weight loss and exercise

Some really great news! We have aligned the Serotonin-Plus Weight Loss Program with two trainers in the area. One, Lisa Lutz, is a former Mrs. Virginia and still competes in body building competitions. Lisa is a certified personal trainer and also has an image consulting business. Lisa also happens to be the daughter of Angela Melton, our Nurse Manager.

Lori Zarcone works out of Golds gym locally and she will be offering a free one hour training session for all of our patients. Lori is passionate about helping people lose weight and most certainly exercise is the other end of the equation..calories coming in/calories being burned off.

Incorporating exercise is an important part of a long term weight loss strategy. By no means are we expecting people to run marathons and we understand completely that due to orthopedic limitations/time limitations it may not be possible to do extreme amounts of exercise. However, each of us should attempt to incorporate an exercise program for ourselves that individually makes sense. Please call our office: 703-866-4144 to find out how you can meet one of our trainers and start incorporating an exercise regimen to your lives. Doing so will go a long way in helping you with weight control longterm.

weight loss and ability to exercise

First, thanks MM for the very nice note and the inspirational thought to everyone that one of the great by-products of weight loss is being able to move around better...from being able to get in and out of a sitting position, to fitting into an airline seat to manipulating thru a busy convention floor to being able to run 5K, 10K or even marathons: weight loss is incredibly effective in achieving these...

Being able to exercise more/longer further contributes to the positive cycle as being able to do more allows fofr more caloric burnoff which in turn causes more weight loss. Quite frankly, at a high weight, the thought of exercise is abhorrent in many cases because it is very difficult...but weight loss causes the exercise to become easier.

Schedule that exercise time...3-4 times a week...the more you do, the more weight loss you achieve and the happier and healthier you will become!

weight loss and exercise

One of the very important components of a long-term strategy for weight loss is an exercise program. For most people, including me, exercise does not feel good when you are doing it. When I play tennis, the competitive nature of that activity distracts me and I really do not feel that I am exercising. However, running on a treadmill is a different story...boring..knees hurting,..repetitive, UGH.

One of the neagative reinforcement cycles of being overweight is that it is more difficult to exercise. Trying to move around the exgra weight becomes more difficult and therefore the exercise undertaken becomes more arduous because it doesnt feel very easy or good. When 20, 30, 40 or more pounds are lost, it becomes much easier to exercise and therefore a person is not as loathe to do it.

No one in our clinic expects our patients to go out and start running marathons. However, a program may be started slowly and incorporated into your weekly activities. As weight is being lost, it will become easier to exercise and therefore perceived as less burdensome. But you must have a regular program...schedule it as if it was an important meeting....3-4 times a week and hopefully more. Also, try to find the activity that is least ill-perceived by you...some people hate treadmills....then perhaps an exercise bike or elliptical is better.

Attacking both ends of the equation....calories taken in/calories burning off...is important for long term weight control.

weight loss and exercise

If you knew that 5 times a week, you could show up somewhere and receive a free relaxing massage for one hour, most people would find a way of arranging their schedules to be able to be at the exact place and time to receive that free massage. Whether it be business or family obligations, schedules would be arranged to accomodate the massage appointment. How about exercising 5 times a week for an hour? Many people find numerous reasons/excuses as to why they couldn't fit in the exercise to their very busy day.

Bottom line: a massage feels great when you are receiving it. Working out does not. We often find reasons why not it does not fit our schedule to exercise.


Try to find exercise venues that are not abhorrent to you. Some people loathe treadmills. Do not force yourself to do anything you do not like. Many people like exercise classes. For others, finding a partner to hit the walking trails is a more social outing that at the same time burns calories. A number of people enjoy the Wi fit program.

Exercise is an important part of a long term weight control strategy and finding a way to fit this into your schedule will pay dividends as fae as your efforts to be happier and healthier.

weight loss and darkness

Good Monday morning....First, I want to remind everyone to put Friday, December 4th on your calenders for patient appreciation nite...5-7...we would LOVE to see you there...we are bringing in Karioke and if you would like to see Frank Sinatra come alive, then yours truly will croon Mew York New York,

As I am writing this entry, I am seeing how dark it is out there...during the summer I would be seeing a beautiful, warm sunrise and after writing this, go outside, put the IPOD on and run outside. Now, I have to go to the gym and get on a treadmill...not as much fun and the exercise is more boring.

