 Health and Wellness
Best Practices
The Catch 22 of Weight Loss
By Bevv Beirl
Use it or lose it. Does that sound familiar? It can be
applied to brains as well as muscles. Just as a leg or
arm will atrophy from being in a cast, so will our
entire muscular system weaken when not exercised. And
don’t forget the heart is a muscle. The quality of your
life truly depends on exercise.
Exercise is important in any kind of weight loss
program. Exercise will speed up your metabolism so you
become a better “fat burner,” and weight bearing
exercise will increase your muscle mass. Think of muscle
as your fat burning engine, therefore, the more muscle
mass, the bigger your engine and the more fat you’ll
burn.
So where does the Catch 22 come in? Have you ever been
so exhausted and stressed that all you wanted to do is
curl up on the sofa or your favorite chair and zone out.
If you continue to deal with stress by zoning out, your
body will continue the downward slide to unhealthiness
and weight gain. Mental stress can manifest in the body
as lower back pain, joint pain and overall tiredness. It
is at the point when you are most stressed mentally,
that you need to lace up the workout shoes.
Although I am not a proponent of TV, I realize that for
many people it becomes chewing gum for the brain and a
time to decompress from the day’s activities. This may
be the ideal time for you to get your exercise program
started. Why not do something constructive while soaking
up all those ridiculous commercials that eat away at our
self-esteem? Now that’s another whole story line.
Seriously, get down on the floor and str-r-r-r-e-e-e-tch.
Pretend you are on a rack that is pulling at your wrists
and ankles at the same time. While you’re down there,
bend your knees so your lower back is pressed against
the floor and get in a few sets of abdominal crunches.
Now roll over onto your stomach and strike a good “core”
strengthening posture. Simply support your body with
your toes and forearms. Your body should be in a
straight line with all the core muscles tightened. Hold
the position for a 10 count.
Make it a goal to gently move your body through
stretches, crunches and muscle contractions for an
entire 30-minute TV show. Do this for 5 consecutive
days. Guess what happens on the 6th day. I’m not tellin’.
You tell me. staff@BABM.com
The keys to effective exercise are the warm-up and
cool-down periods. Because we are in such a rush to do
everything these days, it is very common to skip these
steps. I was in a back brace for almost a year; however,
with the proper stretches and movements, I could still
do my workouts. I found that working out properly
actually helped heal my back.
Lower back challenges seem to be the most common
exercise excuse. Many times the lower back pain can be
caused by tight hamstrings and weak abdominal muscles.
If you begin a good stretching program for the tight
hamstrings and then add some good abdominal workouts,
you may be surprised to find the pain that stopped you
before has disappeared.
So avoid the Catch ---- exercise will give you the
energy you need when you are the most stressed and tired
--- so lace ‘em up and “Just Do It”.
Bevv Beirl is a certified exercise specialist from the
Cooper Aerobic Center and holds a black belt in Kung Fu.
She obtained the funding, organized and directed the
wellness program at Morton Plant Hospital in the late
80’s. Bevv taught restaurant survival and recipe
modification as well as other practical nutrition
classes in a 8 week wellness program offered to the
public.
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