Staying Fit Is Painless Pursuit

Students who dread the Malkin Athletic Center (MAC) need no longer worry—losing weight and staying healthy is possible just by doing laundry, bowling, or gardening, according to a new book by a Harvard Medical School researcher.

Dr. Harvey B. Simon’s new book “The No Sweat Exercise Plan: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, and Live Longer” says that slight modifications to most people’s daily lives are enough for weight loss, disease prevention, and overall health.

“For years, I believed that in order to benefit from exercise, you had to exercise aerobically,” said Simon, who is an associate professor of medicine. “But if your goal is health, you don’t need to do aerobic exercise.”

Simon—who once weighed 210 pounds—said he knows from experience that many current guidelines for exercise can be overwhelming and intimidating for people.

“Many people have this ‘no pain, no gain’ image of exercise. But if simple health is what you’re looking for, you can get big gains without any pain,” he said.

Simon said that he came to believe he was doing patients a disservice by telling them that running and cardio exercises were the only ways to get healthy.

He now encourages low-sweat activities like walking, washing your car, and ironing as ways to decrease the risk for obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

The book especially applies to college students, whose diets are laden with coke, beer and pizza, Simon said. “College is a golden opportunity for taking lessons, getting coaching, and taking advantage of going to the gym.”

But for students who don’t frequent the gym, even walking from class to class is enough to vastly improve health, according to Simon.

“People think walking is a pale second best and a waste of time,” he said, explaining that astoundingly small amounts of exercise can have enormous benefits.

Simon’s research found that walking just eight extra flights of stairs a day decreased death rates by 33 percent.

In the book, Simon sets up a points system, similar to the Weight Watchers method, which assigns different point values for everyday activities.

According to this system, everyone should aim for 150 points a day for maximum health—which can be achieved by half an hour of heavy cleaning or cooking for 75 minutes.

The book also notes that 15 minutes of sex is equivalent to 25 points.

Those who are looking to lose weight should engage in physical activity amounting to 300 points a day.

“There’s only one way to lose weight, burn more calories than you consume,” said Dawn Murdock, fitness program manager at the MAC. “Some movement is definitely better than none.”

Simon added that he hopes his book will be an influence that will help people, especially college students, over a lifetime.

“Now is the time to develop patterns that can sustain you for life,” he said.