From The Desk Of Clarence Bass
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Articles:
From The Desk of Clarence Bass
on the following subjects:
Diet & Nutrition
Strength Training
Aerobics
Fat Loss & Weight Control
Fitness & Health
Age Factor
Physiological Factors
Psychology & Motivation
Fitness Personalities
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Five Keys to Successful Weight Control
Cleveland Clinic and Great Expectations
The March 2023 Arthritis Advisor features a piece by Cleveland Clinic dietitian Maxine
Smith, RDN, LD detailing "5 Steps to Successful Weight Loss." (Excess weight can worsen
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painful arthritic joints.)
We thought it would be interesting to compare her 5 Steps and the 5 Secrets in our book
Great Expectations, based on registered dietician Anne M. Fletcher's study of "masters" who
have lost from 20 to 100 pounds and kept it off for at least three years.
We'll summarize both and then add my thoughts.
Step 1: Nail down your "why."
Make it personal. Rather than "I want to lose 5 or 10 pounds," you want "to maintain my
mobility."
Secret 1: Want to be thin more than you want the "wrong" foods.
As one master told Anne Fletcher, "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels."
Those are about the same idea.
The best example of a profound shift in attitude we've encountered was a 49-year-old, out of
shape, over-weight dentist who told us he "wanted to be around to see his 5-day-old adopted
son grow up into an adult."
Step 2: Form a plan.
"You should aim for improvement, not perfection," Smith says. "If you can shave off 100
calories a day, that's a loss of 10 pounds a year, which can take a huge load off your joints and
increase mobility."
Secret 2: Eat large.
Most successful dieters focus on the kind of food they eat. Rather than count calories, they
focus on eating unprocessed foods, which are far more satisfying than processed foods, which
stimulate rather than satisfy your appetite.
The basic idea is the same: Cut calories.
The difference is that the Step is general, while the Secret is specific.
Simply striving to eat fewer calories is pie in the sky. You need to be specific.
Smith does that by suggesting skim milk instead of whole milk. But Anne Fletcher develops
the idea, stressing "the simple pleasure of eating natural food in its basic form is great."
Continuing, she explains that calorie for calorie, foods low in fat and high in fiber and water
(vegetables, fruits, and grains) are more filling. They take up more room in your stomach and
take longer to eat.
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Unprocessed foods satisfy your appetite--little or no will power is required.
I give Anne Fletcher an A Plus. Eating whole foods is the key to staying lean. It fills you up
before you overshoot your calorie needs.
Now we come to a cross road. Step 3 "Get support" is social, while Secret 3 "Fix your full
button" is more nuts and bolts.
"I've found that patients who are successful at weight loss are doing it together with others,"
Smith relates.
While Fletcher explains that "Masters plan their meals...before they start eating, they decide
how much they will service themselves."
I can report that that works. The only food I put on the table is the food I plan to eat. This
keeps in check my inclination to eat everything in sight.
Secret #4 continues on that path by adding: "If you want it, have it."
I tell myself that I can eat all I really want. With all the food I plan to eat on the table, I have
to go to the refrigerator for more, which means I have time to think whether I really want
more. I almost always decide that I don't really need or want more.
Step 4 "Weigh Yourself" is part of my routine, but is not included in Fletcher's Secrets.
Maxine Smith recommends weighing yourself at least twice a week to make sure you are still
on track. If not, the scale will let you know before you get very far off track. The scale will
tell you to ask yourself what you're doing wrong--and give you time to get back on track
before your weight gets out of control. The scale will see it before you do.
I have weight records going back decades, almost always telling me that I'm where I want to
be. My latest records show my weight to hover around 140.
I can't remember when I last got off track.
Dr. Smith's Step 5 is to "Get regular exercise." We all agree that exercise burns calories. She
adds that it can "elevate your mood, decrease stress and help you sleep better, all of which
can help control appetite."
My Take
I agree that weighing yourself and regular exercise are keys to weight control.
But I don't agree that peer support is a key to staying lean.
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While I've had several wonderful training partners, most of my training has been alone. I'm a
self-starter. I don't need or want help.
Carol and I train together, but she goes her way and I go mine.
My experience is that it's best to go it on your own. Nothing can ruin a workout like having a
training partner not show.
Same goes for depending on friends to help you stay lean.
Still, if you need or want peer support, go for it.
Our long-time friend Laszlo Bencze thrives on gym atmosphere. He doesn't need help, but he
enjoys being with other gym rats.
Do what works for you.
March 1, 2023
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