Blog – Level 3: The Sensa Fastercize System by Cellofan (Mair)

We’ve discussed two levels to the Sensa system to date: Level 1 of the Sensa program focuses on sprinkling the foods you’ve always eaten with Sensa.  Level 2 introduced a satiety index, and listed high-satiety foods and recipes that would help you feel full for a long time.  This chapter introduces Level 3 of the program, the Sensa Fastercize system, and teaches us about incorporating various levels of exercise for quicker weight loss and better long-term health.

As with other aspects of this program, Dr. Hirsch emphasizes gradual lifestyle changes.  Something that I found very interesting was the amount of discussion devoted to non-exercise related activities (abbreviated NEAT) and his comment that you have a better chance of burning more calories on a daily basis by changing these activities than with specific exercise activities.  Dr. Hirsch lists 25 examples of NEAT activities include sitting up straight in a chair, parking further from the store, walking around while talking on the phone, manual channel changing, playing with kids or pets, taking stairs, walking to a restroom on another floor, walking after lunch or dinner, carrying in grocery bags one at a time, etc.  How easy are these?!  After reading this list, I am now making a conscious effort to park further from the store (see photo) and have brought a stationary bike out of storage and plunked it next to the living room rocker.  Now it’s easy to get in a little exercise while watching TV or a movie and easy to put away if necessary.

Dr. Hirsch goes on to discuss exercise aimed at cardiovascular fitness and strength training and how it increases energy, builds strong muscle and bone and improves sleep.  He talks about creating an exercise plan and gives many well-photographed simple exercises to choose from.   He has grouped them into legs, arms, shoulders and abs plus a fifth group of optional bonus exercises to add intensity.  You choose an exercise from each of the 4 basic groups and, along with some warm-up and cool-down moves, you have a complete workout in less than 20 minutes without leaving home and without any special equipment.  After a couple times, you probably won’t need the sample photos as reference but if you do, you can photocopy the page and put it on the floor or wall in front of you.

These exercises, combined with the NEAT activities above, are a great way to ease into getting more activity into your daily routine.  Dr. Hirsch quoted a small study comparing activity levels of lean and obese people.  The study showed that obese people sat for 164 minutes (more than 2.5 hours!) longer each day than lean people and that lean people burned an average of 350 calories more a day (36 pounds a year) just by walking and standing more throughout the day.  Let’s get moving!!!  Here’s an area where every little bit really helps.

Parking further from the store!