There are many reasons for the obesity epidemic.  One reason is “Portion Distortion!”  You, your patients or clients need to reduce their portion size—the amount of calories you consume and the quality of the foods you eat.  You need to do a nutritional analysis of a “typical” breakfast: One large bagel with 3 tablespoons of cream cheese (many people put twice that amount or more on their bagel), comes to 700 calories!  That’s 700 EMPTY calories since there are virtually no nutrients in those 700 calories.  Instead of the bagel, what if you had these instead:

            1 medium banana                                        -           90 calories

            English muffin w/1 Table Spoon

            low sugar jam                                               -           150 calories

            1 cup of oatmeal or

            1 cup of Cheerios                                        -           100 calories

                                                                                                340 calories

The healthy alternative is half the calories and provides a rich nutrient profile.  You can substitute the banana for blueberries or other nutrient-dense fruits for variety.  If you focus on replacing high calorie “empty nutrient” foods with low calorie “nutrient-dense” foods, you can lose weight and dramatically improve your health.  You can remove process foods from your diet that are typically low in nutrients and high in fat, sugar and/or salt and undesirable preservatives, dyes, and other toxins.

Instead focus on these nutrient-dense alternatives: apples, avocado, beans, blueberries, broccoli, dark chocolate (it has 5 times the amount of flavonols as an apple, but it is high in calories, so limit consumption to 100 calories per day), garlic, dark honey, kiwi, oats, extra virgin olive oil, onions, oranges, pomegranates, pumpkin, wild salmon, soy (should be limited in men due to estrogen production), spinach, tea, tomatoes, turkey (skinless breast), walnuts (all nuts have benefits), yogurt (natural—low- or non-fat).

Obesity accounts for 300,000 deaths annually in the US.  No government subsidized healthcare program, HMO, drug or physician can prevent these deaths!  The power to live a longer, healthier, more productive and happier life rests solely on your shoulders.  In order to save you, your patients, your clients and your loved ones from a future of disease, disability and dysfunction, you will need major lifestyle changes.  You will need to consume less and exercise more.  You will need to decrease your consumption of saturated fats, omega-6 fatty acids and trans-fatty acids and increase your consumption of omega-3 fatty acids.  You need to decrease the consumption of all processed foods—junk foods, fast foods, many canned, boxed, and frozen foods, TV dinners, boxed, sugary cereals, etc., and increase fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, antioxidants and whole food consumption.

Decreasing caloric intake, eating healthy and increasing exercise activities can dramatically improve your life.  Recent research shows that physically active 90-year-olds have performed better in all 10 components of fitness (strength, speed, power, anaerobic and aerobic endurance, agility, balance, coordination, flexibility and body composition) than physically inactive 30-year-olds!

Research also shows that it is never too late to start.  Using the exercise science training principles you learned in the IFPA’s “The Book on Personal Training”—the SAID, GPO and FITT principles, you can safely and effectively regenerate virtually all patients and personal fitness trainer clients.  Once the patient/client can achieve 3,000 calories per week of moderate to intense exercise, you will see 100% improvements in triglycerides, LDL (Low Density Lipoproteins) HDL (High Density Lipoproteins), blood pressure, resting heart rate, aerobic capacity, and virtually all medical and health markers.  At 3,000 calories per week, you can become virtually immune to over 65 diseases, disabilities and dysfunctions!

Your goal as a physician or personal fitness trainer is to encourage every man, woman and child to begin and maintain a healthy weight loss (fat loss) and exercise program.  Long term health, longevity and disease prevention lies in exercise and nutrition—NOT DRUGS!!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from the IFPA!

Best Regards,

Jim Bell

Dr. Jim Bell

CEO, IFPA

CEO, DFC

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James T. Bell, PhD. is the founder and CEO of the International Fitness Professionals Association, IFPA.

More Books from Jim Bell, PhD.

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