's motd Sunday Nov 14, 2010

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BOTH

Sunday, 14 November 2010

Every week, I seem to receive an

E-mail that goes something like this:

Dear : I'm trying, once

again, to lose some weight before Christmas. I know

I can't lose a lot of weight between now and

then. But, I sure would like to lose 5 pounds or

more by Christmas Day. Here's my big question

though. Which should I focus on? Cutting my

calories or getting in more exercise to accomplish

my weight-loss goal?

Well, I have to tell you, when I first began my quest

to lose weight, I did it by cutting back on my

calories alone. Me? Exercise?

Back then? Hey, you've gotta be kidding! I was in no

way interested in exercising. The only

exercise I got when I was younger was ripping the

wrapping paper and bows from my Christmas presents!

Even though I'd see my parents exercising, their

desire to be fit sure didn't rub off on me!

I never took PE in high school so I didn't get in any

exercise while I was there. (Unless you count running

to the cafeteria at lunch time!) I attended an

all-boys Catholic high school. At Brother 's,

playing sports was a big thing. Oh, they had a

football team, basketball and baseball team. But hey,

you never saw me going out for any of those sports! (Please!)

So, getting back to my

point, all of the weight-loss efforts in my younger

days involved cutting back on calories...only.

That meant it was all about eating hard-boiled eggs,

water-packed tuna, cottage cheese and celery sticks.

As I continued my decades of dieting, I

lost-and-gained, lost-and-gained, I'm sure...100s

of pounds! Then there was the time I starved myself

to lose weight. And even though the weight was gone,

I had something else to contend with...my sagging

skin. My so-called muscles looked soft and flabby.

In fact, my whole body looked like that.

It wasn't until I reached my 20s that I figured out

what I really needed to focus on. I had to focus on both.

My eating habits and my daily workouts.

When I added exercise to the equation, the results I

saw were amazing. I mean, once I started doing my

cardio, stretching and lifting weights, I was able to

look in the mirror and see something I'd never seen on

my body before. I saw muscles! I was

developing muscles in my arms, legs, stomach, chest

and back! Hey, I never even knew I had them until

then. I thought, maybe the "muscle fairy" must have

come one night and put those muscles on my body while

I was asleep. But no, truth is...I had worked for

and earned those muscles!

By lowering my

calories and fat grams, combined with daily exercise, I

was getting my body into much better shape! And the only

way for you to get your body into better shape is

to do what I do now, everyday. And that is work out that

body of yours!

Now there're a lot of programs out there stressing

that you only have to control the food you eat to lose

weight. Then, there're others that push only

exercise. As for me...what do I push for successful

weight-loss and a more fit body? Both!

Love,