Being over weight is usually being 20 percent or more over the normal weight for his or her age, sex, build, and height. According to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, a person's weight is healthy if it falls within the acceptable range for his or her height and age; if the pattern of fat distribution does not place the person at increased risk for certain diseases; and if the person has no medical problem for which a physician recommends that he or she lose weight.
What is important, is not how much a person weighs, but the percentage of body fat. For women, fat can account for as much as 25 percent of body weight; 17 percent is a healthy percentage for men. Females are designed biologically to carry a higher proportion of fat tissue to ensure that there is plenty of food for pregnancy and nursing, even if food is scarce.
On average, we humans carry around 30 to 40 billion fat cells. All those excess calories we don't use up as immediate energy, are stored as fat. If we lived in ancient times, and had to still hunt and gather food, those stores of fat would be essential for our survival in times of famine.
Some researchers even believe that our seemingly innate love of high-calorie food may be a remnant of a survival tactic from ancient times, when we needed to store food for energy. But today, storing energy as fat isn't necessary for most people. Most people wait maybe 3 to 4 hours between meals and snacks and instead of remaining a survival mechanism, the stored fat is now more likely to have a negative effect on health. As fat accumulates, it crowds the space occupied by the internal organs, and puts a lot of stress on extremities and organs causing or complicating many physical problems.
Being overweight can increase the body's resistance to insulin and can make the body more susceptible to infection, and increases the chances of developing diabetes, gallbladder disease, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, kidney disease, stroke, and other serious health problems that can result in premature death.
The most common causes of obesity are poor diet and/or eating habits and a lack of exercise. Other factors that can lead to obesity include glandular malfunctions, diabetes, hypoglycemia, emotional tension, boredom and a simple love of food. Obesity has also been linked to food sensitivities and/or allergies. Food your body cannot use or that is a poison to your system is stored in the tissues and causes water retention. Ironically, poor nutrition may be an important factor in obesity. When there is inadequate intake of certain essential nutrients, fat is not easily or adequately burned and can accumulate in the body.
Here are some basic approaches to weight management:
*Reduce caloric intake to 1,200 calories per day.
*Exercise ? Walk, Swim, Dance, Jump, Ride a Bike ? MOVE!
*Do not use diuretic herbs and nutrients to reduce water ? this is a temporary weight loss and throws off your electrolytes which can slow your metabolism.
*The use of lipotropic vitamins, which have the ability to reduce cholesterol and fat, works only is the diet is low fat and low glycemic.
*Eliminate all white flour, white sugar, white salt and white rice from your diet. All these ingredients breakdown very quickly in the system, and overloads the body with carbohydrates that the body cannot use at once, so it is converted to fat and stored.
*Replaced processed ingredients with ingredients that not only take longer for the system to break down, but provide better levels of nutrients also
*Whole wheat flour offers the body lecithin, antioxidants, fiber and vitamins that normal processing eliminates. FlourBlend is a blend of whole flours, vitamins, minerals, herbs and fibers designed to lower cholesterol and gives half the carbohydrates of normal processed white flour, with more protein and fiber.
*Stay away from artificial sweeteners, these will only make you hungry and does cause some damage to the liver or pancreas. Try our Natural SugarBlend, which offers better taste and performance in cooking, because it is natural and slow absorbing, keeps the blood sugar steady, increases the uptake of calcium and aids in colon health.
*Using Sea Salt, and mineral salt can be a better alternative to regular table salt. You use less and crave salt less if you use these e alternatives, you also receive the benefits of trace minerals in trace amounts, and these trace minerals can help in preventing some stroke and cardiac problems.
*Brown rice offers a great many benefits to the system, and paired with beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains, provides a complete protein for the body to use. Brown rice also is a rich antioxidant, one of the best the world has to offer. It also provides lecithin and an abundance of wonderful fiber that aids the small intestine, the colon and the large intestine.
Permanent weight loss requires a lifetime commitment to a healthier lifestyle in general.
D.S. Epperson is the top formulator for Home Blend Gourmet / South Pacific Health, a leader in the functional food industry in the U.S. With 20 years of experience in Nutritional Biochemistry, she has written reference books on botanicals and manufacturing of medicines from botanicals, and published articles on health, fitness and foods. She has formulated over 240 formulas and inventions for health, the environment and agricultural uses, and continues to research and study microbial advantages in nutraceuticals and functional foods. For more information or to view the articles that she has written: http://www.sugarblend.com
disinfecting cleaning services Highland Park ..The goal of many athletes and exercisers is to "get... Read More
Liposuction works best with people who are a normal weight... Read More
Perhaps you've had them too, nightmares about rice cakes, granola,... Read More
I want to talk about the "all or nothing" outlook... Read More
We all have an image of "fit" - lean, even... Read More
Losing weight and going on a diet can be quite... Read More
Have you ever received those tempting ads that seem to... Read More
Good health is all too easily taken for granted until... Read More
You have heard enough about losing weight with various means... Read More
You have been on diets before. You probably have lost... Read More
Franchised Business Models and American Diets could be at odds.... Read More
1. The lower the calories eaten per day, the harder... Read More
Any dietary plan on the market has some portion of... Read More
For years we heard that a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet would... Read More
"Help, none of this mainstream stuff works!"There is a specific... Read More
To achieve your goals you need a diet that takes... Read More
Foods that are high in fiber and protein are the... Read More
Compulsive eating is characterized mainly by periods of impulsive bingeing... Read More
A diet may be a fad diet or a healthy... Read More
In the early nineties I had the opportunity to work... Read More
As I explained in the first part of this article,... Read More
Which is easier to do ? turn a car's steering... Read More
Many physical problems are related to obese condition, like difficulties... Read More
Tip 1) DRINK A GLASS OF WATER AFTER EACH SNACKThis... Read More
What is "too young" to begin a weight loss program... Read More
best cleaning company Winnetka ..Are you one of the many people who feel frustrated... Read More
Your health is your responsibility. As a human being, you... Read More
1. Increase your water intake to at least 1 gallon... Read More
The confusion about eating healthy and dieting will now be... Read More
Cellulite ? a word most women are very familiar with.... Read More
As a woman, your body is very complex. Throughout every... Read More
I want to talk about the "all or nothing" outlook... Read More
Making the Decision:Whether you are interested losing ten pounds that... Read More
Fat has had a lot of bad press and for... Read More
I have tried many "diets" here in the USA and... Read More
There are numerous ways to make a bad weight loss... Read More
As hoards of low-carb proponents invade the nutritional landscape, the... Read More
With so many diets and fads being offered on the... Read More
What to Do with the Leftovers?Okay, tell me if you've... Read More
The best exercises for quick weight loss in my opinion... Read More
The Secrets have been in our family recipes, some even... Read More
When was the last time you focused so much on... Read More
I bet you already know all the health benefits for... Read More
Believe it or not, losing a little or a lot... Read More
The world today has more obese and overweight people than... Read More
This Article was originally Published in The July 2004 Issue... Read More
It is much safer to your long term health to... Read More
1. Include in your diet things that contain more water... Read More
Weight loss from exercise can be achieved by walking, running,... Read More
Losing weight doesn't have to be boring when you focus... Read More
Weight Loss |