If you have previously counted on walking or jogging outside for your exercise either before or after work, but now cannot do this due to darkness, an alternative is required. For long term weight loss, consistent exercise is usually required, and you should focus on an activity that you do not despise. Many people enjoy exercise classes at a gym,.step or aerobic. For me, tennis is much more stimulating than the treadmill. Plan and make exercise a scheduled activity at least 3-4 times a week.

weight loss and monitoring calories/exercise

Good Monday Morning...

First, I want to thank the people who are commenting....I would recommend that you all read these comments..some VERY helpful insights.....really good stuff....THANK YOU for posting comments!!!!

As I have mentioned many times, the gaining of weight requires no thought process at all...the losing of weight requires CONSTANT vigilance.

Look at the caloric content of every food source you ingest and compare it to the amount of exercise needed to burn those calories off. We have on the website a list of aerobic activities and how many calories you burn doing those activities for specified times. I run 5 miles, takes me 46 minutes (okay.,..stop laughing..the old guy is slow) and burn off 640 calories. Okay...how long does it take Posner to eat a piece of chocolate cake that has 1100 calories? Hmmmmm...about 5 minutes. The point here is that we can consume calories so much quicker than we can burn it off. So, when you are considering eating a food source that you know will derail your weight loss efforts think about the amount of time necessary to burn that off. Is it really worth that immediate gratification food source? You will then have 2 choices: either gain the weight or take lots of time to exercise it off. Do you really want to spend an extra 45 minutes at the gym in exchange for that piece of cake, those 2 glasses of wine or the cookies? Keep vigilance of this..and make the smart choice.

weight loss and exercise

I am hanging out tonight watching the U.S. Open tennis matches and I am thinking to myself if I had a better backhand I could have been able to make my living playing tennis. Okay, that is BS, I may have been able to make my high school tennis team.

Actually, I was thinking that when I run in the mornings, it is an effort to get up early, fo to thje treadmill and I am trying to think of reasons why I shouldn;t do it, run out of excuses, go down and run and then I am happy when it is over and glad I did it. However, when I play tennis, I enjoy this activity and it really does not seem like I am "exercising".

The point here is that we should all try to find the type of exercise that we find fun as opposed to boring. Some people love running...i do not, especially on a treadmill, but outside running is better. Some people loath swimming...too much time to shower, change etc.

Seek out activities that you enjoy, yet will burn off calories. Try to find exercise partners that will allow the time to pass more quickly. Do not force yourself into doing exercise that you loath because you will find yourself finding every reason in the world why NOT to do it.

weight loss and staying fit

I am in Colorado today and Breckenridge is ata very high altitiude. Aside from having some altitude sickness headaches (i am a doctor,..i should have known better and come prepared!) I tried running this morning and lasted all of 1.75 miles and that is way off my usual 5. I was huffing and puffing....felt like I had asthma.

I used to think of myself as being in pretty decent shape for an old doctor guy, but the experience was humbling for me this morning. I started imagining now as to how a person who does not exercise at all will handle this type of environment with simple exertion such as walking.

Exercising does not only help your weight loss efforts but also helps your cardiopulmonary conditioning which could help prevent heart attacks and other life threatening situations when your body is stressed such as being at a high altitude.

I look forward to coming back and seeing you tomorrow! (huffing and puffing as he is writing this)

Planning your exercise

At every patient visit, I usually inquire about what exercise took place that week. More often than not, my questions are usually met with "it was a busy week"..."I walked..." or an anxious laugh occurs and I hear " I just don't have the time..."

For some people, exercise is a stress-reducing action which becomes somewhat addicting, meaning that if an injury occurs and the habitual exerciser cannot exercise, that person becomes very keyed up. We have all heard of the "runner's high", and there are definitely internal chemicals that spike during exercise that result in a global"feel-good".

Unfortunately, for most others, the thoughts of running on a treadmill, sweating on an elliptical or attending a spin class is abhorrent.

Obviously, as you lose weight, it becomes easier to exercise as you are moving around less pounds.

If you are not exercising regularly right now, I implore you to set up an appointment with Joanne. This is FREE and part of what you are paying for. Joanne can help you decide what the best exercise will be for you, and this does need to be individualized because everyone is unique with their orthopedic limitations, time constraints, etc.

