eat. 2. I would suggest you do some soul searching and think about your motivation. If you are highly motivated it is possible to go online and join a support group. You can find message boards for Weight Watchers, Atkins and many of the "diet plans." 3. If you need more support will your budget allow you to go to a group? Weight Watchers, for example, will cost you about $11.00 a week until you hit your goal weight. There are no foods you must buy so it is less money than other plans that require specific food made by them. 4. If you have the money I would recommend hiring a personal trainer and seeing a nutritionist. This combines the best of what you need to lose weight, stay on task, get motivation and support and help you when you slip. Here are some letters followed by a summary. 1. Dear Jo, I came across your website when I was looking for reviews on the hot cross buns machine. I have a very limited income and want to get into shape. I'm 25, 5'9" and at 227 lbs, I've been above 200 most my life. I want to drop the weight. I don't know how or where to start. I know that diet alone won't help me to lose weight. I do want to become fit. I decided to start walking in the morning before I eat breakfast ( I was told to workout before I eat to help boost my metabolism). I have exercise induced asthma, so I need to do exercises that are low impact but extremely effective. Is there anything you can suggest for my situation? What can I do to stay motivated? Any information that can be helpful is much appreciated. Answer: Hi Hmm..ok where to start? Well first of all what you eat translates to about 90% of how you look. All the exercise in the world will not counter act the donut you have for breakfast every day and the burger and fries you have for lunch. Having said that, building muscle burns more calories and for a longer period of time so you can eat more. The only way that really works no matter what diet you are on is to count calories in some way, shape or form. All diets are based on that. If you eat more calories than you expend you will gain weight. 3500 calories equals 1 pound. In order to lose 1 pound you have to eat 500 fewer calories a day or burn 500 calories more than you normally do. If you do both - eat less and exercise more which might equal 1000 calories a day you'll lose 2 pounds a week. I'm not your doctor or a doctor so I really don't know what exercises would be low impact enough. My first thoughts are water-based activities or biking. Can you take an inhaler before you exercise? Weights along with even a moderate walk a day will really help along with consuming fewer calories. As far as staying motivated, I'd go to a couple of weight loss forums. Weight Watchers has one and you don't have to be a member. I buy magazines. Magazines like Fitness and Shape might get you motivated. Put a picture on your refrigerator of a person at a healthy weight. There are a couple of books that I would recommend. One in particular is Dr. Phil's book The Ultimate Weight Solution. It isn't a traditional diet book. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have other questions. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2. Hi Jo, I was surfing for an abs equipment seen from a infomercial on tv. I am very tempted to purchase the 6 seconds abs equipment actually but I'll be paying a little more as I'm staying in Malaysia. Anyhow, from your review on this equipment, it sounds good/effective and I may just buy it soon. As you are a trainer,it would be great if your kind advices could be imparted for me to lose at least 3kg. I am pear shape and my waistline has never been 24inc...it has always been either 25 or 26 inc as far as I can remember. My weight is 55kg and my vitals from waist down is 28 going on 29in and hips are 37 going on 38inc. My height is 5ft 6inc. My flabs are from upper abdomen to lower. Quite typical of women's weight gaining spots,huh? I love to run but would always experience pain on the left side of my abdomen near my waist.Why is that? I have an airwalker machine but don't get to workout often as I'm either too tired upon reaching home (quite late at about 8.30pm) and have a hard time getting up early to exercise. My food intakes are usually sandwiches and pastries..and coffee..there's the occasional rice with veges and meat. I'm 31 years of age. Would my airwalker machine and the 6 seconds abs equipment be sufficient for my workout regime for 3 times a week or at least twice going for 20mins to an hour depending on time limitations? Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you Cheers Answer: Hi, I'm glad you wrote. First of all yes the belly is really a tough spot. Some of us, due to genetics, just have a "pouch." I can't say for sure what the pain is since I'm not a doctor but I too used to experience it when I ran. I read somewhere that it was due to having eaten too close to running and I found that to be true. I can't talk in kilograms so if you don't understand this let me know and I'll figure out the conversion somehow. 3500 calories equals 1 pound. So to lose 1 pound you have to take in 500 calories less a day or expend 500 calories more. If you do both that would be 1000 calories and you'd lose 2 pounds in a week. I'm a big fan of that simple rule. You want to eliminate anything white. Bread, rice, potatoes, sugar, salt, salt, and more salt. It is in most foods so look at what foods are lowest in sodium. I can suggest having a cheat day once a week as the fitness guru, Bill Phillips (Body for Life) recommends. Having that one day might get you through the week of wanting sugar. Switch to salads, chicken, fish, and really skip those daily donuts. If you can start to cut back on coffee and go to decaf that would be great or half and half. Caffeine retains water as does salt so really look at the labels when you buy products. I do drink green tea which I find doesn't retain water and the caffeine in it boosts my metabolism a bit. I know your time is limited but I have to suggest some weight training. Muscle burns more calories than fat so as soon as you build some muscle you can eat more or you'll lose weight