So many people jump onboard whenever they hear about diets that presumably burn calories in a flash that, if that were true, America’s trouble with overweight and obesity should be a distant memory. But that’s not the case.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), more than 36% of U.S. adults are obese and so are 17% of U.S. youth.
Obesity and being overweight affects people in a number of ways.
- There’s the psychological effect of low self-esteem that leads inevitably, for some, to low quality of life, possibly even anxiety, and depression.
- People with obesity also struggle with a number of social effects such as maintaining employment, making new friends, marrying and studying.
- And possibly most common of all are the physical affects that relate to many health issues including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and various types of cancer.
Whether of a psychological, social or physical nature, obesity-related conditions can become such a burden that for many people they can reduce life expectancy even by more than 9 years. This isn’t just because of obesity associated diseases that sometimes lead to a premature death, but also because obese people are more likely to commit suicide.
It is never too late, however, to turn things around, change a lifestyle and adopt a healthier diet. Many people whether obese or overweight have found the determination and will to change their lives. And it is always through a smooth transition that the biggest changes occur.
The first thing to do when you want to lose weight
Take it easy. Baby steps all along. Your mind has grown accustomed to a particular diet and your stomach to a particular way of being fed. Temptations are often a state of mind before we transform them into actual habits and we all know that cravings can get the best of us sometimes.
Simply allow yourself the understanding that it may take a while to change your eating habits.
It’s not about cutting it to a minimum
With all the diets out there, all the advice on how to eat more carbs to trick the body to burn fat, or on how to eat more instead of less to lose weight – and various other strategies that circle around, it’s very easy to become confused. And many people believe that eating fewer calories as possible will lose them weight overnight. That’s not always so and especially if you are looking to make changes for life.
Example: When eating no carbohydrates and little fat, maybe at the same time pushing into extreme workouts, what can happen is a metabolic slowdown that makes it difficult from a particular moment on to lose any more weight or fat. That’s just how the body works in order to survive. The human body is an incredibly clever machine.
Restricting calories intake to a minimum from the get-go is less effective when trying to lose weight than it is practicing patience and making minor changes to your diet.
What you eat is just as important as how much you are eating
You may be eating 900 to 1,500 calories a day and think that you are going to lose weight in no time, but you would be wrong. When trying to lose weight, it’s important not to eat at least as possible but to eat the right foods.
If for example, you have junk food for breakfast instead of a real meal, that’s only going to keep you full for so long. You might resist the urge to eat, so you don’t go over your calorie intake for the day, but that means you’re starving yourself, which never gives anyone good results long term.