FITNESS ZONE: Unfit. . . you can run out of excuses

Running is one way of giving your ticker a hearty work out.S URE a little bit of exercise is better than nothing, but get real people, are you really happy with mediocrity?
To me exercising for a minute or two throughout the day and expecting cardiovascular benefits and disease reduction is the same as expecting not to die of lung cancer if you only smoke every second day.
I'm not saying don't use the stairs instead of the elevator and all those other clichés, because what that will do for you is burn a few extra calories.
However the health benefits are simply not there compared with a routine which raises your heart rate for a significant length of time.
I say stop the excuses. Ban mediocrity, stop kidding ourselves, raise the bar and lets get serious about improving the quality of our lives.
Not only is more time recommended, but the government suggested earlier this year that something vigorous like skipping, running at a pace of 10kmh or cycling at a pace of 25kmh should be included.
There is mounting evidence that we have far more to gain physically by puffing and sweating than from gentle forms of exercise.
So why is it that we go for the easy option?
Human nature has an in-built component that tends to avoid things which cause us pain.
In this case, according to a Starship hospital endocrinologist, it does have to hurt a little, but not lots.
For those of you who have exercised I could almost guarantee that at some point you would have dreaded the thought of the up-coming workout only to feel a fantastic sense of wellbeing and achievement afterwards.
If that's you, then next time you're having an internal dialogue on the cons of doing the workout, concentrate on the pros of how you'll feel later!
Many factors (I prefer excuses), both genetic and environmental, have been implicated in obesity and its associated diseases.
Many health professionals have at some time been fooled into believing that an overweight person may be somehow resistant to weight loss, even though they exercise and watch what they eat.
This is typically blamed on three factors (excuses again!)
1. Low thyroid function
2. Genetically low basal metabolic rate (BMR)
3. Low energy cost of movement or some combination of the above.
Impaired Thyroid Function
The assumption is that many cases of weight-loss resistance are due to thyroid insufficiencies. Studies of weight loss resistance often measure thyroid function, however only a few subjects have been shown to have a lower thyroid level with a genetic predisposition to obesity.
Most subjects are found to have no abnormalities in thyroid function.
It is also important to note that even with a low thyroid output, a person will still lose weight when consuming fewer calories than they expend.
These people may simply need to be more disciplined by reducing calories and increasing activity more than someone with normal thyroid function.
Many obese and overweight individuals look for a genetic component that would account for their condition. While there are those that do have several genetic factors conspiring to yield a lower metabolic rate, they are rare and relatively insignificant.
A 1986 study, by Prentice et al, concluded that, in regard to the obese women in their study, "there was no evidence that their obesity was caused by a metabolic or behavioral defect resulting in Impaired Thyroid Function."
The most noticeable difference between the obese and non-obese participants in this study was an under reporting of energy intake by the obese participants of 837 kcal/day - equivalent to nearly 3kg of fat per month.
With the low-BMR possibility not panning out, the energy cost of movement in the obese being low was looked at.
Except for the infrequent occurrence of a true genetic abnormality, energy expenditure for overweight people is normal, if not higher due to greater total body mass movement.
So why can't you lose weight?
Since it is unlikely you are afflicted with hypothyroidism, a genetically low metabolism, or a low energy cost of movement. Why then do you not lose weight? Why, after repeated reductions of your caloric intake and increases to your exercise prescription, do you not change?
Good questions. The answers lie in two widespread problems that occur with greater frequency and to a higher degree in overweight people under reporting caloric intake and the overestimation of exercise performed.
A 1992 study in the New England Journal of Medicine illustrated this problem. The study looked at subjects that repeatedly failed to lose weight on self-reported caloric intakes of less than 1200 calories. The researchers recorded an under reporting of actual food intake by 47 per cent and an over reporting of physical activity by approximately 50 per cent
Why does your weight stay the same, even when you think you're reducing your caloric intake and increasing in the volume and/or intensity of your exercise?
If you are accurately reporting your exercise and are not changing weight, then you must simply be eating more to compensate for the additional energy expenditure. Either that or you are kidding yourself and in doing so are exposing yourself to all sorts of diseases.
These are the facts.
It's certainly not likely that you are defying the laws of thermodynamics!
Which as it applies to altering body composition, is as follows
If energy in (food) = energy out (calories burned through metabolism and exercise), then there is no change in mass (maintenance).
If energy in < energy out, then there is weight loss.
If energy in > energy out, then there is weight gain.
Remember, the number of obese and overweight people in NZ is much higher than it was 10 years ago and its not because of a dramatic shift in the gene pool.
I believe it has to do the with political correctness regarding competition vs participation - especially in sports - which has allowed our minds to go soft when it comes to challenging ourselves.
By not giving ourselves permission to use excuses, we raise the levels of our game and begin to strive for perfection in all things.
Id like to finish with a quote from Bill Phillips; The problem is not that people aim too high and miss, its that they aim too low and hit!
Paula Langridge is Director of TrainingZone Personal Training. For training enquiries, contact her at trainingzone@xtra.co.nz, 5714605 or 021657015.