Carole Carson

Eight Myths about Exercising

We’ve all done it: made excuses for not exercising. But do our excuses really hold water? Clearing up the misinformation can help keep us on track with our commitment to building a healthy lifestyle. Here are eight common exercise myths.

1. Myth: If you don’t exercise daily, it won’t do any good. Reality: More exercise is better, but even a little exercise is better than none at all.

2. Myth: Spot training will reduce key areas of fat.

Reality: Although spot training builds muscle, it doesn’t reduce fat. To reduce fat, nothing beats a cardio workout.

3. Myth: Muscle converts to fat when you stop exercising.

Reality: Muscles do shrink if exercise ends, but they don’t convert to fat.

4. Myth: Morning is the best time for a workout.

Reality: Some people like to work out in the morning, others during their lunch hour and others at night. Exercise at the time of day that feels best for you.

5. Myth: Gaining muscle mass means gaining weight.

Reality: Many women avoid weight training because they fear they’ll gain weight. However, women have much lower levels of testosterone (a main contributor to muscle-mass building). Consequently, weight training will produce tone, rather than bulk, in women.

6. Myth: No pain, no gain.

Reality: Slight discomfort means muscles are working; pain is your body’s way of telling you to stop! Push yourself a little but not too hard.

7. Myth: You shouldn’t exercise right after eating.

Reality: You won’t harm yourself if you do some light exercise after eating. Running a marathon isn’t recommended, but a walk is always good after dinner.

8. Myth: Burning more calories than you eat is a healthy way to lose weight.

Reality: Exercise is good for toning the body, but most of us don’t have enough hours in the day to burn off our excess fat. Also, if you reduce your calories too much, your body will think it’s starving and will burn muscle tissue instead of fat.

The ideas our mothers taught us still hold true: eat a healthy, nutritious diet and get regular exercise even if the exercise occurs in small increments.

Eight Myths about Exercising

We’ve all done it: made excuses for not exercising. But do our excuses really hold water? An article by Anna Delany and Melissa McKenzie on the CalorieKing Web site exposes eight common exercise myths. Clearing up the misinformation can help keep us on track with our commitment to building a healthy lifestyle.

 

1. Myth: If you don’t exercise daily, it won’t do any good. Reality: More exercise is better, but even a little exercise is better than none at all.

 

2. Myth: Spot training will reduce key areas of fat.

Reality: Although spot training builds muscle, it doesn’t reduce fat. To reduce fat, nothing beats a cardio workout.

 

3. Myth: Muscle converts to fat when you stop exercising.

Reality: Muscles do shrink if exercise ends, but they don’t convert to fat.

 

4. Myth: Morning is the best time for a workout.

Reality: Some people like to work out in the morning, others during their lunch hour and others at night. Exercise at the time of day that feels best for you.

 

5. Myth: Gaining muscle mass means gaining weight.

Reality: Many women avoid weight training because they fear they’ll gain weight. However, women have much lower levels of testosterone (a main contributor to muscle-mass building). Consequently, weight training will produce tone, rather than bulk, in women.

 

6. Myth: No pain, no gain.

Reality: Slight discomfort means muscles are working; pain is your body’s way of telling you to stop! Push yourself a little but not too hard.

 

7. Myth: You shouldn’t exercise right after eating.

Reality: You won’t harm yourself if you do some light exercise after eating. Running a marathon isn’t recommended, but a walk is always good after dinner.

 

8. Myth: Burning more calories than you eat is a healthy way to lose weight.

Reality: Exercise is good for toning the body, but most of us don’t have enough hours in the day to burn off our excess fat. Also, if you reduce your calories too much, your body will think it’s starving and will burn muscle tissue instead of fat.

 

The ideas our mothers taught us still hold true: eat a healthy, nutritious diet and get regular exercise even if it is in small doses.

 

How Much Exercise Is Needed to Lose Weight?

