Weight Loss and Physical Activity

by Bruce Rector, M.D.

Introduction

Increasing one's level of physical activity is an essential part of a complete weight loss program. Physical activity, however, must be combined with dietary modifications in order to lose significant amounts of weight. The most important benefit of physical activity may not be short-term weight loss, but long-term weight maintenance. Patients who continue to exercise after their initial weight loss are more successful at keeping the weight off. It is important to choose activities that you enjoy and can easily incorporate into your lifestyle. Remember that the changes you need to make to lose weight and keep it off are not temporary -- they are long term lifestyle changes.

Weight Loss Formula

The formula for losing weight is very simple. To maintain your current weight, you need to balance the amount of calories you eat with the amount of calories being used by your body. In order to lose weight, you either need to decrease the number of calories you eat or increase the amount of calories you burn. In order to lose one pound of weight, you need to decrease your calorie intake by 3,500 calories. This means that if you want to lose one pound a week you either need to decrease the calories you consume by 500 calories a day or increase the calories you use by 500 calories a day. For most people, combining both strategies is the easiest way to reach their goals. Slowly increasing the amount and intensity of physical activity while cutting back on the amount you eat will result in weight loss. An added benefit of physical activity is that it can increase the amount of calories your body burns even when you are not exercising. For many people, physical activity actually suppresses their appetites and allows them to gain control over their eating.

Health Benefits of Physical Activity

There are many important health benefits, both physical and psychological, associated with increasing physical activity. If done at an appropriate level, physical activity can help decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, lower blood pressure, improve blood sugar control in diabetics, lower cholesterol levels, and prevent osteoporosis. Increasing physical activity can also reduce stress levels and provide an increased sense of well being. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that to obtain these benefits, at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity should be accumulated over the course of the day. It does not have to be done during one continuous session. Furthermore, activities such as walking and taking the stairs instead of using the elevator contribute toward the 30 minutes.

Getting Started

Set Realistic Goals
No matter what your current level of physical fitness is -- couch potato, occasional athlete, regular exerciser -- you can increase your level of physical activity. The key is to start slowly and set realistic goals for yourself. Consistency is the most important thing in starting a program. The health benefits that come from increasing physical activity come from maintaining this activity.

A trap that many people fall into is setting unrealistic short-term goals. They get up one morning and decide to run a certain distance and realize half way through that they cannot do it. They get very discouraged and quit. A more realistic goal for that person may have been to walk for ten-to-fifteen minutes six days/week. They then should slowly increase the amount of time they walk and/or their pace.

Choosing An Activity
When discussing "exercise" programs for weight loss and weight maintenance, I prefer the term "physical activity." For many people when they hear the word "exercise" they start thinking about gyms filled with bodybuilding equipment and stairmasters. Of course, if you enjoy these types of activities they are a great way to increase physical activity. But for many people, there are other activities which may be more appropriate and which they may enjoy more. The activities you choose might include, for example, walking, gardening, swimming, basketball, bowling, or shoveling snows.