Previously, I stated that to lose weight you did not have to exercise and could eat more protein and vegetables and even fat – oh the scandal. I discussed the best way to lose weight for most people is low carb (less than 80 grams a day) and I discussed all the benefits to weight loss.
Now we address how to keep the weight off once you lose it. For some people that may mean medication to control your weight indefinitely – indeed there are no less than 6 medications currently indicated for long term weight loss and it would actually be against the label to advise you to stop once the weight is lost. Do we stop our blood pressure medicine once the blood pressure is controlled? Cholesterol medication? No.
However, most of us would not want to take a medicine for a lifetime if we could avoid it and that is where exercise comes in. In order to maintain your weight without continuing the way you lost the weight indefinitely; you need to exercise regularly and that exercise in some capacity needs to include resistance or weight training. Cardio alone for most people won’t cut it.
“Exercise Regularly” means between 20 minutes to an hour and doing that every day or every other day. How can we get into this habit and stick with it? A study out of USC gives us some insight. Those researchers discovered that those who exercise to music exercise longer than those who do not AND, (this is the fun part) those who exercise to music they know exercise longer than to music they don’t know. This is where I return to my Rock Doc days on the radio about ten years ago. I was on a once weekly program called the New You Show and my partner and I would prescribe to you a work out song based on the year you graduated high school (“and that’s your RocDoc prescription”).
My advice for you is simple. Pick the year you graduated high school, subtract two years and then Google the top 100 songs for that year. Pick six and load those songs on Apple Music, Spotify, MP3 player, or heck, make a mix tape or burn a CD (can we even do that still?). Those six songs and 15 to 20 minutes will quickly remind you of a time when you were lighter, stronger and faster, and should bring a smile to your face – music has the benefit of always being there for us in times of joy, pain, sunshine, rain and being there your health can be no different. For me, a little INXS, The FIXX, Journey, Duran Duran and U2 does the trick five days a week for my push-ups, sit ups and a walk – a little “Walking on Sunshine” to close it out too.
Load those songs and lets all go back to a healthier, lighter, stronger high school version.
About The Author
Dr. Andrew Minigutti is a board-certified obesity medicine doctor. His board-certified partner, Dr. Stephanie Berg and their obesity trained, and experienced Nurse Practitioners can help you begin and complete your weight loss journey. Click their names to learn more about them.
Note: This article was inspired by Dr. Minigutti’s mentor Ethan Lazarus, MD.
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