automatically. Just remember though that muscle also weighs more than fat so don't go by the scale go by your clothes. Buy yourself some 5 or 8-pound dumbbells. If you don't know anything about what to do with them I can give you some websites or books to look at. Hope this all helps. Let me know. Follow up of #2: Hi Jo, thanks so much for your advise but there were somethings mentioned which would be a huge challenge for me to cut down or eliminate. Bread..sugar...coffee are my staples...boohoo I'm switching to decaf whenever I can...since I'm drinking those 3 in 1 packs type of coffee. I hardly take candies or donuts...only during that time of the month when I have cravings. Salt isn't a lot in my mum's cooking or my own so it's alright for me if food tastes plain or bland. Weight training was and still is in my list but could I use alternative items which I can find at home to substitute the dumbbell weights ?I don't want to spend much as I've got some bills to settle for the next few months...I may sound silly but I'm quite broke these days. I intend to try to jog or walk around a play field in front of my house for 30 mins or more when I can but first, I need to save up for a pair of trainers. I've just exercised on my airwalker and my whole body's aching since Wednesday...heheh. How does the food conversion or monitoring work? I'd usually take 1 or 2 serving of vege,1 fruit,chicken or pork and rice for either lunch or dinner. There are times I take fish and 2 servings of vege for lunch. Sometimes lunch would be either sandwich bought from a bakery2 slice turkey ham,lettuce,tomato,cucumber with mayo or butter with sprinkles of pepper) Dinner would at times be cereals,2 pc of choc wafer biscuit and 1 serving of fruit.Breakfast is just 2 slices of bread with butter & jam or chicken floss and coffee. It's only this 1 month that I've been eating pastries to kill my hunger pangs...which occurs ard mid aftrnoon. I do get gastrics....off and on. Hope to hear from you...Thanks very much Have a good weekend... Answer: Hi, Actually from your list it doesn't sound too bad so perhaps just adding some weights would help. Dumbbells aren't expensive. You can pick up a pair of 10 pounds for $10. You can also look at resistance bands which work really well too. You can find them online easily. I'm not saying to eliminate bread but try to make it whole wheat - it is healthier and has more fiber which will help with weight loss. So overall your diet looks good. I'd cut out the mayo! but it isn't horrible if it stays. Hope this helps. jo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3. First, I want to thank you for your reviews of exercise equipment on eopinions.com. It’s nice to read reviews without a company pushing their product! I really appreciate your honesty. I have a fitness question for you: I have reached a plateau in my exercise routine. I have been a fitness instructor for 8 years (pilates, cardio step, weight lifting) and have taken some time off to exercise just for myself. My problem is now trying to find the time and motivation to workout. I just turned 40, and am seeing changes in my body (gravity!). I try to do cardio for 30 minutes, 6 days a week, though with each day, I find I am pushing myself and doing it just to say it’s done, without enjoyment. I have lost my motivation, which in turn affects my energy level. I have an elliptical, stationery bike, free weights, ball, step and a multitude of exercise videos. I don’t really enjoy the elliptical, I do it because I think it’s the best thing out there for an effective cardio workout. I would like to lose 10 pounds, and am thinking of purchasing a rower (concept 2, d model), and/or total body gym. What do you think? I have a road bike that I do in spring/summer, and do enjoy, except it’s hard to find the time it takes for a decent ride. (single mother of 2 teenagers). I am actually thinking of changing my dining room into a workout room, as it only gets used a few times a year! I try to throw weightlifting in when I can (maybe twice/week). I tend to bulk up when I weight lift, so I am trying to do more cardio to lose the weight first. I seem to always be able to do weight lifting, no matter how tired I am. Any suggestions?? Thank you for your time, Answer Hi Leslie thanks for writing. I'm going to pose a simple question and then get back to me. I'm asking only because most people lose motivation for awhile and sometimes they're body is saying they need a break. But if the break gets too long then it is a vicious cycle as you have noticed. I know that for me at this point I love my cardio classes. I know you've been on the teaching end but have you taken one just for the fun of it? There are days that I would not get any cardio in if there weren't a class. For ex. today I'll go to the gym. The thought of spending 45 minutes on a bike reading, watching tv or staring into space makes me not want to go but there is a spinning class. Now that I am looking forward to. As YOU know the instructors are incredibly motivational and when you are in a group - well I'll preaching to one who knows best but that's my question. Would you consider joining a gym - even if it is short term- and take classes which might get your motivation back to work at home? I hate to see you buy yet another piece of cardio equipment just to say how bored you are with it. Regarding plateaus - it happens to everyone. One suggestion is to interval train. Whatever you end up doing if you alternate intensity levels, play around with fewer and more repetitions when using weights and lower and higher dumbbell weights you should break through your plateau. Thoughts?? jo P.S. We can talk diet if you think that doing cardio won't be enough or if you know what you have to do. Follow up of #3: Jo, Thanks for getting back to me! I understand the point you are trying to make, and will look into classes, but affordability is an issue. I actually had been thinking of joining classes again. What is the recommended schedule for cardio/weight lifting per week to lose weight? As far as diet is concerned, I recently talked informally with a dietician at work (I am a RN), and