Don’t Let Fat Stand in the Way of Getting Fit Exercise Will Make You Healthier, Even If You’re Overweight. Here’s How to Get Started

If you are overweight, it might be easier to get fit than to shed fat. And it could be more important than you think.

New research suggests that adding regular exercise to your day offers big health benefits – even if you keep those extra pounds.

A recent study of more than 116,000 nurses published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that 30 minutes of daily exercise offset some of the negative health consequences of being overweight.

Compared to thin, physically active women, sedentary women had significantly higher risks of death. Women who were overweight and inactive had a 64 percent elevated risk of dying. Even the thin couch potatoes had a 55 percent higher risk of death compared to their more active peers.

Exercise, however, paid big dividends. Women who were overweight, but who engaged in regular exercise, cut their risk to 28 percent above the thin, active group.

That doesn’t mean you can ditch the diet. You will be healthier if you are both thin and active. But even if you can’t shed those pounds, it’s important to fit some physical activity into your daily life.

It’s getting started that’s the hard part.

Sedentary people who carry a lot of extra weight face more hurdles on their way to fitness. A gym full of buff bodies can be intimidating. Weight adds pressure to sensitive joints, and someone who has been sedentary might lack the endurance for 30 minutes of sustained activity.

The trick is to start slow.

Baby steps

Just ask Martha Tzioumis. The 43-year-old had watched her weight fluctuate as she went from diet to diet in the 14 years after having children. With 100 extra pounds, Tzioumis would get winded just climbing the stairs in her two-story Mount Prospect home.

Four months ago, she decided to do something about it.

“This time I’m not making any excuses,” Tzioumis said. “I have two kids, 17 and 14, and I want to actually be here for them.”

Tzioumis hired a personal trainer, and he encouraged her to begin weight training to boost her metabolism. At first, all she could lift was an empty barbell, with no weights on it. Cardio was slow, too; after 10 minutes of walking, Tzioumis’ knees ached and her throat burned.

Tzioumis gradually tacked on a few more laps around the park. She added the stationary bicycle and elliptical trainer, a device that mimics skiing with poles. Michael Richards, her trainer at World Gym in Palatine, increased the weight on her barbell until she could lift 40 pounds.

Tzioumis now works out for an hour six days a week. Along with diet, that has helped Tzioumis shed 40 of her 100 excess pounds, and she’s staring down the next 60.

“There’s always a half an hour you can get something in if you want to,” Tzioumis said. “Some days the beds will remain unmade, but that’s OK. It’s a matter of prioritizing. Your health is more important than doing the everyday, mundane things.”

Tzioumis’ current routine is impressive, but her first baby steps were just as crucial.

“People get very caught up when they see people after they lost 150 pounds and are training for a half-marathon,” said Tricia Walker, an exercise physiologist who manages weight programs at Condell Health’s Medical Center Health Institute in Libertyville and Gurnee. “Obviously, they didn’t start out that way.”

Finding the time to exercise is the first hurdle.

Make it a habit

You can find those minutes in some surprising places. Television journalist Joan Lunden, who battled an extra 50 pounds after her first three children, used to walk laps around the soccer field while her children played.

“I don’t just look for a place to sit my tush down,” she said. “Take a look at your children’s schedules. If they’re going to the Y, find another class there. If you’re dropping them off somewhere and you have to be back in a little while, use that time.”

Besides her “power walks,” now Lunden does squats while brushing her teeth and push-ups while waiting for her shower to warm up.

It’s building the time to exercise into your routine that’s the key.

When new members sign up at Eola Community Center in Aurora, personal trainer Deborah Garrett recommends they spend 20 minutes at the gym every day for the next two weeks, no exceptions.

“The idea is to make it a habit,” Garrett says. “Those first two weeks, you find a way to fit those 20 minutes into your day. It’s not to lose the weight, it’s not to become Arnold Schwarzenegger, it’s to create a habit.”

Don’t let enthusiasm derail your effort, Garrett warns. If you push yourself too hard, you’ll be sore the next day and disinclined to return.

“The energy you’re creating in those 20 minutes, take it home with you and use it to take you back to the gym the next day,” Garrett said.

It’s important to plan for your own success, no matter how small, experts say. Mary Ganzel, an exercise physiologist and director of healthy lifestyles for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, encourages clients to be realistic, even if that means committing to just five minutes of exercise a day.

“Individuals who are not physically active and overweight need to feel successful,” Ganzel said. “You’re working more on behavior changes than seeing results right away. You’re giving them time to adjust.”

Think low-impact

By 2004, Palatine resident Cathy Steiner had gained 60 pounds in the years since she swam the 200-meter freestyle as a scholarship swimmer at Purdue University.