When I first talked to my doctor about my fitness and weight-loss goal, I began by describing my exercise plan. He responded by saying “There aren’t enough hours in the day to exercise off the pounds you need to lose.”

Although his statement was blunt, a recently reported study of 34,000 women supports its accuracy. Researchers found that women who are middle-aged or older need an hour of exercise a day just to avoid gaining weight. These regularly exercising women did not, however, limit their calories in any way. What I concluded from the study (and what’s consistent with my own experience) is that even 420 minutes of exercise a week is not enough to shed pounds. Calories must also be reduced.

Notice that I said reduced calories, not less food. By choosing foods that are high in volume and nutritionally sound, women can lose weight even while increasing the amount of food eaten. For ideas on how to achieve this, you might want to check out Dr. Howard Shapiro’s book Picture Perfect Weight Loss. I’ve used his book in my fitness classes because the pictures of food dramatically demonstrate how much a person can eat and still lose weight―if the food choices are high in volume and nutrition. You can get an idea of what I am talking about at http://pictureperfectweightloss.com/demo.htm.

Exercise has wonderful benefits: our bodies were designed to move. With regular exercise, we have more energy, we sleep better, our bones and muscles are stronger, our skin and overall appearance improve, our balance and flexibility are enhanced, we are sharper mentally, we make better decisions, and our heart and other organs perform better. Exercise definitely has an essential role to play in helping us achieve fitness. But bottom line, to achieve weight loss, we must combine exercise with healthful eating.

Photo courtesy of Ove Tøpfer

Exercise Is Its Own Reward

After finishing my workout at a neighborhood gym, I frequently treated myself to iced tea at a nearby coffee shop. A couple of my classmates almost always beat me there, and by the time I arrived they would be settled in with their pastries and soft drinks.

When I stopped by their table to chat one day, they told me that this was their reward for an hour of exercise. I've made this mistake as well. That is, I've allowed myself some extra treats because, as I tell myself in the moment, I exercised especially hard earlier in the day.

Exercise is wonderful for our bodies in many ways. But the truth is that even an hour of doubles' tennis doesn't burn that many calories, and if I indulge in treats, I'll sabotage my weight loss efforts.

Although it isn’t an exact science, the Mayo Clinic has fairly good estimates, and you may be surprised at how much exercise it takes to burn off even one donut. For example, given my weight and walking speed, I’d need to walk at least an hour to burn off a plain donut. A sugared-donut would be even more!

I'm sharing this fitness tip so you won't make this common mistake.

Photo courtesy of Rodrigo Roveri

Listening for a Message from the Heart

Anybody who’s tried dieting knows the best-laid plan disintegrates over time, if not immediately. Have you ever started your day committed to daily exercise and careful eating? That night, sitting in front of the television, guiltily eating a bowl of ice cream, you remember you didn’t exercise as promised.

“Oh well,” you say to yourself. “Tomorrow’s another day.” But the next day you follow the same routine.

To understand how our brains are wired to resist change, even when change is in our best interests, we turn to neuroscience. Based on current research, four common views about changing behavior don’t hold up.

The first view——that crisis is a powerful impetus for change——is disproved by research on heart patients.

According to Dr. Edward Miller, dean of the Medical School of the Johns Hopkins University hospital, few people make lifestyle changes even when faced with a life-threatening condition. “If you look at the people after coronary-artery bypass grafting two years later, 90 percent of them have not changed their lifestyle,” Miller says. “Even though they know they have a very bad disease and they know they should change their lifestyle, for whatever reason, they can’t.”

The second view——that information triggers different behavior——is dispelled by looking around. Collectively, we grow heavier and more inactive in the midst of information overload.

Our minds are capable of screening out what we don’t want to know. The mechanism of denial is so powerful that it can effectively block out both fear and lifesaving information.

The third idea——that we can’t change by the time we reach maturity because our brains are hardwired by habits——is also debunked.

Studies on brains indicate that, although the physical structure of the brain is changed by habitual behavior, brains can be rejuvenated through learning. To be able to change, though, we must exercise the “learning muscle.”

