![\"workout-article\"](\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/workout-article.jpg\")
We\u2019ve all been there\u2014you lose weight on some weight loss plan or program, you feel great and you are rightfully proud of your accomplishment. After all, you probably had to work hard and you might have even felt deprived while going through the process. But now you look and feel great!<\/p>\n
Your doctor is thrilled because by losing weight and starting a basic exercise routine, you\u2019ve also gotten your blood pressure down and your pre-diabetic state has reversed itself. Now that you have accomplished your goal, you automatically go off your weight loss plan because you\u2019ve reached your goal\u2014you\u2019ve gotten there!<\/p>\n
And now the chances are you are going to join a club that has a large membership. This group consists of the 97 percent of people who lost weight and who gain most or all of their weight back. What can we do in order not<\/em> to regain lost weight?<\/p>\n The best way to keep weight off is to lose it properly to begin with, and that means don’t diet<\/em>!<\/p>\n I still ask everyone I meet who is dieting\u2014why are you spending so much energy on something we know is proven not<\/em> to work?<\/p>\n Weight loss is about lifestyle changes, learning how to eat correctly for you (not a standard, universal diet), changing bad habits into good ones, and doing enough exercise and activity to make a difference. But even if one loses the weight correctly, the question remains, how do we keep it off or at least limit any rebound to no more than 20 percent of the weight originally lost?<\/p>\n Obviously, if we learn new thinking and new habits and they become ingrained, this goes a long way into sustaining our new weight. However new research is showing that certain aspects activity and exercise leads to a greater chance of preventing regaining weight. This study, done by Dr. Neville Owen and his associates in 2010, that showed that even people who exercise according to public health guidelines, but sit for extended periods every day, are susceptible to metabolic syndrome (a combination of obesity, high blood pressure, elevated fasting glucose and low levels of HDL good cholesterol). It showed a connection between too much sitting and in spite of exercising 150 minutes per week, still developing heart disease.<\/p>\n Given this study, exercise physiologist and researcher Dr. Len Kravitz began looking into this same effect on weight regain. He found, also looking at other studies that there were two main factors in the realm of exercise and activity that came into play in helping to keep off weight that was lost. One is called NEAT which stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis. For our purposes, that means spontaneous movement. In other words, movement that is not part of your planned exercise. The other factor that Dr. Kravitz sites as making a big difference is in addition to doing aerobic exercise and doing resistance training also played a large role is successfully keeping off weight.<\/p>\n Dr. Kravitz cited a study by G.R. Hutner last year that took a group of 140 women, all of whom were put on a calorie restricted diet and all lost enough weight to get their BMI to under 25. They divided them into three groups after they lost weight: \u00a01) Aerobic exercise 3 times per week 2) resistance training 3 times per week 3) no exercise at all.\u00a0 All of these women lost about 25 pounds. Total daily expenditure of calories decreased some in the aerobic group, and the no-exercise group however in the weight training (resistance training) group, their daily energy expenditure increased by 63 calories per day. Those who were not exercising had a much larger caloric burn every day through NEAT or just regular daily movement. The conclusion of those conducting this study is that 1) activity in and of itself in addition to exercise and 2) including resistance training as part of exercise made a large difference in keeping lost weight off.<\/p>\n In order to keep weight off, here are some practical steps we can take to increase activity during the day in order to offset the negative effects of sitting too much. At the University of New Mexico, the Don\u2019t Sit, Get Fit <\/em>movement suggests the following:<\/p>\n Below are 15 ways to help add more activity to our daily lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n And remember that there are also five\u00a0thoughts<\/strong> that will help you keep off the weight you have lost:<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just that all these ideas appear in studies and text books\u2014I see it every day. Get rid of the diet mentality.\u00a0 Lose weight correctly to begin with. Include exercise, both aerobic and resistance training.\u00a0 Stay as active as possible regardless of exercise and keep to the five thoughts that can help you keep it off.\u00a0 All of that will \u201cadd hours to your day, days to your yea, and years to your life.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Alan Freishtat<\/strong> is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a BEHAVIORAL CHANGE and WELLNESS COACH with over 19 years of professional experience. Alan is the creator and director of the \u201c10 Weeks to Health\u201d program for weight loss. He is available for private coaching sessions, consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs both in his office and by telephone and skype. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at\u00a002-651-8502<\/a> or 050-555-7175<\/a>, or by email at\u00a0alan@alanfitness.com<\/a> Check out the his web site \u2013www.alanfitness.com<\/a> US Line: 516-568-5027<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We\u2019ve all been there\u2014you lose weight on some weight loss plan or program, you feel great and you are rightfully proud of your accomplishment. After all, you probably had to work hard and you might have even felt deprived while going through the process. But now you look and feel great! Your doctor is thrilled<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":53565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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