Now it’s time for some positive thoughts and practical advice. I will provide you with the knowledge about how to plan a diet, gaining weight and the positive effects of exercise. As usual, I’m going to link some studies for further self-education.
You can find parts I, II and III here.

Myth 6: I can’t workout, therefore I can’t lose weight
This idea is, sadly, quite common among a lot of people. There is a saying, I heard a while ago, which paraphrases this misconception quite well:
“Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.”
Truer words were never spoken. Ok, maybe they were, but you get the point. The rule about weight and every change you are going to try, is the relation of 80% diet - 20% sport. Whatever the reasons might be, that you are not able to exercise – you are far from damned to conserve your weight. So even if you can’t work out, you still can lose weight. A fun fact about starting to exercise is, that many people actually gain weight – not muscles but fat. How is that? Sawyer et al. (1) researched this issue in a study published in 2014. It’s the problem of perception again. As I have already addressed this in the last part quite extensively, I’ll spare you the details. But there is another “problem” with exercising. You will probably have much more appetite than before. As Finlayson et al. (2011) (2) proved, that 41% of the study’s participants gained such a strong appetite, that the higher level of activity did almost nothing in regard of losing weight, because they ate even more than before.

Source

Besides that, there are good reasons, to delay the beginning of a regular workout-routine even more. If you suffer from any kind of illness, it might be wise, to regain your health first. Or even if your weight is just too much right now, you should start in a change of diet first. The reason behind this is quite evident: the additional burden of exercise might damage your joints and cardiovascular system even more. An exception would be swimming, because the strain of the joints is not so high, while you are in water. But for some obese people, it might be mentally quite difficult to go into a public swimming bath. Your kitchen, on the other hand, is your personal safe space and there you can start working on your body as well – even more efficient.

But how to do it? If you never thought much about your nutrition – now is the time to think again.
There are a lot of different kinds of dietary programs, nutrition supplements, promises, etc. on the market. I won’t promote anything here. I don’t think, there is THE best diet, and I don’t think, there is a reason, you should spend money on dietary programs, when you can just dig a bit into nutrition science instead. In the last part of the series, I explained to you, how the amount of caloric intake is calculated and that you will lose weight, if you eat less than you need. There is no way around this – it’s simple physics. Everybody, who claims otherwise and tells you, with dietary program XY you are able to eat anything you want (=more than you need) and still lose weight, is a liar. I have to make this point really clear, because there is a whole industry making billions with fear, pseudo-science and bullshit. I hope, I can provide you some convincing counterarguments with my articles.

Alright, back to topic. In general, your diet should contain food with a high amount of protein. There are several reasons for this advice.
1. Your appetite will be lower than before. 2005, in a study conducted by Weigle et al. (3), they were able to prove, that your caloric intake is reduced by an average of 440 calories, if your meal contains high amounts of calories. Protein saturates you for longer periods of time and doesn’t affect your blood sugar level as much as sugar or white flour.
You can try this for yourself: Eat a piece of cake with about 500 calories and the next meal is a piece of meat with vegetables with the same amounts of calories. I think, it’s safe to assume, that you will experience a remarkable difference, about the time you will be saturated after each meal.

2. Your meals have increased volume, but less calories. Just think about the following: a pound of carrots has less than 200 calories, but a 50g snickers bar contains as much as 242 calories. How easy is it, to eat a pound of carrots as a short snack or a snickers bar?
But does this mean, you are only allowed to eat vegetables, nuts and meat from now on?
Of course not. It’s alright to get some sweets from time to time. The important aspect is, that you can relate to the amount of energy you get with the food you eat. Because then it’s easier to adjust the necessary amounts of food accordingly. You can lose weight and still be satisfied with your meals.
If you lack ideas how to compose your meals, you can check, for example, the WHO guidelines (4) or search for yourself. There are a lot of possible ideas around the internet and I’m confident, you’ll find the one, which suits you best.

3. Increased need for repair of muscle tissue. When you’ve decided to start working out regularly, your muscles will thank you the additional protein you are going to provide them. Every time you exercise, you are damaging your muscles a bit and after you are done, they start repairing themselves and eventually build additional muscle tissue. Protein is essential for this process of building and repairing, so you are doing yourself a favour, if your nutrition helps your body to cope with the additional strain you are exposing it to.