I found the fourth idea most intriguing. Conventional wisdom says small, gradual changes are easier to sustain than radical changes. Turns out the opposite is true. Because it quickly yields results, a dramatic change has a better chance of success.

In light of these findings, I discovered that I accidentally made a few right decisions.

First, I made changes because I regretted that my failure to care for my body reflected in surplus pounds and sedentary habits. I didn’t experience a medical emergency, nor did I suddenly become informed. Rather, I reacted to a positive image of myself that I moved toward.

Secondly, I was already in a learning mode. I was enrolled in a tennis clinic. At home, I was starting a second career in writing. I was also struggling to master new technologies. Over time, these new activities became habits.

Most critically, I changed everything at once. I got on the scale and it broke. The next moment, I became a fitness evangelist—first for myself and then for others.

Results came quickly, and I did not want to lose momentum. What conventional wisdom said was risky instead improved my chance of success.

Today I feel better. Instead of being heavy-hearted about my obesity and lack of fitness, I am lighthearted and optimistic.

Fortunately, the static, denial and clutter of my mind’s wrongheaded thinking didn’t keep the message of my heart from being heard.

Fitness Trends in 2010: Old Views Are Being Replaced with New Innovations

Losing weight and getting fit preoccupied Americans in 2009:

• Nearly one out of two American women, including high school girls, were on a diet.

• Over $60 billion was spent on branded diet plans.

• Children as young as 9 to 11 years old were sometimes or very often dieting.

Yet an epidemic of obesity continues to affect more people than ever before:

• Less than a third of adults enjoyed normal weight.

• Children were two to three times more likely to be overweight today than they were 30 years ago.

Can we begin to reverse these worrisome trends in 2010?

We can if we update our old views with new ways to look at fitness in the coming year.

Old View: It’s hopeless! Efforts to lose weight are inevitably doomed to fail. Even if a person manages to lose weight, he or she will eventually regain the weight and add back even more.

New View: You can do it! Strategies for making healthier choices involving diet, physical conditioning and improved self-care are available to you and can be learned. Championing this view is Kelly Brownell, PhD, who heads the LEARN Program for Weight Management at Yale University. And thanks to widespread access to the Internet, peer counseling in online communities is expanding. Internet support may include food and exercise diaries, weekly counseling, online weight-loss lessons and motivational phone calls.

Old View: Thin is in! Most individuals, especially women, seek to lose weight because they have internalized the media's ultrathin ideal.

New View: Healthy is in! Health is replacing vanity as the primary reason for pursuing fitness and weight loss. In 2009, researchers reported that four healthy habits could reduce or eliminate 80 percent of major medical problems: eating a healthy diet, not smoking, exercising regularly and maintaining a normal body weight. This insight, combined with rising medical costs, is triggering a focus on fitness.

Old View: If you are fat, you are a bad person. Obesity is a personal problem caused by a lack of willpower.

New View: Obesity is a disease that is treatable. The cost of providing medical care per person has skyrocketed from $356 in 1970 to $8,160 in 2009. Moreover, in 2009, the cost of treating obesity-related medical problems reached $147 billion. Given these costs, obesity has become a public health concern requiring a multifaceted community-based approach. In response, community leaders in Albert Lea, Minnesota, implemented a comprehensive lifestyle program to improve the health and longevity of the city's residents. To increase employee productivity and reduce health insurance costs and absenteeism, corporate wellness programs are proliferating.

Old View: Low-fat diets are required to lose weight. Eating fat makes a person fat. To lose weight, a dieter needs to stick with low- or no-fat foods.

New View: Total calories actually determine weight. The total calories consumed by a person, whether from carbs, fats or proteins, determines weight. Since the goal is a balanced diet, the Mediterranean diet, which includes healthy fats, is recommended by the Mayo Clinic and the American Heart Association as a nutritionally sound and healthy eating plan. Nuts, which until recently were on dieters' "do not eat" lists, are making a comeback because of their health benefits, especially almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans and macadamia nuts. Momentum is growing for mandating information on the caloric content of fast foods and food products.