There are two ends of the weight loss equation: calories coming in and calories you are burning off...try to work on both ends!

weight loss and exercise

During the weekly visits, I almost always ask my patients about their exercise for the week. Often, the answer I get is "I walked". I then pry a bit deeper to find out if the "walking" was done during a dedicated time outside, work out cl;othes on, etc., but most frequently I am told that the walking is in the environment of work.

Clearly, rather than admit initially that really no "exercise" is being performed, the "walking" answer makes it seem that the person is doing some exercise, so I will not start pounding my chest and telling the patient how important exercise is, and they are failing in their efforts.

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Please remember, my staff and I are NOT judgmental about your weight loss success/less success in any given week. We are here to help you in your weight loss efforts and support you. So if you ate a funnel cake (gotcha Paul) or did not "exercise", we do NOT get angry or upset with you.

Getting back to the exercise issue: Many people do NOT formally exercise. Walking at work is not exercise. Yes, walking from office to toffice , parking further away from the workplace, using the stairs etc...all of these are great ancillary activities. However, for long-term weight loss efforts, a rreasonable exercise program should be utilized. The reasons why most people do not exercise are simple: It takes time and when you have a fulltime job, kids/family to take care of, etc., the day does not have enough hours AND exercise for most people DOES NOT FEEL GOOD. Laying in bed and getting an extra 45 minutes of sleep feels much better than getting youself up and getting on that treadmill or elliptical.

Often, orthopedic limitations make it difficult to exercise aggressively, However, there are less strenuous exercises that can still be done.

We encourage you to call Joanne, our personal trainer, and find out how to start a program that makes sense for "you". We certainly do not expect everyone to run 5 miles a day, train for marathons, etc. However, for long-term weight loss, some sort of real exercise will greatly help.

weight loss and exercise

Often, when I ask a patient whether he or she exercises, I will get a tentative "yes" and then when I further query as to the type of exercise, I will then be told about having to walk alot at work, taking the stairs at work, parking further from the building entrance, gardening and other activities that, while certainly are better caloric burnoff activities than sitting, are not aggressive enough.

No one, most certainly me, expects people who have not been doing regular exercise to start going out and running marathons. Many people loath running or have orthopedic situations that preclude traditional caloric burn-off exercises activities. However, there are exercise activities that people can do that will increase caloric burniff allowing you to lose weight quicker.

We have a certified personal trainer on staff, and Joanne is a resource for you. NO EXTRA CHARGE!!! Please, if you are not doing any formal exercise right now (planting flowers does not count) call Joanne and set up a time to meet with her so she can help you start a program for yourself. This will help your long-term goals of losing that weight and keeping it off.

weight loss and exercise

Each week will have a certain amount of caloric expenditure. If you have a very busy work week, are basically at your desk and have no time for exercise, you of course will burn off many less calories than if you had the time to hit the gym 4 times that week. If you do not adjust your caloric intake to offset this lack of burnoff, you will have difficulty losing weight, and may in fact, even gain weight that week.

Obviously, in a perfect world, you would have plenty of time to exercise, but things are never perfect so there will be challenging time constraint weeks. Please make sure that you lower your overall caloric intake those weeks and that will help you continue to lose weight despite the lack of exercise.

Certain people have orthopedic limitations that preclude aggressive exercise. I would strongly suggest that you hire for a personal trainer for a few sessions to help you learn how to maximize your caloric burnoff despite the orthpedic problems.

Have a great weekend!

weight loss and exercise

Certainly a topic we have covered before, but I wanted to let people know of a new resource we have for our program.

Face it...for most people (including me) "exercise" is not fun. I run pretty much daily and DO NOT like it. During the weekdays when it is 0-dark-thirty and freezing outside, as I am running Tanner the dog on our usual 4.5 mile route, I am NOT enjoying it. When I play a tennis match, I do enjoy that, but on a daily basis, I cannot get a tennis game. If I am going to exercise, it will need to be a run or a machine such as a stairclimber or a treadmill. Reality: what feels better??? sleeping in, getting up for a nice breakfast or getting up and running? We all know the answer.

However, for a long term weight loss/maintenance strategy, exercise is a key component. The trick is to find an exercise that is NOT that negative for you (some people despise treadmills, so therefore this is NOT a good exercise to force yourself to do) and SCHEDULE your exercise as part of your weekly plans. But you MUST keep that appointment to exercise almost as you would treat an important business meeting.

