The Problem with Slimming Clubs

As mentioned in previous articles healthy lifestyle does not rely solely on one factor.   There are three major areas identified for healthy lifestyle: diet, rest and exercise.  So when you come to Kosher Fitness you’re shown how to exercise correctly and safely to work towards your goals, and similarly we offer diet and rest advice too.

However, many people are tempted to try one without the other i.e. diet without exercise and join a slimming club.  There are thousands out there from big names such as Weight Watchers and Slimming World to Fat Fighters and Slim Fast.

I received a leaflet from one of these companies through my door last week, which is to be expected after all the January hype that comes with this time of year as people create resolutions. It’s the biggest time of year for the fitness industry and a large amount of marketing budget goes in January alone.  I had a look through the leaflet with the intention of speaking to them about cross over work between themselves and Kosher Fitness or Evolve.  However, when I looked through the leaflet I was in shock!

On the front it had lots of happy people of all shapes and sizes, some big some small - together  with a short testimonial from a lady who has lost 7lb, in 3 months.  Not that much, but still in the right direction, which I thought was a good start, it looked welcoming and accessible to everyone.hen it had an example of "Esther’s" super slimming menu.

Breakfast - "I love starting the day with a big bowl of cereal and a bagel with cream cheese”
Lunch - "A bowl of pasta with chicken, cream sauce and roasted vegetables"
Mid afternoon - "An apple and a bag of crisps and chocolate bar keeps me going until tea time
Dinner – “Homemade fish and ‘slimming’ chips and a salad too. Then I relax with a glass of red wine”

Sounds great to me – lose weight and eat whatever I like ...

Unfortunately that’s not how this works.  This is not something a successful health club should be promoting.  The only way this ‘diet’ will ever work is if you are already obese.
If you already eat large amounts of fried food and high GI carb foods like this on a regular basis then chances are you are "overweight" - by simply reducing the amount of these foods or cutting down the calories, you will actually lose weight.   That’s not rocket science!

The problem lies in the grey area of weight loss and fat burn; which to most lay people would be interpreted as the same thing.  When trying to lose weight you want to look and feel better for whatever reason - be it summer holidays, weddings or bar mitzvahs.

Losing weight is easy simply reduce your calorie intake by 500 per day and by the end of 1 week theoretically you should have created a deficit of 3500 which is the equivalent of 1lb of body weight.  But whilst you may look slightly better you won’t feel that great as you’re still not eating healthily, you’re just eating fewer calories. 

You should start eating more fruit and vegetables, substituting these for chips, latkes, bagels etc.  As already stated in other articles, go for as many different colours of fruit and vegetables in your diet to get a maximum variety of vitamins and minerals and make cooking more exciting. Make lean protein your base for every meal, be it eggs, chicken, turkey or even lean steak.

Start doing some exercise - once a week is even better than none, but I’d recommend three times per week.  Don’t just do cardio; try some resistance training like circuits or strength training.  This way your muscles will look good when the fat drops off.  Plus resistance training will speed up your metabolism so you’ll burn even more fat!

Stop eating foods which are pre-packed and processed and prepare all your meals yourself so you know exactly what’s going in.

Should you be reading this and already be part of a diet club and be losing weight and fat then credit to you, stay with it, there are some good points to it. Being part of a group cutting fat is always easier than doing it as an individual; however that is probably the only benefit.

If you want real dietary advice, from real professionals please speak to a member of staff at Kosher Fitness who will be more than happy to advise you on what you should be eating to maintain a healthy heart and body.