The importance of Customized Diet and Exercise

Dear Ask The Doctor: Hi. I am 27 years old male. I am slightly overweight. Height is 5 feet 10 inches. Weight is 83 Kgs. Last 8 years, I have not exercised much and do have a very bad body shape. I have fat in my belly ,waist size 35 inches, hips, butt and thigh areas. I had done gyanacomia surgery about 9 years back. I don't like the look of my body and felt that I don't have much control over it. Last 4 months, I've been exercising regularly, almost 30 to 45 minutes of jogging or aerobics everyday. I have lost about 6 kgs in the last three months and have burnt a lot of fat throughout the body which gives me a shunken appearance. Hope I'm not losing much muscles?! I'm feeling better now and I would like to continue on this course. My food intake has also reduced but since I'm staying alone I am not able to get the best combination of nutritious food. I take 3 square meals a day and have milk 2 to 3 times a day. So what I would like to know is whether I'm going on the right course? whether a body checkup will help me in this regard? Is there any specific diet instructions that I need to follow so that I don't lose muscles, lose fat by doing just aerobics or jogging? Thanks for the patient reading, Ganesh

Dear Ganesh: There are many body building supplements from various commercial brands, most of them have Creatine as main constituent, also aminoacids, proteins, all these may help to grow muscle and give you the necessary energy and aerobic capacity to develop your exercising daily routine. Every person is different and most likely the exercise routine should be customized for each case in particular. There is a very well described entity in the medical literature called: Overuse Syndrome, which can affect any part of the body that is over stressed with movements or activities in a repetitive way, including occupational, recreational, and habitual activities. Repetition is part of the definition of overuse injury. The concept is that overuse injury is associated with repeated challenge without sufficient recovery time, and this is true for Body Building or any other sport or activity in which you exceed the guidelines and your own limits or capacities. So a daily healthy exercise routine besides the standard guidelines should be customized for each particular individual. Also I strongly recommend you to get an assessment by a nutritionist to determine your ideal weight and a physical trainer to teach you a basic customized exercise routine that you can easily follow.