This last part of Being in Healthy Weight installments is long overdue, no thanks to my being busy at the office for the past several weeks (and I profusely apologize for it!). Anyway, we are ready to wrap up this series so we can move on to another Fit n Fab topic!

By the way, if you miss the previous parts of Being in Healthy Weight, check the following links: Part 1a and Part 1b on motivation; Part 2a and Part 2b on eating; Part 3a on exercising

6. Make It a Habit

Try to make exercising as part of your routines and not just as a second thought or ‘when you have time’ activity. The hardest part is always making it as a habit at the beginning, that’s all. Once you get the ball rolling, you may find it hard not to exercise, because it has become part of your everyday life. Hanzky knows how cranky I could get if I had to miss my scheduled working out session, and I know how Hanzky didn’t want to talk about working out when she got sick and had to miss her sessions at the gym. Don’t just take my word on it, because I seriously thought ‘working-out high’ was a myth, until I experience it myself. You gotta try it.

Here we are, at the last part of the Healthy Weight installments – exercising! This is my favorite part of the series. In context of losing excess weight, you can do it with diet alone, and that is true. But it is exercising that keeps it off. Our body loses lean body mass as we age. Even if you maintain the exact same calories every day for the rest of you life, you will eventually gain weight. That is, if you do it without physical activity to counteract the loss of lean mass (remember, the more lean mass, or muscle, you have, the more calories you burn).

With exercising, you have more energy to conquer your days and you develop a can-do attitude because exercising does require determination! Working out does not make you feel and look good. It makes you feel and look better. And who does not want that?

1. Exercising as Preventive Medicine

Really, do I have to preach about the benefits of exercising? I will sound like a broken record, but I will say it again, no less. Exercising, in general, is so very beneficial for your health. It will reduce stress (remember that women are more prone to depression), make your heart strong and keep heart diseases at bay, reduce the likelihood of Type 2 Diabetes, makes your bones strong (women are more likely to develop osteoporosis), slow the rate of lean mass loss as we age, decrease bad cholesterol (and increase good cholesterol), and enhance cognitive function. One saying goes, “If you can’t make time to exercise, then you will have to make time being sick”.

The healthy weight installments continue! Read the previous parts on motivation (Part 1a and Part 1b), and the preceding section on better eating. In this part 2b, we focus on practical tips on gearing you up to eat better, healthier and cleaner. And here are they….

6. Read the Nutrition Labels

I know that Indonesian Government has not been great in enforcing the placement of nutrition labels, and we just have to make do with what we have. When nutrition label exists on the back of packaging, the main values to watch: calories, saturated fat, sugar count, dietary fiber, and cholesterol. Caloric is pretty obvious. Saturated fat is artery clogging and elevates cholesterol – the lower the better. Dietary fiber is good to make you feel full, helps you regular with #2, and improves your bad cholesterol level. Sugar content is always a good thing to watch. The recommended intake of sugar daily is no more than 6 teaspoons (or 100 calories) per day for adult female, and 9 teaspoons (150 calories). In general, the lesser ingredients is better – meaning it is less processed and contains less fillers. This rule doesn’t always sound true though. If the only ingredients listed are flour and sugar, better stay away from that food! Be also wary with claims and stamps of ‘healthy’, ‘fat free’ or ‘loaded with fiber’. A lot of stuff that is fat free contains a lot of artificial sugar, or just sugar to compensate with the lack of fat (fat adds taste). When the claim is about fiber, read how much of dietary fiber there is. I don’t see how ‘nutritious wheat biscuit’ containing only 2 grams of fiber per serving is really that much better than a glass of low-fat of milk containing 5 gr of fiber (with about the same calories, more calcium and protein).

I’d always like to set the tone right. For Part 2 of the Healthy Weight Series, here it is: a realistic weight loss program consists of about 80% better eating and 20% increased physical activity. If you have a lot of weight to lose, better eating is absolutely non-negotiable – not even you want to spend two hours exercising with high intensity every single day of the week.  Relying solely on exercising is very tiring, ineffective and time-consuming. Not to say you should not exercise, but better eating comes first (don’t worry, working out is in Part 3).

Image via Effectivediet.org

1. It’s Not “Diet”. It’s a Lifestyle

Start with small changes such as having a smaller portion, or halving your portion, learning to listen to your body (it takes about 20 minutes to send the satiation signal to your brain), and making concessions. It is not that hard once you get the wheels going. I work full time, I am currently in an apartment without a domestic helper, and extra small kitchen. I don’t always have the means to prepare my own meal at home, but I have shifted my choices of food, even when eating outside. So it’s not impossible, even if you live in a boarding house (i.e., “kos”). There are countless of food-substitutions out there. Skinless chicken breast instead of chicken thigh. Brown rice instead of white rice. Green Tea (no sugar, brew it yourself) instead of sweetened iced tea. Skinny Vanilla Latte instead of full-fat cappuccino with whipped cream. And water instead of any other liquid. Low-fat chocolate milk for snack instead of chips for snack. The choice is endless. You just have to look and try.