The average person is now five pounds heavier then that of 20 years ago.
That sounds pretty grim but is there a brighter side?
Actually, there’s a Mr. or Mrs. Goodweight inside each one of us – it may just be stuck behind layers of discouragement, bulges of overindulgence, and mounds of misconceptions. We need to locate that special person inside each and every one of us and begin restoring the health, energy, and self-confidence that’s been buried far too long.
How do you do that?
By finding a lifestyle that maintains health, increases energy, lowers the risk of diseases, reduces food bills, and allows people to eat as much as they want and still lose weight without feeling hungry.
Surely that’s an impossible dream
Not really. Obesity occurs when calories eaten exceed the calories used by the body for physical activity and maintenance of its functions. These leftover calories are stored as fat. By the time 3,500 extra calories have accumulated, one pound of fat will have been deposited.
Adding an extra pat of butter (100 calories) to the daily diet will total up to 10 extra pounds of body fat in one year/ on the other hand, omitting dessert for seven days will remove one pound of body fat.
The secret of success lies in finding a way to eat fewer calories instead of eating less food.
That sounds like a contradiction
Today’s world is full of contradictions. Popular magazines and TV screens brim with beautiful, slender people – and with full-color ads of rich, fattening foods. Supermarkets offer slickly packaged, calorie-dense products, along with magazines touting the latest fad diet. Fast food restaurants are just as the name implies fast not necessarily nutritious food, however, in their defense….they are getting better.
Modern food technology, you see, has turned inexpensive low-calorie, high-volume caloric bombs. It’s now possible to eat a whole meal’s worth of calories with only a few bites and yet still remain hungry and dissatisfied.
How does it happen? Processing strips seven pounds of sugar beets of their bulk, fiber, and nutrients, producing one pound of pure sugar. Sugar and other refined sweeteners now account for about 20 percent of daily calories.
Grains, robbed of fiber and nutrients, can be turned into alcohol accounting for another nine percent of empty calories many adults consume every day. Add it up, almost 50 percent of the modern diet consists of processed and concentrated calories devoid of vital nutrients and valuable fiber a surefire formula for overweight.
How do you go about losing weight?
If you love food but want to lose weight, then…. Eat more..
Fresh and steamed vegetables but go easy on sauces and salad dressings.
Whole grains, cooked cereals, brown rice, whole-grain breads, pasta.
Other vegetables – potatoes, yams, squash. And all kinds of beans, lentils, and peas.
Fresh, whole fruits.
These foods as grown are filling, nutritious, inexpensive and low in calories. Eat less…
Refined, processed and concentrated foods. They are high in calories and price and low in nutrients and fiber.
Nuts, meats and rich dairy products. While these foods are nutritious they have little fiber and bulk and are very high in fat and calories. Meats and cheeses, for instance, are 60-80 percent fat.
What else can you do?
Drink plenty of water – eight glasses a day. Try herbal teas, mineral water or just plain water. Keep the sodas for special occasions.
Walk briskly every day. Keep at it until you can walk 30 to 60 minutes without fatigue or shortness of breath.
Beware of weak moments:
If one cookie leads to a dozen, don’t ear the first one.
If you feel bored, frustrated, or lonely, go for a walk, drink a glass of water, read a book, call a supportive friend. Or, you can feast on natural foods like semi-frozen grapes, juicy melons, or crunchy carrot sticks.
Don’t buy problem foods. If they’re not around you won’t be tempted.
It’s time to put an end to those unbalanced semi-starvation diets that leave you frustrated, dissatisfied, and craving more to eat. Begin a lifestyle that will recondition your habits toward a lifetime of better health. By avoiding popular trends and choosing the right kinds of foods you can eat more and still lose one to two pounds a week.
