"Don't bite off too much to start"

Everyday we hear doctors, medical professionals, and diet “experts” inform the general population how to lose weight safely. The advice usually requires a combination of changing our diets (increasing organic fruit and vegetable intake, and reducing our simple sugars and saturated fats intake), and changing our lifestyle (increasing our daily exercise).

 

It is unanimously agreed that a combination of dietary changes and an increase in daily exercise will likely lead to healthier lifestyles. However, the million dollar question is how do we do this? To be blunt, a consultation with a nutritionist is the best way to proceed with dietary changes. A nutritionist will not only be able to inform you on how to change your diet, but will also be able to advise you on how to cook the foods to make the meals more appealing, and inform you on how to keep the foods you “love” in your diet.

 

I would like to offer some simple advice on how to increase your daily activity levels. Regardless of your current fitness and activity levels this advice remains consistent for all populations – “don’t bite off too much”, pardon the pun. If you adhere to this philosophy the chance of success rapidly increases. This may simply mean for the beginner exerciser starting with a 10-15 minute walk every evening with your significant other after dinner, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or performing 10 abdominal crunches during the commercial break of your favorite TV show or… Increasing the amount, or time, performing the activity every week will then provide positive physical adaptations to occur. I would also advice the beginner exerciser to choose between a few activities to decrease the likelihood of boredom. Lastly they need prioritize their schedule to include these activities; not having enough time is a “weak” excuse.

 

The same general principles apply to the advanced exercisers; however, this population typically requires more challenges, and has usually forgotten that exercising should be enjoyable. Running on the treadmill for 45 minutes a day is not my idea of fun, but completing the “Grouse Grind”, or playing paintball or ultimate Frisbee, or learning a new sport is much more appealing than performing the same workout over and over again. Elite athletes should also adopt these philosophies during their off-seasons.

Craig Dalrymple

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