The State, Columbia, S.C., Health & Fitness Column: What Works for You, Works Best
By Health & Fitness, The State, Columbia, S.C.
Mar. 4–Blog banter the past few weeks has led me to a rather obvious observation: There are a lot of good weight loss and exercise programs out there, but none of them are right for everyone.
And none are right for you if you don’t dedicate yourself to losing weight or exercising — and follow the plan.
Only the person involved can know what program will work for her. And only she can motivate herself to the point of actually following the plan and being successful.
That doesn’t mean positive encouragement from family, friends, bloggers and readers doesn’t help. It definitely does, and I feel for those who are trying to lose weight without that sort of support.
But until the person trying to lose weight dedicates herself to the program, it just won’t work.
And with that dedication, any program will succeed.
As long as your doctor approves of your method, there is no right or wrong way to lose weight. I had a lot of success at Metabolic Medical Center, a doctor-supervised program. I had a lot of success in my 20s counting calories and eating Lean Cuisines (which wasn’t doctor approved). I lost a bunch of pounds with the Atkins plan, although again I didn’t discuss it with my doctor and, like many, didn’t follow the plan as precisely prescribed.
None of those plans failed me. I failed them. I gained the weight back because I quit.
Now I’m doing Weight Watchers. And if the weight isn’t coming off as quickly as it should, again, it’s not the program. It’s me.
Several people have promoted the idea of using a personal trainer. That’s something that works well for a lot of people. Not me, at least right now.
Through the years I’ve been advised to find an exercise I enjoy. If you enjoy something, you’re more than likely to keep doing it.
I don’t like aerobics or exercise classes. I’ve tried an assortment of them and just dreaded every class I attended. I don’t like going to gyms or working with weights (although looking at the blubber on my arms, I know I have to do some weight work, so I have some light weights to use while I walk.)
I do like walking, and that’s what I’m doing now. When I get in shape, I plan to start working on an elliptical trainer. Perhaps when I lose 50 pounds or so, I’ll start playing racquetball with my husband or shoot some hoops with my teen-age sons.
Who knows, I may even take up tennis. Maybe I’ll ride a bike — a real one, not the stationary sort. And maybe I’ll try a personal trainer.
OK, you might have noticed that I haven’t really talked about results here. I’m giving myself the month off from that. I promise to reveal everything in April, and even explain why I’m not today.
LOSING IT ONLINE
Lezlie Patterson chronicles the ups and downs of losing weight at thestatecom.typepad.com/losingit/
—–
To see more of The State, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thestate.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The State, Columbia, S.C.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
NYSE:WTW,