Weight loss can be one
of the most difficult things to accomplish. Today's media and the marketplace
can sometimes make the effort of weight loss even harder. Like it or not most
societies in the developed countries are heavily motivated by the media.
Television, radio, newspapers, direct mail, and the Internet all contribute
heavily to our beliefs, our attitudes and ultimately our actions. So, when it
comes to weight loss, how do you determine
the right solution for your situation? Who do you believe and who do you
discount?
Are we as a society
obsessed with weight loss? Or, is there truly reason to take notice and lose a
few pounds? While there are some people, especially females during the teenage
years, who take weight loss to the extremes, for most of us losing some weight
would be the healthy thing to do.
It's no secret that
"thin is in", yet turn on the news channel and you'll see where
researchers are finding more and more of our youth are obese and more and more
adults as well as children are being diagnosed with the chronic disease of Type
2 diabetes, often as a result of obesity. We see hear that thin is better, yet
we keep getting bigger and bigger. What's the reason?
The reasons are many.
Primarily, our activity levels don't match the amount of food we eat. We are
constantly being bombarded with quick food and lots of occasions to eat. For
example, some friends invite you over. The chances are slim that there won't be
food involved. You go to a sports event. What's on your mind besides the game?
Food! Somehow, we have become conditioned to equate food with socializing.
While that's not necessarily a bad thing, the amount of food we consume at
these parties and events often times are a bad thing. If you are trying to lose
weight, whenever you eat, remember; don't eat more than you will be active
enough to use! Let's face it! Watching the Super Bowl on television is far less
energy focused, than the guys playing in the game. They're usually drinking
Gatorade, we're eating everything in site.
Were The Cavemen Fat?
Consider this: Our
forefathers were constantly working to simply survive. The men were farming,
hunting, and fishing for food. The women were busy preparing, the food, and the
clothing as well as raising the children. There was constant activity without
an overabundance of food. Our bodies were not designed to be sedentary. Yet,
today with technological advances, and the average lifestyles we live, our
activity levels have all but disappeared.
Let's explore this a
bit further... We get up in the morning, jump in the shower, drive a car or
catch the subway or bus to work, grab some food at the fast food place for
lunch, come home pop in a frozen dinner, plop down on the sofa, turn on the TV
and our day is done. Compare that to the days of old. First off, you had to
draw the water for the shower, then you had to fire the stove to stay warm and
to cook( the food was hunted and grown by hand). If you left your home for
work, walking was a major way of transportation,...Need I say more? Our bodies
haven't evolved to the point to where activity is not necessary. Yet, we are
the least active of any society since mankind was placed on this earth. Food
must be matched with activity. To lose weight, you must consume less food than
the body needs. That's about the only way you'll burn off any fat.
Steps to Losing Weight
Enough preaching about
activity. You want to lose weight and have more energy. First, I strongly
suggest if you have more than a few pounds to lose, see your physician before
you begin any weight loss plan. There are some medications, and diseases that
can contribute to weight gain. If you know the facts before you begin you'll be
able to better determine the best method for your weight loss.
Secondly, as you think
about losing weight, carefully and honestly evaluate your current situation. Is
it just a few pounds, say 5 or 10 you want to lose? Maybe it's 20 to 30? These
amounts usually can safely be lost without the help of health professionals. If
you need to lose 50 or more pounds, I strongly suggest you see your physician
before you begin any weight loss plan.
Next, you need to
evaluate why you've gained the weight. There are many reasons people gain
weight. Some eat more than they need as a mental pick-me-up. Some eat because
they have nothing else to do. Others don't really overeat, they simply make the
wrong choices of what they eat. Then there's those of us who have put on a few
pounds each year and now all of a sudden, nothing fits anymore. Whatever the
case, you can lose the weight. It will take the right attitude, level of
commitment and the right actions. Yes, there are plenty of diets and pills
available to help you along the way. They aren't all bad, but do keep in mind
that unless permanent lifestyle changes are made, the weight will come back
when you stop the diets and the pills.
Diets and Pills
There are almost as
many weight loss methods and diet pills available as there are people who want
to lose weight.
There are diet pills
that stop your hunger so you eat less and burn more fat. There are diet pills
that cause the body not to metabolize all the food you eat, so it's passed out
of your system and not stored as fat. Then there's the combination of these
two. As you begin your search for the perfect diet pill, be careful as some can
have harmful effects on your body.
Diet Pills work by
shifting levels of brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that control satiety
(fullness) and desire for food. Some also slightly increase your metabolic rate
- the rate at which your body burns calories.
Examples of weight
loss diet pills include:
Diethylpropion
hydrochloride (eg. Tenuate)
Mazindol (eg. Mazanor,
Sanorex)
Phendimetrazine tartrate
(eg. Bontril)
Phentermine
hydrochloride (eg. Adipex-P, Ionamin)
All these can be used
to help with weight loss. Be careful of pills containing ephedra, or caffeine.
These can have negative and sometimes even deadly effects on the body. Use with
caution.
Three Steps
Whatever method you
choose to help you lose weight, here's three steps that will help.
Evaluate your
situation and reasons behind the weight gain honestly. Sometimes it's difficult
to accept the true facts about why we've gained weight, only by realizing and
accepting the truth can you being to deal with it using a positive attitude.
Make sure your
attitude is positive about the changes you make. Don't dread the changes or say
things like I hate not eating the cake.... Instead whenever you have one of
those kinds of thoughts think about how much happier you will be with your new
slimmer body.
Visualize the positive
effects your good actions are having. Get a mental image of the "new
you." Whenever you're tempted not to be active or to eat the wrong things,
picture the "new you" you will be if you overcome the temptation.
Don't believe the
magical ads. You can't keep doing the same things, and expect something
different to happen. You can use products to assist you with weight loss, but
ultimately you must be in control for the weight to stay off without taking the
diet pills.
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