When you think about it, when was the last time you saw a really overweight person live an astonishing amount of time, like the centenarians you read about more often these days? It is not likely a person who is overweight will enjoy an extended life span anymore than say, a person who works in asbestos mines will. That is to say, we have a certain amount of control over our potential longevity when it comes to environmental issues and lifestyle choices – including how much and what it is we are eating.
Dieting and weight loss has become a billion dollar business that is available to us by various means. There are diet programs, copious books and videos, products such as supplements, diet drinks, specialty foodstuffs etc.; the list is a long one. There are also fitness centers or health clubs, diet centers in strip plazas everywhere, and you can even have surgical procedures done to lose weight. Six years ago, the business of dieting and weight loss was worth $46.3 billion dollars and just a couple years ago, that number reached $58.6 billion. It increased by more than 12 billion dollars in only four years!
You would think that with this kind of cash being spent on weight reduction, the US population would be svelte and fit. That would be incorrect. Based on information printed in the American Medical Association Journal in August 2008, poor diets and reduced physical activity are right behind tobacco as the second worst cause of death.
A leading investigator in the diet field recently stated that the estimated quantity of people dieting is 72 million, sixty six percent of US citizens are overweight or clinically classified as obese for a combined one hundred fifty one million adults struggling with weight issues. Children’s obesity is increasing at astounding rates in America; one out of three is clinically overweight. Eating disorders account for five to ten percent of teenage girls and women or five to ten million. There are about a million teenage boys and men suffering the same eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia, binge eating or conditions close to these. Some fifty thousand people are going to die as a result of these eating conditions.
At some point in time, two thirds of the US population is dieting. Twenty nine percent of that total is men and forty four percent of them are women. Just five percent of these folks will succeed in keeping additional weight off. The sad truth is, most of these people will regain their lost weight and then some. As much money that is being spent on dieting and weight loss, Americans just are not losing the weight they need to.
The US Surgeon General has said that obesity and overweight issues have reached epidemic proportions. A primary reason these diets and weight loss attempts fail is due to the participant choosing fad diet plans rather than focus on proven methods like eating a balanced and healthful diet. The truth is the diet industry is successful at making so much money because they understand human nature wants the quick fix, no fuss, no effort weight loss plans that they are only just too happy to provide to the masses.
If you want to live a long and healthy life, free from the problems of being overweight, there are simply no quick answers. There are no rational diet that risks your physical or even emotional health just so you can look trim. There is no reason why you need to starve yourself, deprive yourself, eat crummy tasting faux foods, drive yourself nuts and risk your health and welfare by taking weight loss or diet drugs just to lose some weight and get fit. Getting healthier and into shape entails choosing a lifestyle of good nutrition and an exercise regimen, according to WebMD.com. They claim that proven weight loss tactics encompass a well planned diet with a reduction in caloric intake along with an exercise plan you can stick with.
Where health and fitness are concerned, a preventive approach is the best way to proceed, though if you have never learned healthy eating protocols, would like to lose a few pounds, are concerned about your obesity or chronic eight gain, finding a nutrition and fitness management program is your best bet.
Losing weight means showing some discipline at the dinner table, preparing a balanced diet, avoiding every fad diet that comes along and getting more active. Specifically these diets that make insane promises, designed to aid in an initial loss until the novelty of dieting wears off and the pounds come back with a vengeance. There is a lot of disingenuous half truths flying around in the field of weight loss and until people educate themselves regarding proper dieting methods, the true weight loss issue will never be rectified for many.
In order to get a svelte body that exudes vitality and optimal health, one that will increase your chances of living a longer life, your beliefs and behavior must undergo modification. In order to lose weight and keep it off, remember these words – Information, Responsibility, Fortitude, Restraint And Inspiration. Let’s take a closer look at what these five words mean to a weight loss candidate.
• Information Is Knowledge And Knowledge Is Power. [Increasing your knowledge or awareness regarding the facts, ideas, truths or principles].
