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In the United States alone, over 50% of the population is overweight. A number of these are to the point of being obese. Obesity is a condition where a persons health & wellbeing is put at risk because of an excess of fatty tissue. As the obesity worsens, a persons health risk factors increases proportionally.
Obesity is know to attribute to various diseases including cardiovascular diseases, sleep apnea, and diabetes. It also adds to the severity of arthritis, and osteoarthritis by increasing pressure on the body's joints especially the lower extremities.
Being overweight or obese is influenced by several factors of which some are out of the individual's control. Lifestyle and heredity are the two main controlling factors. Mental factors or state of mind has much to do with our ability to control the weight gain and falls under the category of lifestyle. A good state of mind has a lot to do with how well a person controls their actions and self image. This is a major consideration that has to be dealt with in an effort to control ones weight gain.
State of mind along with controlling food intake, both amount and type, are the two most important factors for being successful with the dieting process.
Burning Calories
Another major factor in the reduction of, or controlling weight is the importance of exercising. This along with dieting and eating the correct foods is a major contributor to a healthy lifestyle. It is very difficult to burn calories without an exercise regimen.
Diets and dieting are an ever present part of our society and culture. It is difficult to be included in a small group of people without hearing the statement, "I'm on a diet" or "I'm trying to reduce my calorie intake".
Some of the popular diets are:
Some of these advertised diets are huge money makers for their owners. This alone can attest to the fact that "diets" are very prevalent in our society today and so many people are aware of the importance of trying to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Most of us like to remember and comment on the time in our lives when we could eat whatever we desired and maintain our "school days" figure. Do you ever think why it was so much easier then to avoid weight gain no matter what you ate?
At the age of thirty or older, our body has a difficult time burning enough calories to help us maintain a constant weight. As a general rule, we are less active and our metabolism is slower.
The body is an amazing machine and burns its fuel with great efficiency. An estimate of calories burned when a body is at rest and watching television is 12 calories/pound of body weight on a given day. These calories are consumed by the normal body functions that are necessary to keep you living.
Even when the body is active, its fuel usage is still very efficient. Even when pacing oneself on a long run, the amount of calories burned average an estimated 100 calories /mile. This fact shows us how important it is to control our calorie intake.
When we look at the amount of calories that we burn per day, it not that great. We are constantly hearing that in order to maintain our current weight we must burn an equal amount of calories that we consume. If we desire to diet and loose weight, we must burn in excess of what we take in.
The Effects of Fast Foods
If your body weight is 160 pounds, it typically burns approximately 1920 calories/day without any type of physical exercise. If you are a typical American family and live a busy lifestyle "fast food" becomes very appealing. With that said, lets look at the calorie intake of a meal at the local Burger King consisting of a Whopper®/Cheese, Super Fry, and Super Size Coke®.
Whopper®/Cheese 696 calories*
Super Fry 489 calories*
Super Size Coke® 369 calories*
1554 calories
See Burger King's Nutritional Facts*
As your can clearly see, a fast food meal quickly eliminates your available daily intake of calories (1920 - 1554 = 366). Eating fast food while dieting is very difficult to do no matter what type of diet that you are on.
Pizza is another fast food that some families like to consume on a weekly basis. Here again, it is difficult to diet and eat pizza regularly. Most slices have a very high calorie count.
We are not trying to condemn fast food but merely trying to call attention to how easy it is to consume an excess of calories in a short time.
The reality is that most of us lead busy lives with each family member participating in different activities and moms and pops acting as taxi drivers for the children. There are doctor appointments, sports, and various other daily time consuming things that have to be done. This makes "fast food" much to convenient for leading a healthy lifestyle.
Diets and Dieting
The main reasons that most diets fail and are not effective are that they are so structured that they cannot be sustained for any period of time. Either the diet is so boring and offers so few choices that it is impossible for anyone to stay on them for any period of time or there is a small excess of calorie intake each day and the body does not show any weight loss.
Dieting alone is not usually successful. Some form of calorie burning exercise is also necessary. Walking, running, or some type of activity that causes repeated motion is the best. Body building burns fat and calories but is not a recommended exercise for normal weight loss or calorie burning.
Lets look at several scenarios that can take place while dieting.
You can sit and watch television and at the same time lower the calorie intake below the daily minimum that your body requires and slowly loose weight. This inactivity usually guarantees the failure of a diet and accomplishes little. You will usually return to an increased calorie intake over what you were doing before you started dieting and gain weight.
You can control your calorie intake and include walking or some other type of calorie burning activity and loose weight at a greater rate. This second scenario is a much more effective way to diet because the faster weight reduction is considerably more satisfying. The exercise also stimulates the mind and tends to reflect a more positive attitude than sitting on the couch and watching television.
Whatever your approach to Dieting is, remember that it will take a good "state of mind" along with good discipline to accomplish your goals. Like anything else in life, dieting takes a positive attitude and a will to succeed.
Charles Oxford
GetawayCrafts
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