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Web Posted: 10/01/2006 12:00 PM CDT When I first met The Creep, I was sure I was imagining things. "If I ignore it, it will go away," I told myself. The Creep was pretty good at sneaking around back then, but later it became harder to deny its growing presence. I discovered that The Creep was on a roll, and that unless I sprang into action it had every intention of going through with its big plans for me, something to do with becoming permanently attached at the hip. Perhaps you've made The Creep's acquaintance. For most Americans, it comes in the form of an extra pound or two (or more) a year. As the insidious weight adds up, it becomes harder to shed, and all the more dangerous. Stopping the creeping of pounds should be our first priority, says James O. Hill, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. While Hill says he devotes plenty of research and clinical time to treating obesity, he believes our main focus shouldn't be on weight loss but instead on no additional weight gain. "No more weight gain in adults, and no more excessive weight gain in kids," he says. "If we did that, then in even just a generation we would see some progress in reversing the obesity epidemic. It would probably take several generations to get it back to where it was in the 1980s, but we can at least start that way," says Hill. Through his work with the National Weight Control Registry, an ongoing study that tracks the behaviors of more than 5,000 persons with long-term weight-loss success, Hill's been able to identify what works and what doesn't. "Where we fail is keeping it off," he says. One reason is that many people rely solely on dieting to drop the pounds, which only works in the short term. "People that try and keep weight off with food restriction generally fail. You just can't food-restrict forever," Hill says. The real key is exercise, he says, and lots of it. "The successful people that we see are keeping their weight off largely due to increased physical activity, about an hour a day." So while the behavior changes required to lose and especially maintain a loss are tough work — "only few succeed," says Hill — preventing additional weight gain is much more doable. "It takes much smaller changes to stop weight gain," he says. "You get much more bang for your buck." The "maintain, don't gain" message can serve us all, including those already overweight. "If you're right on the edge of obesity, chances are you'll continue to gain weight over time and increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes, so stopping weight gain can still have a big payoff," Hill says. As little as a 100-calorie a day negative shift — eating a little less or burning a little more — is all it takes to prevent the annual 1- to 2-pound weight creep, says Hill. America on the Move, a nonprofit organization he co-founded to help inspire people to make healthy changes, advocates a combination of eating 100 fewer calories and taking 2,000 additional steps (about a mile) a day to stop weight gain. Ideas for easy diet cuts, including "enjoy your salad without the croutons," and exercise tips such as "park in the far reaches of the parking lot" can be found at americaonthemove.org. As you seek to make small changes, identify your intention. According to licensed psychologist and professional life coach Kimberly Smith-Martinez (envisionyourdreams.com), the first step in learning a new behavior is having a clear picture of why you're doing it. "Start with the end in mind," Smith-Martinez says. Then, whether it's climbing the stairs at the office or skipping that extra glass of red wine with dinner, once you've identified a goal, "You'll need to practice the action again and again, and put that change into play every day," she says. Maintenance is about getting out of autopilot and moving forward with conscious awareness, Smith-Martinez says. "When we coast, things start creeping up," she warns. My end is to end the days of The Creep. I'll be feeding it a little less for dinner, and I'll take it for an extra walk in the evening, hopefully losing it somewhere down the road. To find a local life coach, contact the San Antonio Professional Coaches Association at (210) 832-9076 or www.sapca.org. To contact Kimberly Smith-Martinez, call (210) 736-2021 or visit www.drkimlifecoach.com. Claudia Zapata's column appears Mondays in S.A. Life and Thursdays in Conexión. claudiazapata@satx.rr.com |
