Secret to losing weight: Just get moving

The secret to losing weight and getting in shape could be simpler than you think. Just start moving, personal trainer Charles Anderson said.

“The problem is they just don’t start,” Anderson, owner of CAST Fitness in Clear Lake, said. “Once you get started, it is easier to keep going. People make it too complicated and just don’t get started.”

Anderson, a Texas City native who has been a personal trainer for 10 years, said he is an example of someone who put off getting started and gained too much weight. He also is the example of what can happen if you just start moving.

“You don’t need a gym membership or a personal trainer to get fit,” Anderson said. “I lost 30 pounds before I ever walked into a gym.”

Once a star quarterback for Texas City High School, Anderson was working in a chemical plant when he realized his body had changed.

“I was like everybody else who stopped working out and just doing stuff and put on those eight pounds a year,” he said.

Ten years ago, he had hit 242 pounds. While walking by a full-length mirror one night, he looked at the shirtless man in mirror and said, “That’s not me.”

With only a pair of 15-pound dumbbells and a jump rope in his house, he started on a quest to get in shape. The workouts came after he cleaned out his kitchen.

“I went cold turkey from all the food we all know is bad for us,” Anderson said. “I stopped drinking the Kool-Aid and the beer and starting drinking more water.”

Does it work?

Anderson might be his best selling point.

“I went from a guy 242 (pounds) with 30 percent body fat to having 3 percent body fat,” Anderson, who lost 75 pounds in the first three months, said. “I am 41 years old and am in better shape than I was in high school.”

It was part of a lifestyle transformation — something he recommends everyone do.

“You have to make time for yourself to work out,” he said. “The first thing you should do is make better use of your time.”

That means scheduling at least 30 minutes each morning and again in the evening to work out, he said. Workouts can be walking for 30 minutes or riding a bike for that time. Instead of running, try walking. Then build up to running.”

He also recommends treating food not as a pleasure, but as fuel.

“If it is white or fluffy, you shouldn’t eat it,” he said. “Eat lean meats like chicken or turkey.”

Anderson also urges people to make an assessment of where they are and where they want to be.

“Set goals you can achieve,” he said. “Have an honest assessment of what you can do. Once you reach that goal, you can push for the next goal.”

Once those goals are set, you must make changes in your life to reach those goals. It takes a commitment from within, Anderson said.

“Some people join a gym or hire a trainer and say, ‘OK he will do it for me,’” Anderson said. “It doesn’t work that way. You have to do it. You have to make that commitment.”

Finally, give yourself the tools needed to get in shape.

Anderson might have started with the dumbbells and the jump rope, but he eventually bought other items to make progress in his workouts.

He suggests using online classifieds like Craig’s List to find used or surplus exercise equipment, which also will lower your investment into getting a new you.

But most important, don’t be lazy.

“Do something other than watching TV or just sitting at a desk,” he said. “Keep moving. Always be moving.”

+++

Tips To A Fitter You

• Make time to work out

• Make a commitment to always be moving

• Honestly assess where you are, where you want to be and what it will take to get there

• Make a commitment to make changes in your life, eating habits and workouts

• Buy the tools you need to get in shape

SOURCE: Charles Anderson, owner of CAST Fitness in Clear Lake