Old View: Medical intervention is needed. Weight-loss drugs or bariatric surgery can solve the problem of surplus pounds for many people, and advances in medicine can address obesity-related problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer.

New View: A healthy lifestyle is the best way. Prevention, rather than treatment of obesity-related medical problems, will move to the forefront because of the rising cost of medical insurance and healthcare. While the number of bariatric surgeries will continue to skyrocket, family physicians will increasingly write exercise prescriptions in lieu of drug prescriptions.

Old View: Ignore overweight children. Children who are overweight will outgrow their chubbiness, so kids' surplus pounds can be ignored.

New View: Help overweight children now! Dr. Robert Murray, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on School Health, is alarmed that nearly half of kids and teens are overweight or obese and, as a consequence, children's life expectancies are lower than their parents'. Treating childhood obesity is a serious medical problem that if ignored will place the child at risk for heart disease, diabetes and other serious medical conditions.

Old View: Don’t ask, don’t tell. Asking employees to modify their unhealthful behavior is an invasion of privacy and violates employees' right to choose their own lifestyle.

New View: Offer help, incentives and access to experts. In 2008, medical insurance premiums reached a record $15,609 for a family of four. Employers are proactively seeking to reduce costs (medical insurance, workers' compensation claims and absenteeism) by restructuring benefit programs. In increasing numbers, employees are being offered incentives to quit smoking or lose weight. They face penalties if they refuse to change habits that drive up the cost of healthcare.

Old View: Hard-core exercise one hour daily. Going to a gym daily for a 60-minute workout on a treadmill and resistance equipment is the best way to exercise.

New View: Diversity, fun and enjoyment. Thanks to popular television programs, dancing for fitness is back, particularly Zumba, a one-hour workout that fuses Latin rhythms with calorie-burning dance movements. Exergaming, such as Wii and Dance Dance Revolution, continues to grow in popularity with young and old alike. Michelle Obama has made the Hula-Hoop popular once again. The use of technologically sophisticated feedback gadgets, from pedometers to heart monitors, will expand. To attract members to the gym during tough economic times, more fitness centers will offer cardio cinema so members can watch a movie while exercising.

Will we continue to get fatter until 2018 when, according to research by Kenneth Thorpe, PhD, of Emory University, 40 percent of us will be obese (and another 33 percent overweight)?

If we are to succeed in reversing the obesity trends and mounting medical care costs, we’ll have to find new approaches. And the more readily we learn from the past and update our understanding of the complex nature and causes of obesity, the more quickly we can successfully move into a healthy future.

Want to Live to 109? Join the Fitness Protection Program

Will you live long enough to become one of the growing numbers of vital, healthy centenarians? Your lifestyle may make the difference between aging gracefully to 109 or stopping at 79, the current average life expectancy.

Obviously, the length of your life is partly a function of genetics and good fortune, neither of which you can control. The life span of your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents provides clues about your genetic makeup. Another relevant factor is whether any chronic diseases, such as stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer or diabetes, occurred in family members before age 50.

Even so, experts assert that simple decisions you make each day have an enormous impact on how long and how well you will live. Based on the longevity test developed by Drs. Robert Goldman and Ronald Klatz, co-founders of the American Academy of Anti-Aging, the Fitness Protection Program considers six lifestyle factors. If you want to age gracefully and healthfully, you need to incorporate these elements into your daily routine:

1. Outlook. Optimists fare better than pessimists do when it comes to longevity. An ability to see humor in the course of life’s difficulties helps. Having a purpose and making meaningful contributions promote a sense of well-being that translates into a longer life. Being connected with others, even a pet, nourishes our spirit. A regular routine, along with vacations and stress management, promotes health.

