This is a follow up from the last post. Excellent read! No magic beans for sure! Debbie

Biggest Loser follow up from yesterday

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Biggest Loser follow up from yesterday Posted: 03 May 2012 02:32 AM PDT After reading yesterday's article myself, I passed it along to a group of fitness professionals to get their reaction. Interestingly enough, they read some things into the article I did not and I thought it might be a good idea to follow up with you all so I (or the article) did not give the impression I was saying something I didn't mean to say. First of all -- neither I (nor the article's author) are saying that exercise is bad.  Any of you that know me (or read the performance blog), know that I am a huge fan of exercise!  I am not concerned about the Biggest Loser type training because those participants are exercising -- I have concerns about their long-term health because they are exercise soooo intensely for soooo many hours per day -- day in and day out. Their physical systems did not get to where they are in the course of 1year -- so to completely stress those systems into a whole new way of working in less than a year is A LOT of stress. Plus, although many of you would love to lose an average of 10 pounds a week over the course of that many weeks -- again, that's a lot of stress on your body.  I like the phrase "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" -- but if it actually kills you, the point is moot. The second reaction I got from my group of professionals was that Yoni was promoting bariatric surgery over exercise.  Again, I don't think that was the point of the article.  I believe he was using the bariatric surgery patient numbers as a comparison example of another situation where participants experience rapid weight loss.  Any medical professional worth his/her salt will understand and convey to potential patients that there are huge risks with any surgery -- let along one that works by completely disrupting bodily system necessary for life!  So please walk away hearing my initial message: There are no quick fixes for weight management. No pill. No surgery. No diet. No "magic" trainer. All your options are hard work.  Whether it's hard work in the form of learning new mindful eating techniques.  The hard work of hitting the gym, track, treadmill, weights, bike....etc.  The hard work of doctor visits, surgery, recovery (and then learning how to eat mindfully, and hitting the gym, track, treadmill, weights, bike, pool, etc...so you don't "out-eat" your surgery and reverse the whole thing!) Or some combination of all of them...... There are no magic beans -- you've got to do the work.

All excellent points.  Bottom line is that at the end of the day calories expended must be equal to or greater than calories consumed.  We all have to change our behaviors to make this true and our outlook successful:   Better choices in the calories we do eat; sufficient exercise to INCREASE our resting metabolism; bariatric surgery when all else fails.

Of specific note for those of us over 50 is that the greater benefit of exercise is NOT weight loss but in reversing the premature aging process.  In the book Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley and Henry Lodge, MD describes the aging process and how the sedentary lifestyle accelerates it.

As you point out, there is no magic solution - only hard work!

Amen Mike.
I decided to choose exercise as my "transfer addiction" before I even had surgery.
4 months post op I was working out at the gym, plus walking around the hospital where I work, doing 3 miles during my lunch hour. Then I hit the gym again after work. I averaged working out 3 hours a day (but not all at once). I loved it going to spin classes, women's weight lifting classes, guts and butts plus water aerobics. I was a true gym rat.

Now I'm having pain from adhesion's (I've had several abd. surgeries) so now I have to amp up my game and really watch what I put in my mouth. Mindful Eating. Now I'm pushing myself to walk more so hopefully these added pounds will come off.

It's very easy for any of us to fall back into old habits. Or comfort eating. Or just dealing with stress in our every day life. Mindful Eating helps and paying attention to how hungry you really are when you start reaching for food.