Move That Body

Fifteen years ago there were two states that had obesity rates over 20%. Currently all states but two have such rates.  As a society we are getting bigger and bigger and bigger.  Much of that has to do with how and what we eat (see my previous posts) but the biggest reason in my mind is that we are getting more and more sedentary.  Most of us live in neighborhoods where it is impossible to walk to the store.  Very few of us take public transportation that would require us to walk to and from a bus stop or train station.  Most jobs are now desk jobs.  Many jobs that require physical activity have now become automated.  Even farming is not as physical as it once was.  We have machines that do most of the work for us.  When I was a child, we spent most of the day outside playing.  There are currently many children that spend all of their free time in front of either a television or computer screen.  Physical education at school has been cut back in many districts.  The combination of a diet that is full of foods requiring very little metabolism with a life style that does very little to activate our metabolism, adds up to caloric excess.  Our body is only too happy to store it away as fat and the weight comes on.

I came across an astounding statistic a few years back.  There is a group of people followed by the UCLA medical center who have lost about 100 pounds a piece and have kept it off.  The researchers were eager to try and find out what characteristics these people had in common.  They could only find two.  First, they all ate breakfast.  Second, they all exercised on average one hour per day for at least five days a week.  I'll talk about the first point in a later post but it is the second one that I want to stress.  This kind of exercise requires a complete life change and priority adjustment.  Those who try to find time to exercise, don't.  Time for exercise is not found, it is made.  It is only after exercise becomes a priority that big changes occur.  Anyone who has watched, "The Biggest Loser" can attest that the winners have all learned how to work out hard.  The ones who go home and don't keep up their routine regain weight.  Those who have changed their life for good, keep it off.

I have seen patients lose 10-20 pounds through watching their diet better but the only ones that I have seen lose 40-100 pounds are the ones who made exercise a priority.  Diet alone will fail because at a certain point of calorie restriction the body will just shut off metabolism.  Exercise is needed to keep it going.  I recently saw a 93 year old patient who is doing wonderfully well.  She remains active, her mind is sharp and is a delight to be around.  I don't think that it is any coincidence that her only complaint to me that day was that the "CURVES" in her neighborhood closed down.  When I asked if she found other ways to exercise, she slapped me on the shoulder and said, "of course!"


I know that I am not proposing anything that everyone doesn't already know.  It is not a lack of knowledge that keeps us back, it is motivation.  In the weeks to come I hope to inspire you a little more by sharing my thoughts on why exercise is so important, how it keeps us healthy, ways to begin exercising and helpful hints to keep it up and keep it going.  Tune in and keep moving!