2. Diet. Eating a variety of foods in modest amounts promotes longevity. Maintaining a reasonable body weight with a body mass index of 18 to 25 is also key to living longer. Including five or more servings of fruits and vegetables from a rainbow of colors along with high-fiber foods each day is important. Consuming meals consisting of wholesome, fresh food rather than packaged, precooked or fried foods aids longevity.

3. Physical Fitness. Moving our bodies doesn’t wear them out; instead, it preserves our ability to function. Maintaining physical fitness requires a range of exercises, including aerobic, strength, balance and flexibility. Sixty minutes a day of vigorous walking or an equivalent form of exercise is a good foundation. Lifting weights builds bone strength, while yoga and stretching improve balance and flexibility.

4. Mental Fitness. Learning new skills and challenging ourselves with puzzles and word games preserve memory, and mental acuity is associated with living longer. Daydreaming and recalling wonderful moments in our lives keep us sharp. Experiencing life on a moment-to-moment basis rather than multitasking unclutters the mind. Setting goals, keeping a journal, volunteering and engaging in a hobby also promote mental fitness.

5. Preventive Care. Access to medical care, including a hospital in case of acute trauma, improves our chances of a longer life. Obtaining comprehensive physical exams and blood tests, including a sigmoidoscopy every three years after the age of 50, is important. Women need annual mammograms after the age of 50, and they need to perform monthly self-exams. Men need a rectal or prostate exam yearly after the age of 30.

6. Environment. Living in a high-crime area reduces the odds of achieving longevity, as does smoking or inhaling secondhand smoke. The chances of developing skin cancer, which can shorten longevity, can be reduced by wearing sunscreen and avoiding excess sun exposure. Wearing a seat belt and refraining from talking on a cell phone or driving under the influence of alcohol improve our chances of avoiding injury in a car accident.

If the sheer number of these factors for improving your life span seems daunting, here’s a simple solution.

According to HEALTHbeat, an e-newsletter published by Harvard Health Publications, four small lifestyle changes added an average of 14 years to the lives of the people studied, even among individuals who were overweight. The healthy behaviors are eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day, drinking alcohol moderately, refraining from smoking and exercising daily.

To calculate the cost of your daily choices, go to www.hbhealthonline.com/longevity-test.html or enter longevity tests in the Google search engine. You’ll find tips on how to add vital, productive years to your life. Armed with information, you can join the Fitness Protection Program.

Are You Ready for Some Weight Loss?

Most of us are willing to admit we need to shape up. But are we ready to tackle the business of losing weight? Or would we rather just watch the tackles on Monday Night Football? Or better yet, go out to dinner with girlfriends when fall football fever takes over?

I was lucky in that multiple factors converged to steer me into a re-invention of myself losing my unwanted 62 pounds: medical problems appeared on the horizon. More compellingly, though, I hated my appearance—183 pounds spread over a 5-foot 1-inch frame. And as the last straw, the bathroom scale broke when I stood on it.

The decision to get fit was my own, but when it came to carrying it out, I recruited support—my husband, a fitness trainer, a physician and a nurse at the local hospital’s wellness center. Even with considerable help, though, I struggled to maintain equilibrium. My daughter’s near fatal cardiac arrest, the September 11 attack, my own life-threatening medical crisis and a trip to France for my son’s wedding conspired to derail my efforts.

Belatedly, I discovered Dr. Kelly Brownell’s test for readiness in his book, The Learn Program for Weight Management, an authoritative resource written for professionals and laypersons alike. Drawing on his extensive clinical experience at Yale University, Dr. Brownell gives us questions to ask ourselves so we can realistically assess our readiness to tackle losing weight. Let’s look at some of those questions:

How committed am I, not just FOR today, but for the months ahead? Can I handle the stress of making changes in eating and exercising and still manage other responsibilities? None of us can stop living, get fit and then return to living. We must achieve fitness while life goes on.

