Diet Alone Isn’t the Answer: Be Sure to Increase Activity

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight, remember that increasing your level of activity is just as important as watching what you eat. In a Consumer Reports survey of 21,750 readers, successful exercisers revealed how they fit workouts into their day and keep at them, day after day. The survey revealed that:

– You can fit workouts into your life in small chunks and tweak your schedule to stay on track. At least one-fourth of respondents found time for regular exercise although they had full-time jobs, young children at home, or both.

– You needn’t be a jock or join a gym. Walking was by far the most widely practiced fitness activity of successful exercisers. If you can add other workouts, so much the better.

– Weight lifting isn’t only for bodybuilders. It can slow the loss of muscle and bone mass. Successful exercisers of all ages, even those older than 70, were 10 times more likely to use free weights than people who didn’t exercise regularly.

– More than half of respondents who used regular exercise to treat depression, a heart ailment, back pain or diabetes said they and their doctors agreed that exercise helped a lot.

Thirty-eight percent of the respondents — those who were termed successful exercisers — performed moderate or vigorous exercise for at least a half-hour on three days per week (usually more) and had been doing so for at least a year. That group included the 12 percent of respondents termed hard-core exercisers: They did what those others did, but at least five days a week, and had kept it up for at least five years. Eleven percent of respondents had been exercising regularly for less than a year.

Thirty-six percent were what were termed unsuccessful exercisers: They did a little something, but neither strenuously nor often enough to produce measurable health benefits. Most of them revealed that they wished they exercised more regularly.

Only 15 percent of respondents were completely sedentary. Russell Pate, Ph.D., a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina and a past president of the American College of Sports Medicine, says: “The bottom line is how much energy you are expending in activity. The goal is about 1,000 calories or more per week.”

When beginning any exercise program, start slowly and increase the intensity and length of your workouts gradually. The survey results suggest that once people get into the exercise habit, they naturally gravitate toward longer, more strenuous workouts.

Only 14 percent of successful exercisers said they fit in mini- workouts throughout the day. Fully half of the hard-core exercisers said they performed not merely moderate, but vigorous exercise at least three days a week.

The better the respondents were at maintaining an exercise schedule, the more types of exercise they did. Fiftyeight percent of successful exercisers reported doing three or more different activities per week. Here’s what they had to say about choosing a routine:

– Walk. Brisk walking is the exercise most experts recommend first. “There are good, solid studies showing that sedentary adults who take up walking have significant improvements in risk factors associated with chronic disease,” says William L. Haskell, Ph.D., professor of medicine at Stanford University. Walking costs nothing and requires no special clothing or equipment. You don’t have to learn any special skills. And you can do it anywhere, anytime. Respondents voted walking their exercise favorite. Two-thirds of hard-core exercisers walked (without using a treadmill) at least three days a week. It was even the favorite among unsuccessful exercisers (the only difference was that they didn’t do it as often).

– Find activities that you enjoy.

“Do the type of activity that you are most attracted to and will perform on the most consistent basis,” says Russell Pate of the University of South Carolina. “That’s a function of what you enjoy and what’s accessible to you, given your lifestyle and resources.” More than half of the successful exercisers said they usually or always got a “feeling of joy or exhilaration” from their physical exertion.

– A key to success is picking an activity you like that will fit into your schedule. If you can be adaptable and mix several exercises, so much the better. Activities vary in calories burned and benefits. Whatever your choice, you’ll get more bang for your buck if you raise the intensity — run faster, for example, or lift more weight.

– If you join a club, commit to it. The successful exercisers seemed to be committed to their clubs. Thirty percent said they used a fitness facility at least three times a week. Treadmills were the most widely used machines at clubs or at home, followed by stationary bicycles and elliptical trainers. Fitness researchers weren’t surprised. “I think that, as people progress, they find out the best way to get enough activity to meet their goals is to up the intensity some,” says William Haskell at Stanford. “Unless they’re lone runners, people who exercise vigorously tend to join clubs.”

– Lift weights. The survey showed that one of the most striking differences between successful and unsuccessful exercisers was their use of weights or other devices that increase strength through muscle resistance. Thirty-one percent of successful exercisers did resistance training, using either free weights or weight-lifting machines, at least three times a week, compared with 3 percent of unsuccessful exercisers. Age and gender didn’t significantly affect how often people chose weight lifting.

Terri Holley, 40, a public-health educator from Spencerville, Md., added weight training to her exercise routine when, in her early 30s, she discovered that aerobic exercise wasn’t helping her lose weight after the birth of her daughter. “I’ve had fantastic results,” she says. “I’m toned and taut but am not seeing anything bulk up or look big.” Though a toned physique at age 40 is to be admired, the real payoff from weight lifting comes later in life, says John M. Jakicic, Ph.D., associate professor of health education at the University of Pittsburgh. “It will slow down the loss of muscle mass with aging,” he explains. “The benefits are functional – - being able to walk up stairs without your legs hurting, being able to push yourself out of a chair.”

– Next week: More survey findings.

Marjie Gilliam is an International Sports Sciences Association Master certified personal trainer and fitness consultant. She owns Custom Fitness Personal Training Services. Write to her in care of the Dayton Daily News or contact her at (937) 878-9018 or by e-mail at OHTrainer@aol.com. Her Web site is http://marjie.hypermart.net.