Inactivity the big problem in battling bulge, says Oprah’s trainer Bob Greene
Reported November 05, 2007
TORONTO – Before serving up meal suggestions and recipes in his latest book, Bob Greene first implores individuals to examine not just what they’re eating but the reasons why they’re eating it.
The holistic approach to healthy living outlined in “The Best Life Diet” is the same doctrine the personal trainer passed on to his famous client and friend, Oprah Winfrey. The pair met more than a decade ago in Colorado when the talk show host tipped the scales at her heaviest weight – 237 pounds.
In the foreword to the fitness guru’s book, Winfrey called Greene “the answer to her prayers,” helping to end years of see-saw weight gain and loss, and yo-yo diets.
But when Greene asked her when they first met why she was overweight, she recalled thinking he was “being a smartass.”
“I was overweight for the same reason everybody else is, I answered smugly. I loved food,” Winfrey wrote. She later realized she was using food to numb negative feelings.
With Greene’s encouragement, she was able to reconnect with what had last made her really happy – filming her Oscar-nominated role in “The Color Purple”-and channelled her renewed focus on getting fit and managing her life.
“The truth is, the majority of people are overweight because something else is either lacking or something undesirable is in their life, whether we’re talking about their romantic life, their career, something about their life that needs to change,” said Greene in an interview at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, prior to his appearance Friday at the National Women’s Show.
“When you change it, that’s when the results happen, and that’s when that person stays motivated.”
The man who helped whip Winfrey into shape hopes to help others seeking to shed pounds – and keep them off – by developing a lifetime game plan for healthy living rather than a quick fix weight loss remedy. That has more to do with getting moving than reducing food intake, he said.
“The biggest problem is inactivity,” Greene said. “It accelerates the rate of virtually every known disease when you’re inactive, so that’s the problem.”
“Most people that want to drop weight and become healthier they look at calories first and they drastically cut them. That’s a huge mistake because your metabolism drops.”
“The first tip really is become an active person, whatever that means for you. Devote enough time to improve your health to physical activity.”
A Statistics Canada study released in August revealed nearly half of Canadians aged 12 and older were classified as inactive during their leisure time with 48 per cent doing the equivalent of less than 30 minutes of walking daily in 2005.
Another StatsCan report found the percentage of Canadian adults who were obese rose from 14 to 23 per cent from 1978-79 to 2004.
Greene, an exercise physiologist and personal trainer for more than 25 years, recommends those who start off at level zero where physical activity is at a bare minimum wear a pedometer for the first week to get a baseline figure before gradually increasing the number of steps they take in a day.
This can be done by opting to walk to the store or taking stairs rather than escalators or elevators. The initial goal should be to walk at least 3,500 steps a day and ramp up to preferably 6,000 steps a day, he writes.
For those who find they’ve hit the wall with their weight loss, it usually means they’ve arrived at their “set point” – the level of body fat one’s body is pre-programmed to maintain, Greene writes.
Just as exercise is critical in helping shed pounds, it’s also a factor in why weight loss is stalling, he said.
“You’ve put in the time, that treadmill’s set at the same thing as it was six, seven months ago – that’s what the problem is,” he said. “You’ve dropped weight, you’re capable of more exercise. You need to continually challenge yourself.”
“Until you change the thermostat, meaning work harder during that same period of time or extend the time, your weight won’t budge.”
For those needing some support to get fit, Greene recommends engaging friends by organizing a neighbourhood group. A popular, cost-effective trend is having a group of people chip in to pay an instructor to lead them, while others may opt to pay a trainer a one-time fee to set up a six-month program, he said.
Still, Greene acknowledges there are some individuals who just don’t like working out.
“That’s usually a person that is focusing on the wrong thing,” Greene said, like “getting into the right piece of clothing” or “that last 20 pounds.”
“That’s a very temporary way of looking at things,” he said.
“What I try to get through to all my clients – it’s about waking up each day and wanting deep down in your soul to improve your life. When that becomes your sole focus, it’s a lot easier to lace up the sneaks and get your workout in, turn down that food that you’re tempted by.”
Getting ready to change your diet is a slow approach – the mistake is when people rush it, Greene said. Gradually introduce healthier foods in stages, substituting things that have fibre, whole grains and vegetables while tossing out foods that are empty calories, he said.
“People run into problems when you all of a sudden wake up on a Monday and revamp the entire way you’ve eaten all your life. That usually leads to a very temporary way of eating.”
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Lose the booze temporarily: selected objectives from ‘The Best Life Diet’
TORONTO – Bob Greene is a bestselling author and Oprah Winfrey’s longtime personal trainer.
In his new book, “The Best Life Diet,” Greene uses a three-phase approach to help individuals develop a lifetime plan for healthy living.
Here are some of the objectives for Phase One:
-Increase your activity level
-Eat three meals and at least one snack daily
-Your main concern should be to make breakfast a habit. How much of a breakfast selection you eat will depend on your activity level. Some suggestions:
-Cold cereal: Select a 100 per cent whole grain cereal that’s high in fibre (at least 4 grams per 100 calories) and low in sugar (no more than 5 grams) with nonfat or 1 per cent milk or calcium-enriched soy milk
-Whole grain pancakes or waffles topped with yogurt, fruit, 1 to 2 tablespoons of heart-healthy nuts and a drizzle of maple syrup
-One or two eggs with one slice of 100 per cent whole grain toast or a whole grain English muffin, fruit, and a glass of nonfat or 1 per cent milk or calcium-enriched soy milk
-Stop eating at least two hours before bedtime – this is part of a strategy to shift calorie consumption to the earlier part of the day
-Stay hydrated – drink at least six glasses of still water a day
-Eliminate alcohol – for now. Alcohol adds extra calories to your diet. Alcohol is absorbed quickly into your bloodstream, and as a depressant, slows down everything in your body, including your metabolism.
Source: “The Best Life Diet” (Simon & Schuster)