Will I feel deprived or upset when making different food choices? Or will I feel challenged? Am I willing to make lifelong changes? To give up forever the yo-yo cycle of overeating followed by strict dieting? Since I can never get enough of what I don’t really need, am I willing to replace flawed choices with mindful decisions that are in my best interests?

When I stumble, can I recover my balance? Instead of eating over them, am I willing to face and deal with difficult emotions like anxiety and loneliness? Can I find ways to celebrate other than eating? Can I comfort myself after a difficult day without resorting to food?

Do I have realistic goals? 

Am I willing to exercise regularly? For the rest of my life? With whatever disabilities, handicaps, financial or time limitations I encounter? Can I find exercise that entertains me? Helps me make new friends? That relaxes me and lifts my mood? One that creates more energy for me?

Taking control and facing life head-on are essential commitments. Complete ownership of eating and exercise choices is also necessary. Excuses—be they related to genetics, medical problems, lack of time or support—must be abandoned.

None of these questions can be mathematically scored to give a clear “yes” or “no” sign. Answering them honestly can, however, help you assess your readiness.

If you decide to proceed, I can tell you that you won’t just lose weight. You’ll also lose the baggage surrounding the issue. You’ll find yourself more cheerful and positive. You’ll have more energy, think more clearly and have a stronger sense of well-being. Going forward, the quality of your life will be better. You’ll have more fun and experience more joy.

I can’t even begin to place a value on what I’ve gained from losing weight. It’s the best gift by far I’ve ever given myself. And everyone I’ve talked to who’s undergone this transformation is unabashedly enthusiastic about it.

Yet when neighbors and friends approach me seeking help with their fitness efforts, I’m ambivalent. On the one hand, I’m excited to share the transformation I experienced and want everyone to enjoy the same wonderful benefits it brought me. On the other hand, if the person isn’t ready, expectations may be dashed by reality a few weeks from now.

Consequently, my typical response is to neither promote my own example nor emphasize the difficulty and thereby potentially discourage the person. Aware that when it comes to knowing ourselves, each of us is the expert, I simply pose Dr. Brownell’s questions.

Are you ready for some weight loss? Only you know the answer.

HOW DO I SABOTAGE ME? LET ME COUNT THE WAYS!

I’m preoccupied with love, specifically how we nurture and take care of ourselves--or don’t. I’ve more than a passing interest in the subject since I notice that my scale sometimes goes up several pounds. Apparently, losing weight is a different skill than maintaining it. Just when I thought I could relax, it’s back to the drawing board.

On the positive side, thanks to exercise, I’m in the best physical condition since I was in high school and my clothes still fit.

Nonetheless, I’m concerned. Soon a walk with friends who, like me, are struggling to get and stay fit, I asked the question, “How do we sabotage ourselves?” We came up with six behaviors we needed to change.

1. Being a perfectionist. One woman confessed that if she fell apart on Thursday, she had to wait till Monday to get back on track. Another reported that she didn’t keep a food diary because she couldn’t do it perfectly.

Strategy: Replace the perfectionist’s creed--“If I can’t do it right, I won’t do it”--with “Progress, not perfection, is the goal.” Imperfection is part of the human condition. Lighten up and laugh, especially at yourself.

2. Going unconscious while eating. Dining out, I watched with fascination as a patron took the next bite of food before she finished chewing the last one. In between, she stabbed a forkful from her spouse’s plate.

Granted, I’m not that bad (although I confess to sampling my husband’s entrée “just to see what it tastes like”) but I’m hardly flawless. If I watch TV while eating, I want seconds because I haven’t experienced eating “firsts.” Several of us can’t eat sugar without triggering a craving for more.

Strategy: Use a new approach. Rather than recage the sugar beast, go without sweets. Record daily food intake, including calories in vitamins and supplements. Stay honest about portions. To enjoy eating, take it slow. Counting to 10 between bites makes it easier to be satisfied with smaller portions.

