Published in The Times-Picayune
February 22, 2008 5:00AM
Link to orginal article

You gravitate to the recliner like white lint to a black sweater. You favor channel surfing over wind surfing. And you have never once concerned yourself with the number of calories you're burning by pointing the remote at the TV and clicking through 300-plus channels. (The answer: about 80 calories an hour, made null and void by the consumption of one soft drink.)

Somewhere between "Law and Order" reruns and the Lifetime network lurks a secret desire to conquer your couch-potato ways. Perhaps you even pondered as a New Year's resolution to exercise more than your remote finger this year.

Here it is, almost two months later and you haven't taken the first step.
So we're offering you 10 clear-cut steps to take you from bad habits to better health.

"They work because the steps are so simple. Adding up 10 points will change your life," says Shilstone, who calls his plan "the couch potato's dream." It is the management tool he devised, based on proven studies implemented while working on his master's in business administration about a decade ago.

The author of five health books, Shilstone outlined this "wellness organizer" in two previous books, "The Fat Burning Bible" and "Maximum Energy for Life," and will include it in his upcoming book, "Body Plan for Kids," due out next year.

"With these tools, you can lose weight without ever dieting," says Shilstone, executive director of the Fitness Principle at East Jefferson General Hospital.

But stepping away from the sofa does require significant lifestyle changes. For motivation, Shilstone suggests clipping out a plan and putting it on the refrigerator.

Before you start, buy a pedometer, available at sports stores and family discount stores. Wear the pedometer for two weekdays and one weekend day to chart the approximate number of steps you take in a day.

"A two-foot stride for 30 minutes is roughly 2,400 steps," Shilstone says. Since 8,000 to 10,000 steps are required for weight loss, the person who wants to lose weight and takes an average of 6,500 steps per day should add a minimum of 1,500 steps for weight loss.)

And as for the pace?

"Go by the talk test. You should be able to easily say two or three sentences out loud while walking," he says.

Most people embarking on new nutritional plans "eat too fast, they don't get enough water, and they eat when they are upset," Shilstone says.

When planning ahead for healthy snacks, he suggests such combinations as an apple with almond butter, five whole-grain crackers with mozzarella cheese or a half-cup of cottage cheese with fresh berries.

Monitoring the plan is the key to its success. Review the 10 steps on a daily basis, and give yourself a point for each step that you achieve.

Shilstone suggests making a chart with each of the 10 tasks, and making a column for each day of the week. Put a check by each step you complete. A total of 10 points at the end of the day is a perfect score. Seventy points in a week, and you are well on your way to weight loss, he says.

"By keeping score, you will physiologically and psychologically peg your lifestyle in a way you have never actualized before. By the third day of the program, you will stare into your life and see immediately where your downfall is," says Shilstone, who cautions against being discouraged if perfect 10s are elusive in the beginning. Baby steps lead to the big steps in a healthy direction.

"The important thing is to move forward each day in making these changes," he says.

Visualization, he says, can help in completing new goals.

"See yourself the way you want to be, and your body will move toward that physical image."