Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.
Rosemary and I have spent almost all of our working lives encouraging people, through diet and exercise, to achieve and maintain a healthy weight allowing them to live a full and active life.
I have always been hugely disappointed when the statistics show yet another rise in the numbers of people at an unhealthy weight. So, when something, anything, comes along that has the potential to stem that rise I fully support it. Of course, more needs to be done but I have come to accept that change comes slowly in society (remember the campaign against smoking took over 40 years to come to any sensible conclusion!) and calorie awareness on menus in restaurants has to be a step in the right direction.
I was recently booking a group into an Italian restaurant for a pre-theatre meal and we were shocked to find that three main course dishes all exceeded 1000 calories! The description of each of those dishes was SO lovely that I am sure many of us would have chosen one of them, but we all avoided them simply because the calorie count was so high. A good move!
Watching how many calories we consume is key to weight loss and my job, as an advocate of exercise, is definitely a secondary role. Over the years many, many clients have told me about the enormous amount of exercise they have done yet not lost an ounce in weight. The maths is quite simple... too many calories are being consumed over and above what they have spent! This means they have under-estimated how many calories they have consumed and over-estimated how many calories they think they have spent through exercise. On top of that, they often reward themselves after exercising by eating a treat, again under-estimating the calorie values!
Now, we have to be careful here as it is never quite as simple as that, and there can be a number of factors that make weight loss a challenge for many but my basic mantra has never changed... use exercise as the metaphorical ‘icing on the cake’, and see any calories you spend moving and exercising as a bonus! Get your calorie consumption under control and you will lose weight!
A final point to make here is that maybe many of you who subscribe to this Newsletter do not need to lose weight but simply want to maintain your current weight by balancing your eating and exercise regime. So, let's review some great calorie spenders through everyday activity and exercise which we know to be the very best way to maintain a healthy weight:
Activity Calories per 30 minutes for a person 11st (70kg)
Walking 3.5mph 180
Walking 4.5mph 230
Swimming (steady) 255
Cycling 10mph 145
Aerobic dancing 200
Playing golf 165
Gardening (moderate) 200
Strength training 220
Please note: If you are approx. 2 stone lighter than 11st, deduct 50 calories per activity and if you are 2 stone heavier add 50 calories per activity.
For further information including a more comprehensive list go to: www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/
So, if you are weight conscious, as most of us are who care about our health, choose activities that give you the best calorie spend and it will be SO much easier to control your weight.