3. Putting others’ needs first. Houseguests throw me off. Besides cooking special meals (which I also eat), I’m preoccupied with the mechanics of life--getting a load of laundry done, preparing for the next meal--instead of exercising.

Strategy: Remember this advice for flight attendants. When oxygen is needed, first put on your own mask. Then help passengers. Last time I had company, I served breakfast after I finished my workout routine. No one minded. The problem was in my head.

4. Distracting yourself with clutter. It’s difficult to focus with “stuff” around, especially if it’s broken, surplus or disorganized. A clean office and kitchen sink do wonders for my outlook.

Strategy: Stop buying more. Reduce possessions. Keep the remainder repaired, cleaned and organized.

5. Trying to do too much. Of the many sabotage practices, this is my worst. If there’s a place like AA for workaholics, I should attend daily meetings.

A lifelong sense of “time scarcity” triggers anxiety. Realizing that time on earth is finite, I feel an urgency to make hay while the sun shines. How ironic if this pressure triggers a premature demise!

Strategy: Set priorities. Don’t let “priority creep” turn each task into “must do” or, worse, “must do perfectly.” Breathe deeply and stop. See? The world didn’t come to an end! Play more, not less.

6. Making excuses and procrastinating. To expedite communication, assign numbers to excuses. “I didn’t have time to exercise today” is number one. “I overate because the food looked good” is two. Three is “I’ll start tomorrow.”

Strategy: Toss out excuses with oversized clothes. Begin today. Begin now.

George Orwell said, “On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.” Maybe he’s right. Like most people, I don’t want to be good all the time. But if I can’t be good all the time, maybe I could be a little better a little more of the time.

The Bareable Lightness of Being a Thinner Me

When I stepped on the bathroom scale, I saw the numbers racing upward—153—168—174—before stopping at 183 pounds. I was shocked at the number. The word “flabbergasted” took on new meaning.

Then the scale broke. My options were limited: either I was way too short (5 feet 1 inch) for my weight or I was fat and seriously out of shape.

I interpreted the broken scale as an unmistakable message from the Universe. Alone, naked and mortified, I looked up at the ceiling and said aloud, “I get it.” In that instant, I knew it was time to get fit and lose weight. Little did I know that in the six-month process of losing 63 pounds, I would lighten my spirit far more than my body. The more weight I lost, the more self-respect I gained. In the course of getting fit, I found thinner peace.

When I dropped the surplus pounds encasing me, I slipped out of the chains that were holding me back and raced toward my life’s work. Stepping out in an entirely new way, I began writing, speaking and encouraging others to adopt healthier habits. When I offered to help neighbors and friends get fit and lose weight in my small northern California community, I was surprised when over a thousand people showed up for our first meeting. Even more amazing, we lost four tons in eight weeks.

Having found my voice, I’ve since written four books and hundreds of articles on fitness (the Wall Street Journal dubbed me “An Apostle for Fitness”), and I serve as the coach for the AARP Fat 2 Fit online community. How ironic that the lighter my body is, the larger my presence.

When I decided to lose weight and get fit, could I have imagined what the future would hold? Never in my wildest dreams!

Given this life-transforming experience, I was eager to talk to Dr. Judith Rich, a well-known teacher in the field of transformation and consciousness. I wanted to quiz her about the relationship between spiritual and physical well-being. My questions and her responses follow.

Q. Does caring for our physical bodies trigger an impulse to care for our spiritual self?

A. Here in the West, we tend to think of body, mind and spirit as three distinct entities. The mind is the seat of thought that resides in the head and functions separately from the rest of the body. Yet Eastern traditions teach that the body is the mind and vice versa. I tend to see the concept of self this way. In this context then, taking care of the body is one way of expressing love for one’s higher or spiritual self.

Q. Is getting fit and losing weight a challenge and difficulty that we can use to help us grow?

A. Undoubtedly! Anytime we stretch ourselves beyond our expectations, we grow. In the process, we empower ourselves by building courage, gaining self-confidence and learning to trust in our abilities.