We have a new arrangement with a trainer at The Washington Sports Club to see our patients initally for a FREE visit. Joanne will also be forming a monthly walking group for our patients and other events to help raise the consciousness of our Serotonin-Plus patients to the role of exercise and how it can be made "fun".

Please call us in about 1 week for the details.

On a non-weight loss note, I saw Slumdog Millionaire last nite. A very good picture but I do not think it will win Best Picture. (Having said that I also thought the stock market bottomed out with the Dow at 9000). Have a great Sunday!

Exercise and weight loss

When you go to a gym and watch people on treadmills, elliptical machines, stairclimbers, etc. almost everyone is wearing an IPOD, headphones, watching tv, etc. Reason? Most of us need distraction when we are exercising because the act of exercise is boring in most cases and it doesnt feel very good when you are doing it. Perhaps a tennis match or some other activity in which you are distracted by the competitive nature results in having "fun" while exercising. For most people (including me) exercise is not "fun". When it is over, and you feel the endorphine release, and you shower, then you are glad you did it. But while you are exercising, in most cases, it doesnt feel great...thats why we seek distractions.

Trying to find activities that are as least distasteful as possible is important for long term weight loss. For example, some people hate treadmills. Obviously, those people will find every reason in the world NOT to exercise if a treadmill is their only option. Having equipment in your house makes it much easier and is a wonderful investment for your long term weight loss. On dark very cold morning such as this, it is very difficult to get out of your house and exercise outside or drive to a gym. Many people will find lots of excuses why today is just not a good day to exercise. Having the equipment in your basement with good heat and lighting and perhaps a good flat screen to watch may make things easier.

Exercise and weight loss

This week it has been very apparent to me that the change in season to a darker, colder time period adversely impacts on caloric burn-off for many people. In the program, a number of patients tell me that "walking" is their exercise, but they do this outside. On a balmy morning in the summer, it is easy to set your alarm early, put on shorts and enjoy the birds singing as the sun rises while you are walking. Now, it is dark, cold and the birds are packing their bags for points south. Who wants to walk outside? A warm bed sounds much better.

The point here is that equipment for your house in the form of a treadmill, rower, exercise bike or elliptical machine can be very helpful to allow you to still get up early and get some exercise in. Place the equipment in front of a tv set and watch the morning news (oops..forget that...stress eating may result...put on AMC and watch a good old picture instead). Climate control, lights and a distraction in the form of a tv show allows you to still burn off calories during these darker/colder months. Getting up, getting dressed, bringing a change and going to a gym is lots more work. Please do not get me wrong...gym membership and utilization is great. However, I have had some patients recently who have told me that they have gym memberships but never use the gym.

Yes, equipment for the house costs precious $$$, but remember our new theme here: "INVEST IN YOURSELF". We all will need to work years longer now, and need to sustain our health. Investing in the stock market was a loser. Investing in yourself is a winner. An exercise program will go a long way in keeping us healthy.

Exercise and weight issues in females

The following article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20081010/hl_hsn/mentalbarriersblockobesewomenfromexercise

shows in a study that overweight females avoid exercise for several reasons including self-consciousness, fear of injurt, minor aches and pains.

A viscious cycle is set up when a person is overweight...lack of exercise because of the obeisty worsens the weight problem further, resulting in even lesss ability to exercise. Conversely, when one starts losing weight, a positive cycle is set up: when the person starts losing weight, there is less pain when exercising, less self-consciousness about being seen in work-out garb etc. This increasing exercise will alloow the person to lose even more weight.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for recommendations for exercise no matter what yourweight is. Embarking on an exercise program will pay off huge health dividends for you.

Changing topics: Football..no gloating from me about the Skins....their two wins on the road were amazingly surprising ...yesterday was a trap game...they will be okay...Tonight...GO G-MEN!!!!

The Sertortonin Plus Burke Lake Walk

Well, the sun did start coming out, the trail was not that muddy and about 7 of us did the 4.68 miles. For those of you who were thinking about coming but the weather held you off, please mark your calender for the third Sunday of every month at 9am Burke Lake Park....as the weather gets colder just check the blog or my office phone number about weather the walk is still on. Next walk: Sunday October 19 9am.

