Hello! I’ve been busy running around this week, so for today, I asked my husband to write a post for this blog. It is because his help and encouragement that I was able to get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight and shape in less than 6 months, so he is my “go-to” person for all things exercise and staying in shape! I hope you’ll enjoy the post 🙂
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image via the Berry.com
My wife is kind enough to to think that my opinions are worth sharing so she asked me to write on exercise. My wife because of sports involvement has become a bit of a workout freak and has become pretty popular with her friends for her workout schedule. She also has become the source for information on all things diet and exercise related to her friends. All that to say, she thought it would be interesting to for me to write a little piece on diet and exercise because for good or for bad most of her information on the topic comes from me.
As a pro boxer who has had to get myself down to very strictly controlled weight states, I have done at one point or another every diet and and done every kind of cardiovascular and strength training exercise you can imagine. I am hardly a world renown expert but between working on myself and helping my wife I know a few things and could give you readers a few pointers which may help with your fitness goals (if you have any, which indeed you should) and body image/weight goals.
First, on the diet front. Thinking about constantly being on a diet sucks. It makes you crave for things that you would not ordinarily crave and makes you obsess over food beyond what would normally be if you weren’t dieting. I wish there was a way around that feeling but there isn’t. The only way is to work through the mental difficulty of dieting is to practice some self discipline and self control and to let the feelings play out and run their course over time. It does get easier with time and eventually it just becomes a lifestyle, so take heart. As for diets themselves, most are gimmicks trying to make you buy products, so be wary of them. However, there are some dieting principles to keep in mind.
1: Its about body image and the mirror not what the scale reads: The sale can be a good indicator of goals in certain instances but it can also be an unforgiving master. People can get so obsessed about the number on the scale that they forget the point of proper dieting and eating habits is better body shape, better health and better body image. Use the scale sparingly and use it only once per week. Pick a day as a reference day and measure on that day. The day to day fluctuations on the scale are not indicative of weight gain or loss but rather an indication of glycogen stores and water. So, use a scale once a week and use that as general reference. If the scale on the reference day is generally moving down or maintaining from week to week, your on the right track.
2: Its all about calories: Any diet that pretends to give you a magic eating formula for eating is lying. The only way to burn fat and lose weight is to take in less calories than you are burning. Put another way you have to burn more calories than you consume. Every burns without any “exercise” anywhere between 1200-2000 through natural causes, the exact amount burned depends on gender,body size and lifestyle. Your average woman probably burns in the neighborhood of 1200-1400 calories without doing any exercise. That said, with no exercise, in order to lose weight you must consume less calories than that. Start by approximating your calorie need. I recommend freedieting.com. Use the calories calculator and see about how many calories you need per day. One caution, remember online calorie calculators are mere estimates based on a formula, each body is different so there is some trial and error needed to find the amount of calorie intake you need to maintain a given weight or to lose weight.
3:Whole foods are good: When you find out your calorie needs you then need to start figuring out what exactly to eat. This can be irritating because everyone has their opinion. Generally, the food pyramid is fine. At each meal get some vegetable carbohydrates and get some meat proteins. Be balanced with your eating and your fine. As long as you fall within your calorie limit you’ll be fine. Don’t limit yourself to lettuce and dont feel the need to eat only meat like an Atkins style diet. Both extremes work but they are not maintainable long term….trust me on that one.
If you stick to those 3 dieting principles you’ll be good to go. On to Exercise.
Exercise, if you did not know (and who doesn’t), is good for you. I think it is your duty to get regular exercise. Chie and I exercise 5-6 times per week. Most people cannot pull that off but 2-3x per week really is needed. I recommend both cardio exercise and weight training. Women often worry that weight training will make them bulky or too muscular. I wish it were that easy to get bulky and muscley but it is not. Weight training will only add bulk if you eat in a way to grow the muscle size. If your dieting or eating maintence calories getting bulky is not possible. Weight training will give you that stringy look that women kill to have during beach seaon. Cardio is good for your over all health, it helps burn calories for dieting purposes and helps tone the body. Exercise can be as confusing as dieting so here are some pointers.
1: Starting exercise is hard but onece you start its hard to stop: Getting on an exercise routine is as difficult as dieting but once your on it, your on it for life. Exercise becomes part of your lifestyle if you do it consistently and incorporate it into things that you prioritize it. It does not need to take up hours. 3, 45 minute sessions during the week can do the job.
2: Weight training: Go to the gym. This can be intimidating for women especially when they see the massive body builder types lifting the equivalent of small cars. Trust me don’t worry about them they usually are pretty nice guys and are very helpful with regards to weight lifting. I recommend getting a personal trainer for a few sessions to help you learn the basics. He will inevitably try to sell you his services for an extended period of time but they really aren’t necessary, once you have the basics, the internet is your friend and can help you the rest of the way.
3:Kinds of training: As I said, I recommend a trainer or friend teach you the basics. After that 2 sessions per week of weight training will be great for your body. I reccomend one upper body day and one lower body day per week. If you can do more great if not, no problem. There is a system called strong lifts which I highly recommend and can be found at stronglifts.com. The once per week cardio session is pretty easy to figure out, go for a 45 minute jog, do 45 minutes on the elliptical machine or take a 45 minute spinning class. All work pretty well and unless you have some specific sports goal you can mix and match as you please.
These are the basics and if you set yourself up doing these things you’ll be good to go. There are some more things like food recording and training rotations that you should look into as you get more into the whole “fit” lifestyle but I won’t inundate you here. If your interested drop Chie a line and she can give you the resources.
Hope that helped,
Andy
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