Maybe you are looking for more excuses now (it’s ok, that’s a quite human thing to do). You might argue, you’re lacking the time to prepare and cook healthy food. Although there might be some truth to it, I think there will be at least some occasions during your week, when you can spare the time to get yourself some proper food. A smart thing to do, is preparing for the days you are not able to cook fresh. Just use the time you have to prepare additional food, put it into the freezer and recook (or microwave) it, when you need it. It might be not ideal, but it’s still so much better, than ordering a pizza or getting a burger-shot at the fast food palace of your choice.

Everything I’ve explained to you so far was mostly aimed at people, who are suffering from overweight and obesity. I am quite aware of the fact, that for some people it might just be the other way around.
If you are aiming to gain more weight, I’d strongly recommend two things:
More food than you need and exercise. As I’ve explained above, working out can raise your appetite, thus making it easier for you to eat more than before. Which brings me to my next point.

Source

The hidden wonders of exercise
As you can see, I’m done with the myths for now and readjusting my focus.
Physical activity, and its impacts on the human body and brain, has been for several decades
an intense field of study and research. It’s therefore not only helpful in achieving a healthy weight, but to prevent diseases and improve your overall mental well-being as well.

Preventing Cancer
As I’ve pointed out in an earlier part of this series, obesity and overweight bear a significantly increased risk of contracting various kinds of cancer. Besides reducing your weight with a better diet, you can reduce the risk by exercising regularly even further. As Bernstein et al. (1994) (5) were able to show, that women, who maintained an activity level of 1-3 hours each week, were able to reduce their risk of premenopausal breast cancer by about 30% in comparison to inactive women. This was supported by a meta-study by Lee et al. (2003) (6). In addition, the risk of developing colon cancer and lung cancer seems to decrease with a higher level of physical activity as well.

Strengthening brain functions
According to the available research, it seems very likely, that regular physical activity can lead to improved brain functions as well. A study with rats by Ang et al. (2006) (6) showed significant evidence, that exercise bears positive results regarding spatial learning and memory. Of course, humans are not rats, but studies with humans carried out similar results.
Cotman et al. (2007) (7) reported, their participants got positive results on overall brain health, resilience, learning and memory. It helped also, to deal better with stress, anxiety and depression. Speaking of which, …

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In the season finale of “Your weight is not your destiny” you will face:
Exercise and mental health, feelings of impotence regarding weight changes, control-problems because of medication and illnesses, conclusive thoughts in general. Be prepared.
Jeez! I always wanted to do that.

Feel always free to discuss my ideas and share your own thoughts about the things I’m writing about. Nobody is omniscient and if we all walk away a little bit smarter than before, we’ll have achieved a lot.
Thanks for reading!
Ego

References
(1) Sawyer B.J, Bhammar, D.M., Angadi, S.S., Ryan, D.M., Ryder, J.R., Sussman, E.J., Bertmann, F.M. & Gaesser, G.A. (2014) Predictors of fat mass changes in response to aerobic exercise training in women. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 29(2), 297-304

(2) Finlayson, G., Caudwell, P., Gibbons, C., Hopkins, M., King, N. & Blundell, J. (2011) Low Fat Loss Response after Medium-Term Supervised Exercise in Obese Is Associated with Exercise-Induced Increase in Food Reward. Journal of Obesity http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2945657/

(3) Weigle, D.S., Breen, P.A., Matthys, C.C., Callahan, H.S., Meeuws, K.E., Burden, V.R. & Purnell, J.Q. (2005) A high-protein diet induces sustained reductions in appetite, ad libitum caloric intake, and body weight despite compensatory changes in diurnal plasma leptin and ghrelin concentrations. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 82(1), 41-48

(4) http://www.who.int/entity/elena/healthy_diet_fact_sheet_394.pdf?ua=1

(5) Bernstein, Leslie, Henderson, Brain E., Hanisch, Rosemarie, Sullivan-Halley, Jane, Ronald K. Ross. JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 86. Issue 18. 21 September 1994. 1403–1408. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/86.18.1403

(6) Ang, Eng-Tat, Dawe, Gavin S., Wong, Peter T.H., Moochhala, Shabbir, Ng, Yee-Kong. Brain Research. 1113. Issue 1. 2006. 186-193. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2006.07.023

(7) Cotman, Carl W., Berchtold, Nicole C., Christie, Lori-Ann. Trends in Neurosciences. 30. Issue 9. 2007. 464-472. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2007.06.011

Your weight is not your destiny – Part IV