Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln Counties
Good News
Area News of Churches and Related Christian Events
VOL: 1 NO. 1
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1992
REPUBLIC NEWSPAPERS
Coping with the 'Battle of the Bulge’
By DEBRA A. HELTON
Scripture instructs us to
be active in our service for
the Lord. Further, we are to
avoid slothful behavior pat-
terns such as sleeping too
much and yes, gluttony. Yet
if there is a common and
constantly recurring com-
plaint among Christians it
would appear to be an in-
ability to cope with the
"Battle of the Bulge".
While our self-indulgent
and office-oriented
American lifestyles are
largely responsible for our
plight, the problem is hard-
ly irreversible. (Neither
must it be expensive to
eradicate.) And, of the
many “causes” surrounding
obesity the scriptural
method does, in effect, offer
a cure-all approach that
will greatly improve if not
entirely alleviate the prob-
lem in nearly every case.
The solution: EXERCISE.
Certainly you've heard
that often enough and,
quite possibly, have even
tried it. But before you
write it off as ineffective or
not practical for you, there
are a few myths we might
dispel:
Myth #1: "Exercise must
be either grueling or
painful to be effective.” (i.e.
“No pain, no gain") This
common assumption is ab-
solutely inaccurate.
Exercise need only increase
the heart rate for 10-12
minutes twice daily to be a
highly effective tool in bat-
tling weight. Further, even
~ . brisk walking is enough to
stimulate the heart's rate
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to this degree and thus im-
pact the problem.
Myth #2: "I'm a binge
eater. "Exercise won't work
for this problem." Bingers
follow their destructive -
methods of dieting, followed
by over-eating which have
been proven to contribute
greatly to bulemia and
anorexia nervosa due to
lack of appetite control. The
subsequent craving can be
quelled through the use of
such exercise, alleviating
the need for drug therapy
in many cases.
Myth #3: "Slow body
metabolisms are unchange-
able.” Quite the contrary,
slow metabolisms can be
greatly improved upon with
this same (10 minutes,
twice daily) routine - even if
you've always had a slow
metabolism rate.
Myth #4: "I'll only gain it
back again.” Dieters tend to
- gain weight back - exercise -
induced weight loss stays
gone as long as exercise is
continued and normal nu-
tritional balances are main-
tained.
Myth #5: "Exercise will
cause me to eat more." Both
human and animal studies
confirm that moderate to
vigorous exercise actually
decreases the appetite.
And, according to Dr. Jules
Hirsch of Rockefeller
University, "Exercise has a
euphoric effect that cuts
down the need to turn to
food for emotional satisfac-
tion."
Dr. Jean Mayer, the fa-
mous nutritional expert has
stated that "probably no
single factor is more fre-
quently responsible for the
development of obesity
than lack of physical exer-
cise."
Myth #6: "I'm intended to
be overweight. I eat less
than my thin friends and
I'm still overweight." When
Dr. Mayer and colleagues
studied a group of obese
girls they did find that the
overweight girls ate less
than their thin counter-
parts. Movies - of both
groups, however, revealed
that during periods of in-
tended exercise, the heavier
girls barely moved around
any more than absolutely
necessitated during their
activities and avoided any
real strain upon their bod-
ies. During tennis matches,
for instance, the overweight
girls would swing at a ball
only if it bounced some-
where near them. The thin
girls were all over the court
- stretching, leaping and
- running to strike the ball.
In swimming pool activities
the obese girls spent most
of their time peacefully
floating about while the
thinner girls swam laps.
Upon questioning, the
obese girls stated they hon-
estly had participated in
the exercise programs,
when, in fact, they'd barely
exercised at all.
Myth #7: "It takes too
long to see results.” With a
See Exercise, Page 4