We actually bumped into a very nice woman who was at the park to meet with a walking group (not ours) and by mistake she wandered over to our group. We engaged her in conversation and she wound up walking with us. She was telling me about her recent cessation of cigarette smoking, and during the walk, I accompanied her in the back of the pack becasue her pace was limited due to the smoing and weight issue. At the very front of our group was a woman who has lost well over 100 pounds with our program. It was amazing to see just how much energy she had and the very fast pace she was able to do. As I was walking with the new woman, I was reassuring her that the smoking cessation and the weight loss will result in her having the same stamina/energy/endurance as the person who led our group and outpaced everyone else. As a physician, I was able to see in front of my eyes the "before" and "after" of just how weight issues affect exercise abilities.

Anyway, for those of you who did not come to the park, i sincerely hope that you did exercise yesterday at home! Remember....NO EXCUSES for not exercising regularly!!!

Serotonin-Plus Invest In Yourself Walk

Okay...its not sunny....the birds arent singing....the park trail is wet...it was a late saturday nite, ESPN starts its football coverage soon, yada yada....lots of reasons why NOT to exercise. Well, let me give you one good one: Regular exercise will make you healthier, make you look younger and help you get to that weight that you want to be at. There will always be reasons we will find why NOT to exercise...why? because it doesnt feel good! Admit it...when you are running, getting that heart rate up, it doesnt feel nearly as good as sitting down, having a good meal, glass of wine and nice conversation.

Regular exercise requires making a commitment to yourself that you WILL exercise 3-4 times a week, not matter what else is going on. It is soooo easy to fall out of the habit of regular exercise and so difficult to get into it....

With that sermon, here goes: Posner will be at the park this morning at 845am at the mini golf area...I am leaving a telephone recorded message telling people the "formal" walk is off because of weather, but anyone who wants to join me, COME ON OUT!!! Put on the muddy sneakers, wear a baseball hat and some rain gear, but come on out!!! Let's show Mother Nature that she canot take away our commitment to be healthier and live longer. See you soon!

Serotonin-Plus Walk and Exercise

Rainy Saturday but I think the forecast is better for tomorrow.

Please call: 703-866-4144 tomorrow morning if you have any doubt about the weather affecting the walk. We will meet at the minigolf area of Burke Lake park at 845-900, then go down to the amphitheatre area near the trail and then start the walk (or run). Again, this is not a race ....no pressure...just a fun walk to kick off our Fall "Get back to Exercise" theme.

Concerning exercise, as mentioned last week in one of the blog entries, please consider "investing in yourself"., i.e. if you do not have any good exercise equipment in your home consider purchasing a nice treadmill or a good elliptical machine..perhaps a rowing machine..whatever eqiuipment you would use. As the weather gets colder/darker, those of you who look at your exercise as an "outside" activity wll in fact start getting less and les exercise. Having equipment in your basement in front of a good tv set or stereo system allows you to exercise no matter what the temperature or darkness factor. I know these pieces of equipment are costly, but it is a GREAT investment in improving your health.

Please join us tomorrow!!!

How to fit in exercise if you don’t have the time

These days it is hard to find the time to exercise if you work outside the home and have a family. It seems as though your time is always accounted for in some way. So how can we fit it in with all of our demands? If you are pressed for time, try fitting in a 10 minute work out or walk for 10 minutes every day. It will help burn calories and be the equivalent of a 20 minute workout 3 times/week. As you begin to exercise you will feel better, have greater energy and relieve your stress. Then you can try increasing your workout by one extra minute on the days when you have time. That way you are in the habit of doing something everyday, burn calories and you can improve your cardiovascular health.

To burn more calories, a new study from the University of New South Wales found that running intervals, or sprints with intermittent rest periods will burn three times as much fat as running at slow, consistent speeds. If you are a runner or jogger, head to a track, football field, or other measured area with room to run. Sprint for 45 seconds and record your distance. Rest for 60 seconds, then sprint again for 45 seconds trying to increase your distance by 10% in the same time frame. You can also do this on an elliptical machine or treadmill at a gym.

If you have some time at home in the evening, try to lift light dumb bells while you are watching TV, reading or even checking your email. Resistance training will increase muscle mass, tighten the skin and increase metabolism. Using weights 3-4 days per week, skipping a day in between can be very helpful to weight loss efforts and you will see the results if you stick with it.