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by Dr. Di
Pasquale
CONT'D...
Step Five:
Manage your
Weight
The key to
weight
control is
keeping
energy
intake
(food) and
energy
output
(physical
activity) in
balance.
When you
consume only
as many
calories as
your body
needs, your
weight will
usually
remain
constant. If
you take in
more
calories
than your
body needs,
you will put
on excess
fat. If you
expend more
energy than
you take in
you will
burn excess
fat.
Exercise
plays an
important
role in
weight
control by
increasing
energy
output,
calling on
stored
calories for
extra fuel.
Recent
studies show
that not
only does
exercise
increase
metabolism
during a
workout, but
it causes
your
metabolism
to stay
increased
for a period
of time
after
exercising,
allowing you
to burn more
calories.
How much
exercise is
needed to
make a
difference
in your
weight
depends on
the amount
and type of
activity,
and on how
much you
eat. Aerobic
exercise
burns body
fat. A
medium-sized
adult would
have to walk
more than 30
miles to
burn up
3,500
calories,
the
equivalent
of one pound
of fat.
Although
that may
seem like a
lot, you
don’t have
to walk the
30 miles all
at once.
Walking a
mile a day
for 30 days
will achieve
the same
result,
providing
you don’t
increase
your food
intake to
negate the
effects of
walking.
If you
consume 100
calories a
day more
than your
body needs,
you will
gain
approximately
10 pounds in
a year. You
could take
that weight
off, or keep
it off, by
doing 30
minutes of
moderate
exercise
daily. The
combination
of exercise
and diet
offers the
most
flexible and
effective
approach to
weight
control.
Since muscle
tissue
weighs more
than fat
tissue, and
exercise
develops
muscle to a
certain
degree, your
bathroom
scale won’t
necessarily
tell you
whether or
not you are
‘fat.’
Well-muscled
individuals,
with
relatively
little body
fat,
invariably
are
‘overweight’
according to
standard
weight
charts. If
you are
doing a
regular
program of
strength
training,
your muscles
will
increase in
weight, and
possibly
your overall
weight will
increase.
Body
composition
is a better
indicator of
your
condition
than body
weight.
Lack of
physical
activity
causes
muscles to
get soft,
and if food
intake is
not
decreased,
added body
weight is
almost
always fat.
Once active
people, who
continue to
eat as they
always have
after
settling
into
sedentary
lifestyles,
tend to
suffer from
‘creeping
obesity.’
Step Six:
Gear up Good
The key is
comfort and
movement
flexibility.
Wear light
clothes than
temperatures
might
indicate.
Exercise
generates
great
amounts of
body heat.
Light-colored
clothing
that
reflects the
sun’s rays
is cooler in
the summer,
and dark
clothes are
warmer in
winter. When
the weather
is very
cold, it’s
better to
wear several
layers of
light
clothing
than one or
two heavy
layers. The
extra layers
help trap
heat, and
it’s easy to
shed one of
them if you
become too
warm.
Wear
something on
your head.
When it's
cold, it
prevents
heat from
dissipating
through your
head and
when it's
hot, it
provides a
shade and
slows down
built up of
heat. Never
wear
rubberized
or plastic
clothing,
such
garments
interfere
with the
evaporation
of
perspiration
and can
cause body
temperature
to rise to
dangerous
levels.
The most
important
item of
equipment
for the
runner is a
pair of
sturdy,
properly-fitting
running
shoes.
Training
shoes with
heavy,
cushioned
soles and
arch
supports are
preferable
to flimsy
sneakers and
light racing
flats.
Step Seven:
Choose the
Right Time
The hour
just before
the evening
meal is a
popular time
for
exercise.
The late
afternoon
workout
provides a
welcome
change of
pace at the
end of the
work day and
helps
dissolve the
day’s
worries and
tensions.
Another
popular time
to work out
is early
morning,
before the
work day
begins.
Advocates of
the early
start say it
makes them
more alert
and
energetic on
the job.
Among the
factors you
should
consider in
developing
your workout
schedule are
personal
preference,
job and
family
responsibilities,
availability
of exercise
facilities
and weather.
It’s
important to
schedule
your
workouts for
a time when
there is
little
chance that
you will
have to
cancel or
interrupt
them because
of other
demands on
your time.
You should
not exercise
strenuously
during
extremely
hot, humid
weather or
within two
hours after
eating. Heat
and/or
digestion
both make
heavy
demands on
the
circulatory
system, and
in
combination
with
exercise can
be an
overtaxing
double load.
Dr.Mauro
Di Pasquale
is a
licensed
physician in
Ontario,
Canada,
specializing
in Nutrition
and Sports
Medicine.He
holds an
honors
degree in
biological
science, and
a medical
degree
(1971). He
is also
certified as
a Medical
Review
Officer (MRO)
by the
Medical
Review
Officer
Certification
Council (MROCC),
and as a
Master of
Fitness
Sciences (MFS)
by the
International
Sports
Sciences
Association
(ISSA).
www.maurodipasquale.com
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