Where Diets Go Wrong
When we discover that we are heavier than we want to be,
we have a natural invlination to eat less food. We may skip
lunch or eat only a tiny amount of our dinner in the hope
that if we eat less our body will burn off some of its fat.
But that is not necessarily true. Eating less actually makes
it more difficult to lose weight.
Keep in mind that the human body took shape millions of
years ago, and at that time there were diets. The only low-calorie
event in people's lives was starvation. Those who could cope
with a temporary lack of food were the ones who survived.
Our bodies, therefore, ahve developed this built-in mechanism
to help us survive in the face of low food intake.
When researchers compare overweight and thin people, they
find that they ear roughly the same number of calories. What
makes overweight people different is the amount of fat that
they eat. Thin people tend to eat less fat and more complex
carbohydrates.
Losing weight is not something one can do overnight. A carefully
planned weight loss program requires common sense and certain
guidelines. Unfortunately, there's a lot of misinformantion
floating around and lots of desperate people are easily duped
and ripped off.
Every day one can open a magazine or newspaper and see advertisements
touting some new product, pill or patch that will take excess
weight off quickly. Everyone seems to be looking for that
"magic" weight loss pill. Millions of Americans
are trying to lose weight, spending billions of dollars every
year on diet programs and products. Often they do lose some
weight. But, if you check with the same people five years
later, you will find that nearly all have regained whatever
weight they lost.
A survey was done recently to try and determine if any commercial
diet program could prove long-term success. Not a single program
could do so. So rampant has the so-called diet industry become
with new products and false claims that the FDA has now stepped
in and started clamping down.
Being seriously overweight and particularly obesity can
develop into a number of diseases and serious health problems,
and it is now a known fact that when caloric intake is excessive,
some of the excess frequently is saturated fat.
The myth is that people get heavy by eating too many calories.
Calories are a consideration it's true, but overall they are
not the cause of obesity in America today. Americans actually
take in fewer calories each day than they did at the beginning
of the century. If calories alone were the reason we become
overweight, we should all be thin. But we are not. Collectively,
we are heavier than ever. Partly, it is because we are more
sedentary now. But equally, as important is the fact that
the fat content of the American diet has changed dramatically.
People who diet without exercising often get fatter with
time. Although your weight may initially drop while dieting,
such weight loss consists mostly of water and muscle. When
the weight returns, it comes back as fat. To avoid getting
fatter over time, increase your metabolism by exercising regularly.
Select an exercise routine that you are comfortable with
and remember that walking is one of the best and easiest exercises
for strengthening your bones, controlling your weight and
toning your muscles.
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