CAN YOU GET FIT? OF COURSE_FOLLOW THESE INITIAL STEPS

With very few exceptions, any person, regardless of her or his current status, can improve upon their level of physical fitness or total lack of any level of physical fitness. The steps to take have been well described over many decades. In reality, everyone knows what he or she needs to do. One big step is portion control. Most adults consume far too many calories per day, much more than they need to maintain daily metabolic requirements. In contrast, for most adults, a daily diet containing 1800 healthy calories per day would result in substantial weight loss. In our offices a quick and easy Body Composition test will calculate your percentages of fat mass and non-fat (lean) mass.  These numbers will then help keep you on track as we can then watch what is being lost, fat or lean.  Sometimes a total loss of “only” 5 pounds can be disappointing.  However, with follow up testing we hope to see that in this scenario you have actually lost 10 pounds of fat and gained 5 pounds of lean, therefore the scale shows “only” a 5 pound loss in total.  This knowledge keeps you motivated and allows a change in diet if the numbers are not as we hope.

The next big step is to begin and maintain a long-term exercise program, consisting of at least 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. Matching this to your availability and what it is you may want to do as exercise is our goal.  Telling you that swimming is best and you have no desire to swim is not helpful.  Telling me that you will go to a gym or will work out at home is helpful and guides you and me to design your program. A healthy diet and regular exercise, maintained over time, will result in ongoing higher levels of physical fitness and wellness.