(by Karen Inge, Accredited Practising Dietitian & member of Jenny Craig's Medical Advisory Board)
Physical activity is the key to successful weight maintenance.
By the time you reach your goal weight most people would understand how important it is to be more physically active. In fact at Jenny Craig, being physically active is one of the three key success factors for successful weight loss and weight maintenance, alongside healthy eating and having the right mind set. We call these three key success factors Food, Body and Mind.
On the flip side it is thought that the one of the reasons why 60% of Australians and more than 1.9 million New Zealanders are overweight or obese is that we have become quite sedentary. Whether it is the hours we spend watching television or working at the computer or the fact that we are happy to drive around a supermarket car park for 10 minutes looking for a parking spot as close as possible to the entry rather than parking a little further away and walking.
Being physically active means increasing your incidental (or natural) activity as well as engaging in planned activities such as walking for at least 30 minutes a day most days of the week. The focus is on a variety of the three types of physical activity - cardiovascular , resistance and stretching activities. A balanced workout includes cardio or aerobic activities to burn kilojoules and strengthen the heart; resistance activities to tone the muscles, maintain metabolism and bone health; and stretching activities to maintain flexibility.
While you may be able to lose weight by reducing your kilojoule intake without increasing physical activity (even though it is not recommended), it is highly unlikely that you will keep it off without being physically active. In fact according to the latest scientific review by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM 2009), when it comes to weight loss and the prevention of weight gain (ie successful weight maintenance), there is likely to be a dose effect, where the more physical activity an individual engages in the better outcomes for weight management. The ACSM has updated its position to recommend 250-300 minutes of moderate intensity per week to prevent weight from being regained. This equates to 50-60 minutes 5 days per week. Finding an activity you enjoy will be the key to making it a regular part of your new, healthier lifestyle.
