Kenneth Gardner
CONTROLLING 'POT BELLIES' or paunches is really a matter of controlling body fat. Many men who are overweight are also 'over fat' and the health risks they face are due to being 'over fat'.
Managing body weight and pot bellies is not a mysterious process. The 'secret' is balancing consumption with energy expenditure. Unfortunately, this simple formula is not as exciting as the fun of eating and drinking.
Physical activity and exercise burn calories and keep the body geared to using food for energy instead of storing it as fat. The first step in becoming more active is to incorporate more physical activity into daily life. By accumulating 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as walking or yard work for a total of two and a half hours each week, you will be well on your way. Take advantage of routine opportunities to be more active. In the long run, even a small increase in activity level can help maintain your ideal weight or help you to lose excess.
Once you become more active, try to begin a formal exercise programme that includes some endurance exercises. Moderate-intensity endurance exercises, if performed frequently for a relatively long duration, can burn a significant amount of energy. Endurance exercises also increase the rate at which your body uses energy after your exercise session is over. The additional energy that is used by your body during this time also increases based on the intensity of the exercise.
RESISTANCE EXERCISE
Resistance exercise builds muscle mass and more muscle translates into higher energy use. Resistance exercises can also help us to maintain muscle mass during a period of weight loss via fat reduction.
Once you have adjusted your lifestyle by including regular physical activities you will need to assess your current energy balance. Your energy balance is the difference between what you eat and drink and the energy used to exercise or do the added physical work. When your weight is constant, you are using about the same amount of energy as you are taking in. To shift the energy balance toward weight loss you must either eat and drink less, or walk a little further and faster, or do some more exercise.
It is always better to exercise a little more than eat less, or make small changes in your diet that you can maintain. Some fats and refined carbohydrates can also be substituted with more fruits and vegetables. And, how about fruit juice instead of alcohol?
Kenneth Gardner is an exercise physiologist at the G. C. Foster College of Physical Education: email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
