Once You Start, There Is No Stoppping

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By Duston Morris, Ph.D., ABD, M.S., ACE, USAT

Most of you have already figured out that there is no real benefit to a big hiatus or discontinuing your training routines once you begin. That’s good news for me because it keeps me employed, but better news for you as you will be more likely to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of your life. A recent study from the University of Pittsburg found that participants who lost 10% of their body weight need to exercise 55 minutes a day, 5 days per week to maintain that loss. Now what is interesting about this is that this is nearly twice the amount of exercise that is recommended by government agencies such as the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) & the NIH (National Institutes of Health). With these limited recommendations it is obvious why so many people have real difficulty keeping the weight off for any period of time. The “biggest losers” in this study kept up their rigorous routine for 2 years!

The researchers of this study also recommended other maintenance tools such as:
1) Watching your caloric intake.
2) Meeting with a support group (e.g. training group) or counselor (e.g. trainer) at least once a month.
3) Fill your free time with activities (e.g. group workouts) with activities that get you moving.

This brings me to the real benefit of the 3SF group. Being a part of a group like this helps you stay on track and also helps you achieve personal fitness goals you set for yourself. I reached my current weight in 2003 and since that time, my weight has been within about 5lbs from that weight. Ultimately the exercise mode and duration can vary greatly, but the consistency & frequency needs to be regularly maintained. So bottom line is keeping it up. You will be stronger, more fit, and in the top 10% of people who have success with long-term weight maintenance.

For more information on weight loss and weight maintenance, feel free to contact me.