September 12, 2016
As a personal trainer, I may be shooting myself in the foot here, but I am very passionate about this topic: Your weight is not as important as they say it is! The they I'm referring to are the media, news, and friends or family. There are even those in the health industry, including doctors, who focus advice exclusively on losing weight to improve health.
A weight-centric approach to health tries to model your behaviors around changing your weight. The assumption there is that excess weight is causing or will cause adverse health effects. The flaw with this approach is that with traditional dieting, weight does not stay off over the long-term, and the common belief that excess weight causes health problems is not established by research. Dr. Linda Bacon is a leader in this new way of thinking. She is a well-respected scientist and has been published in reputable scientific journals - check out some of the evidence she brings to the table.
If weight is not important for good health, what is? Exercise. Diet. Stress. High weight is a symptom of lifestyle, not the cause. So it is not accurate to say a high weight person is unhealthy - but it is accurate to say a person who exercises, regardless of weight, is healthy. Find something enjoyable that gets you moving. It could be walking, could be Zumba, could be kickboxing.
Dieting is hard and super restrictive dieting can reinforce poor choices like binge eating and negative body-image. Shift your focus from counting every calorie to choosing foods that you enjoy and are healthful - the Choose My Plate website has great recommendations. Generally speaking, try to eat minimally processed foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. Don't get down on yourself if you have a piece of cake for your birthday, it's one of the joys of having taste buds.
Stress impacts hormones in your body that affect your immune system and other regulatory systems. We're constantly multitasking. Stop! Give yourself at least 5 minutes per day to sit quietly and think - this is a great way to help manage stress and doesn't take a lot of effort.
My aim as a personal trainer is to help you shift that focus currently placed on weight, to exercising. Part of my process is to identify things you enjoy (might not even be exercise related) so that I can incorporate them into a fitness program. Maybe you're already living an active lifestyle - Great! In that case, I can help you work towards specific fitness goals and help change up your routine so it stays fun. Exercise is also a great way to relieve stress.
If you're looking to start exercising or want to change things up, let's get in touch and start working towards a fitness program that makes exercise fun and effective for you.
In good health,
Francesco