Getting Rid of Holiday Pounds

You’ve been there before. It’s the New Year and you’re four or five pounds heavier than you were just before last Thanksgiving. What do you do now? How do you avoid having to sacrifice the things you love to eat and having to submit to a “boot camp” type exercise regimen? Well, it’s not as bad as you think as long as you are reasonable about your weight goals and, more importantly, the time frame during which you hope to achieve your weight loss goal. After all, gaining a few pounds over six to eight weeks cannot be reversed permanently unless it is LOST over a reasonable time frame—usually at a rate of about one to two pounds per week MAX! So here are some simple ideas that will help you to lose excess weight in a way that will not negatively affect your basal metabolism (the rate at which you burn calories naturally) and will not make you feel as if you are being deprived of food and subjected to physical torture.

First, if the goal is four to six pounds, understand that that will take about four to six weeks. From a caloric standpoint, that translates into 500 calories per day. Now, that doesn’t mean that you need to eat 500 calories LESS per day but what it does mean is that you must reduce your caloric intake and/or “burn off” about 500 calories per day COMBINED. So let’s do the numbers. A brisk (a good arm-swinging 3.5 to 4.5 mph) walk for 30 to 45 minutes will “burn” (depending upon your current weight) about 150 to 200 calories. If this is combined with a reduction in caloric intake of about 200 calories (the amount of calories in a can of soda and a cookie), you have already reduced your caloric intake/output by about 350 to 400 calories. Add to that regimen a regular strength training routine two to three times per week and you’re easily averaging 500 calories per day already. That’s 3,500 calories per week, which happens to be the amount of calories in a pound of fat! Notice that the reduction in caloric intake is quite moderate so as not to cause a drop in metabolic rate. Additionally, it represents a reduction of, generally, less than 10% of current caloric intake so that it is more likely to be sustainable over time. Remember that a “diet” is something that you eat ALL the time (in other words, a permanent eating plan) and NOT something that you go ON and then go OFF!

And there is more good news with this “plan”. The additional muscle tissue that is increased by the strength training routine in PERMANENT calorie burning tissue and will assist in keeping those extra calories from creeping back on to your waistline. Indeed, most of one’s metabolic rate (the rate at which calories are burned) is determined by the amount of muscle tissue that is “available”. More muscle tissue—more calories “burned’—even at rest! So don’t give up—get moving and by Valentines Day you could be looking at a whole new YOU!

I’m Dr. Paul Kennedy and that’s the “Be Fit, Stay Fit” Topic of the Week. Good luck with YOUR program. I KNOW you can do it!

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