When you increase your information on a subject you then old some power so be sure you learn as much as possible about diet, health and fitness. Failure to do this will leave you vulnerable to the gimmicky weight loss trends that will inevitably fail. Knowledge of nutrition and exercise will help you to avoid the yo-yo dieting that may plague you, setting you up to fail miserably and being worse off than before you began dieting. You also risk losing any health you may have had prior to your fad dieting and this pattern of dieting can also lead to depression from accumulated failures.
• Being Held Responsible [taking responsibility for your situation, being responsible to someone others or responsible for something].
Take a long hard look at where you are at currently regarding your health and general fitness level by seeking out a physician’s evaluation. Have your body mass tested and remember the results so you understand the makeup of your body’s lean muscle mass compared to fat. With body fat test results, you can more easily chart your weight loss progress to witness if you are in fact losing fat and not simply weight. It would not hurt to test your flexibility, stamina and strength while you are at it.
Some people may become depressed when they learn where they initially stand concerning their fitness level and health. Remember that you must start somewhere and now you have a compass setting to lead you to where you eventually want to be with your health. This compass reading will help you form practical objectives with a suitable program that will assist you in achieving your desired fitness level in good time.
You must quit placing blame where it does not belong and begin to accept individual responsibility for the state of your health and level of fitness. Know that what you are about to begin will very likely increase your life expectancy. You will begin taking the early strides towards transformation. Understand that seventy percent of all chronic illness stems from lack of exercise and a lousy diet. Admit that you have played your part in this debacle and move forward to fix the problem. It could help if you found a likeminded partner to diet and exercise along with you. The moral support and motivation derived from such a partner will hold you accountable.
• Find Your Inner Fortitude [this is the capacity to face risk and trouble, pain and doubt while not being overwhelmed by anxiety or averted from your objective].
Fight the good fight against obesity. A battle such as this will require a steel backbone, stubborn determination and a strength of spirit yet tested. Becoming fit, sustaining health and staying that way necessitates a prolonged obligation, enduring discomfort and emotional anguish for extended periods, particularly in the initial phase [it gets easier!]. Entrench your position and prepare to win at all costs.
• Practice Restraint [call it will power or self discipline but it plays a huge role in behavior modification].
Exercising restraint is the hardest element of a diet and exercise regimen for those seriously challenging their normal habits. Not utilizing restraint or discipline at this critical time will inevitably result in failure. Nevertheless, you do not need to place it all on the line in a do or die scenario. You could become overwhelmed by this process so making even small progress with restraint is better than none at all. Small strides will still get you to the promise of superior health, fitness and longevity.
Set small objectives that are reachable and reward yourself with equally small compensation. You could plan the occasional “cheat day” as you proceed toward your goal, if only to ensure your outlook remains focused on the prize.
Avoid getting down on yourself if you go astray from the program, be it the diet or exercise routine. If you slip, catch yourself and move forward, remembering that you are only human and fall back on the strength of your constitution to continue moving forward. In your mind’s eye, picture what you want to look like when the goal is met.
• Stay Inspired [Maintaining your interest and having incentive to complete an objective].
Make sure you understand the process of achieving prime fitness and a healthy body will mean making a lifestyle switch so learning to enjoy what you are doing it vital to not only the end result but sustaining it ceaselessly. Inspiration will be imperative in order to tolerate this new way of life – eating properly and exercising religiously. You will need to find methods of reinforcing your inspiration along the road to renewed and lasting wellness.
Everyone has unique motivators where diet and fitness are concerned. Vanity inspires some of us, health trouble is a great incentive to stay the course, and yet others become addicted to the process of getting fit and staying that way. Still some use family and their hope of longevity as inspiration, seeing their grandkids get married or even their own children graduate! Find something to inspire yourself and utilize it to reach your goals.
In conclusion, recognize that each one of us faces the challenge of warding off fat accumulation, ill health and inactivity to some extent, there is no immunity for it. It is a challenge to live with vivacious health knowing we’ve done all we can to achieve an extended life. It is difficult becoming fit and challenging to maintain a healthy routine but definitely doable if, you are prepared and enthusiastic. Only you have the power to make this happen!
Anti Aging, Anti Aging Theories, Health And Aging, Longevity
Wed, Mar 31, 2010
Anti Aging, Anti Aging Theories, Health And Aging, Longevity