Ditching the Diet Mentality for Lifelong Health and Improved Bowling

As a health coach who helps many clients with their weight loss goals, I often get asked by bowlers what the best diet is for losing weight. I’ve mentioned this in previous articles, but getting to a healthy body weight can not only help prevent or relieve lower back pain, but it can also help with joint pain and stiffness, inflammation, gout, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and a plethora of other pathologies.

In addition to preventing chronic health issues, getting to a healthy weight can also improve your bowling game. Losing weight will take a great deal of stress of your joints, especially your slide knee. If you’ve never seen the ESPN Sport Science segment on bowling that was done a few years back, I suggest watching it. Biomechanical sensors were placed on PBA star Sean Rash’s body to measure how much force was being placed on certain joints. His knee experienced 7.5 times his body weight in force at the foul line. Given that information, we can safely conclude that losing weight will take a tremendous amount of stress off your slide knee while bowling.

Losing weight can also help you experience less fatigue and soreness when competing in longer format bowling tournaments. Additionally, dietary adjustments to get to a healthier weight can reduce inflammation and allow improvements in body temperature regulation. You will also be capable of creating a better swing plane when your body doesn’t have to essentially get out of its own way. A better swing plane will lead to more consistency with launch angles. You may even find that your balance and ability to post shots improves with weight loss, before even setting foot into a gym. The benefits are endless, both on and off the lanes!

Weight loss is about more than a number on the scale. It’s about preventing disease and living life the way you’d like to, and perhaps even giving yourself the opportunity to compete with bowlers at the highest levels. Right now, there are plenty of diets out there for people to follow. Everyone wants to know what the most effective way to lose weight is, so I decided to provide readers with some helpful facts and advice on how to lose weight and keep it off.

The biggest factor in achieving and maintaining weight loss is going to be shifting your mindset to a healthier lifestyle. In the coaching world, many of us call this “ditching the diet mentality.” If you are looking for a diet that you can start next week, follow for X amount of ...