found out that I should be taking in about 2000 cal/day to lose weight, working out 5-6 days/week (I was taking in about 1300 cal/day). I’m 5ָ”, and weigh about 165. I would like to get down to 145-155. I don’t necessarily eat bad food; I just don’t eat a lot of food, especially when I am tired or stressed. I was going to look into the book by Dr. Phil that you did a review on. As far as buying another piece of equipment, I sometimes don’t get to work out until evening, hence the equipment, and the lack of energy. A friend of mine swears by the rowing machine, so I started thinking about it. Have yet to try one. I just got an ipod, which has been helping me out with my workouts! Thank you for your time and all of your help Answer: Hi ok let's get back to your original question first. The Total Gym or similar is very different than buying one piece of cardio equipment. Since you have two pieces of cardio equipment and weights you really don't need anything else unless you want to buy something just for a change. I think the rower gets boring and would prefer a gym and am recommending that you go that route. Though you say you bulk up quickly you can do low weights and high repetitions which will build muscle tone without building muscle mass. I suggested interval training but you can still use light weights just keep them a bit heavier. For example if you do bicep curls with 5 pound weights for a week, use 8 pound weights the next week. This way your muscles won't get used to 5 pounds and will respond better. The rower is a great piece. My only concern to you is what will you gain from it? You'll gain an upper body workout but it still isn't the same as doing chest presses or bicep curls with your weights or a universal piece. So think about why you want to buy a rower. Think about what a universal piece will give you than dumbbells won't? I know for me they make a workout easier because I can just go from "station" to station (Unless you are actually talking about THE Total Gym which doesn't have stations.) making thinking or planning out a workout unnecessary. As far as a workout routine, doing cardio 6 days a week is really the best if you can fit it in. As I am sure you know you can do 15 min. at different times. In fact since you have two pieces now you can do let's say 20 min. on the treadmill and later when you have time 20 minutes on the elliptical. There are two ways to lift weights and neither one is better or worse for losing weight. The goal is to build muscle which burns more calories thus you can eat more and lose weight or the muscle will burn more fat if you aren't losing weight. In fact weight lifting studies show burns more calories for a longer period of time than cardio work. Having said all that I'll go back to the two ways: 1. Do a different body part or two parts 5 days a week. It would look like this and is just an example. It is not intended to design a program for you. Monday - back Tuesday - chest Wednesday - biceps Thursday - triceps Friday - legs and shoulders. If you are short on days those can be combined like this: back/biceps; chest/triceps; legs, shoulders - doing abs every day - just for 5 minutes or so. You can also do back/chest one day, legs another and triceps/biceps another. The second way is called a circuit. You would be working your entire body 3 times a week. Naturally the amount of sets would be lower than when you are just doing one body part (When I do back for ex. I might do 4 sets; if I am doing a circuit I'd do 2 sets). If you choose that either with a universal or dumbbells start with the largest muscle group first - either your legs or back and work down to the smallest. I do back, chest, legs, biceps, triceps, shoulders but other trainers might give you a different order. However they all should start you with the large muscle group first. You do need food to lose weight. Think of driving a car without gas. It won't go. You need food to get your metabolism going. If your body doesn't have enough food your metabolism will slow down so anything you put in it won't get burned up as quickly as. Good luck! jo In Summary: Although I happen to like Weight Watchers I think any diet plan that works for you is the best one. Diet should be a lifestyle not a plan but for some of us who want and need to lose weight a plan keeps us on track. For some writing a journal, tracking points, or eating in zones works. What I can't recommend is any plan that eliminates an entire food group or only has you eating one food group. Do you need a support group? Then you'll choose Weight Watchers or perhaps even Overeaters Anonymous which is free. Do you need to follow a book? There are certainly plenty out there both on a diet plan, cookbooks and the philosophy behind why we eat too much or unhealthfully. And remember muscle burns more calories than fat so lift some weights! Please feel free to leave me a question or comment. Some reviews I have written that might be helpful include: What you should know about the WW brand Weight Watchers TurnAround Program The Ultimate Weight Solution by Dr. Phil The Zone Body for Life by Bill Phillips- the book The Atkins Diet Weight Watchers Get With The Program (Bob Greene - Oprah's mentor) Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution- the book Body for Life- the diet "A recent review of 10 popular diet programs published in the Annals of Internal Medicine concludes that there is little scientific evidence to show that any of the approaches is successful in producing lasting weight-loss. Only the Weight Watchers program was judged to have scientific support for its effectiveness. But those results were hardly impressive: an average weight loss of 10 lbs., with just half of that loss maintained for two years.A comparison of books used by dieters, published in the January 5, 2005, Journal of the American Medical Association aimed to test the efficacy of four popular diet approaches as indicated by changes in the weight and 10-year heart disease risk of 160 participants." http://health.dailynewscentral.com/content/view/263/62 Thanks for reading. jo  |
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