Saturday, July 05, 2008

Guest Post by Dr. Andersen

Here is the 2nd in a guest series post by Dr. Wayne Andersen as he talks about his habits of health.  It’s a good one!

No exercise for the first three weeks of the program?  Huh? 

Yes it is true. In my upcoming book, “Habits of Health,” there is no exercise program for the first three weeks of the program. Why?  Because most people fall into two groups: those who exercise and those who don’t.  If a person has not been exercising regularly, we first want to get them to a healthy weight.  Once they are down to a healthy weight, they will then be able to burn fat at a more efficient rate.  It is important to keep in mind that if you have not been exercising and then you are too active too quick, you could hurt yourself… this is the last thing we want.  The main focus is to lose weight, to consume just enough calories to support your activity level, achieve a great fat burning state, then settle into a conducive exercise routine.

Remember that my program is not a gimmick program.  This program is not about losing weight temporarily.  It is about following a step-by-step program to create long term health, a healthy lifestyle that will last for the rest of your life. You do this by building as you go.  Achieving a healthy weight is the first phase and then the exercise will follow.

Now if someone is exercising I can understand the concern.  I lectured at a gym and asked a bunch of women to raise their hands if they had been going to the gym for the last couple years and a majority of the women excitedly raised their hands.  I then asked them how many of them had a achieved a healthy weight and most of them had not reached their goal.  For those who do exercise regularly, I want them to cut their program in half for the first three weeks and then resume their normal routine.

The first goal is to get rid of the extra fat around the middle.  You need to get your body into that fat burning state, and if you’re too active too early then you will not get into that state very effectively. Allow yourself to use the system, make sure you get enough calories and work your way up.

If you want more information from Dr. Andersen himself head over to his Website