Her first attempt at jogging left her with shin splints.

“I was just heavy,” she said.

She switched to the low-impact elliptical trainer and stationary bicycle. She lost weight, grew stronger and by the end of the year ran a 5-kilometer race.

Richards, her trainer, often suggests biking to overweight clients because it’s gentle on the knees and other joints, which bear more pressure the more you weigh. Recumbent bikes, which place your legs out in front of you, take even more weight off the joints and support the lower back.

Many gyms offer low-impact aerobics classes where beginners can get instruction along with a dose of group motivation. But check with the instructor first to be sure the class is your speed. Classes labeled “low-impact” still might be taught at a fast pace, and some instructors are less willing to modify exercises.

“If you go to a class, get five minutes into it and have to walk out, that’s going to be very embarrassing,” Richards said. “So it’s important to talk to the instructor before the class.”

Walking is a good, low-impact option for many people, Richards said. As you gain fitness, you can increase the incline on a treadmill to intensify your hike without stressing your joints. Elliptical trainers work both the upper and lower body.

For someone who is obese, even a level walk might be too intense. Chair-based exercises like those on WTTW’s “Sit And Be Fit” program, or sitting exercise videos can get your body moving, Walker says.

Or jump in the pool. The buoyancy of water-based workouts takes stress off the joints, and the water offers resistance to help strengthen muscles.

“You’ve got joint stress that could be aggravated by doing certain types of movements,” Ganzel said. “Your muscles need to learn to be shock absorbers for your body and take some of the stress out of the joint, and it takes time for that to happen.”

To challenge yourself, it’s better to gradually lengthen your workout, rather than make it more intense, Ganzel said. Once you’ve built up your endurance, you can rev up the intensity to burn more calories, she said.

To be safe, if you are significantly overweight, see your doctor before beginning an exercise program, experts say. An obese person is 70 percent more likely than someone of normal weight to have a chronic condition like heart disease, Walker said.

“If you have undiagnosed high blood pressure and you weigh 350 pounds and start an exercise program, it’s much more dangerous,” Walker said.

Be accountable

Richards never stuck to an exercise program until he joined a local YMCA. Until a few years ago, he weighed 315 pounds and always had an excuse to skip a workout.

Richards was motivated to lose weight after an embarrassing incident at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, where he waited in line for 90 minutes for the Raging Bull ride only to find out he wouldn’t fit in the car.

Now he motivates clients through in-person sessions as well as online consultations. A financial commitment can help people stick to a program, he said.

And it helps to be around other people working out.

“At home you have too many distractions,” Richards said. “The hard part is making it to the gym, but once you’re there, there’s nothing to do but work out.”

If you want to join a gym, do some homework first. Be wary of a club that focuses more on sales and marketing than technique and education. Some fitness centers cater to the hyper-fit and the atmosphere might be intimidating. If you don’t feel comfortable there, you won’t go.

Look for a gym that offers classes geared to beginners or overweight clients. Medically based fitness centers often have weight-loss patients using equipment, as well as support groups and other education-oriented services.

Even without a gym membership, having someone supervise your fitness plan can be a powerful incentive. Some personal trainers make home visits or will e-mail you weekly workouts.

Pedometers are an inexpensive way to get tangible results of how much you are walking every day.

“It helps to have a visual of how much they’re just sitting every day,” Ganzel said.

If you are over 50 years old and sedentary, you might qualify for a free program offered through the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. Called Active for Life, the research study involves a 90- minute visit with a health educator to design a personal fitness program, followed by eight phone calls to monitor your progress.

“If you know you’re going to get a call in a week, you’re going to be more inclined to do the activity,” said Ganzel, who is recruiting people for the program.

Call (312) 932-1289 to be screened for eligibility.

The American Heart Association offers a program for women called Choose to Move, which includes tips on increasing physical activity as well as newsletters and e-mail reminders. Call (888) 694-3278 or visit americanheart.org/choosetomove to register.

Lunden, who is promoting the program for the heart association, said it gets easier once you start.

“The best part about physical activity is once you get going, you feel the increased energy, you sense you have less stress, it really helps you sleep better at night,” she said.

Feel better first

Lunden is right. Experts say you will probably feel the effects of exercise before you see them. You also are more likely to see that new muscle tone if you incorporate a healthy diet.

Even without weight loss, however, exercise increases circulation in the body, improves flexibility, lowers stress and even eases mild depression. It has been shown to lower the risk for coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer.

Those long-term health benefits come with the 30 minutes of daily activity that are a part of the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines.

The other benefits – more energy, less stress – happen immediately. They did for Tzioumis, even before she lost a single pound.

“When I started exercising,” she said, “I felt better about myself, even though I was 100 pounds overweight.”