Starting a Weight
loss Diet
According to the Centers for Disease
Control, during the past 25 years there has been a
dramatic increase of obesity in the the United States. In 2010
no state had obesity percentages less than 20%. Thirty-six
states had a rate that was 25% are more. Alabama, Arkansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia tipped the
scales at 30% or more. That being said, we are in a real pickle
when it comes to our weight.
You are aware, just like the rest of us, that it is
better to be at your optimum weight. That is within your BMI
scale. I will not assume everyone knows what a BMI is. BMI
stands for body mass index, and I have it
here. To find your BMI
just pick out your height from the chart and your current
weight. If your BMI is at 25 or more, then you are considered
overweight. If it is significantly more than 25 you will be
considered obese. Therefore we should keep our weight in the
range of at least 19 and at most 25.
I am not going to kid you. Losing weight is often hard.
If you can last for three days then it gets easier. It doesn't
take willpower, but focus-power. It is so easy to stray off the
diet. Yes, I said diet, thereby breaking the cardinal rule of
eating right. When push comes to shove it is easier for some
people to use the words 'lifestyle change, routine', and
everything else but diet. Diet is not a bad word. For some the
word means commitment, but sometimes commitments seems like
constraints. And we don't want to be constrained. It's like
using the word marriage to a confirmed bachelor. But a diet
doesn't mean being tied down to something: it's not an 'old ball
and chain' at all. It means freedom. It means we are adjusting
to a code of conduct when it comes to food. We are not addicts.
We have willingly subscribed to a standard of living that
precludes certain types and amounts of foods.
Don't be afraid to try something new or to try dieting
again. A new diet is like trying on a new coat. We try diets out
to see if it fits. Just because you stopped a regimen before
doesn't mean you have failed. It just means the coat didn't fit.
Don't give up: pretty soon you will find a diet that fits you.
Weight loss programs comes down to this: your energy
output has to be more than your energy input. To gain one pound
you would have to eat and retain 3500 calories. In some manuals
calories are called, kcal or energy. To lose a pound you would
have to expend 3500 ckal or calories of energy. This may take a
day, a week or much longer. It really depends on your caloric
intake and expenditure, sex, and metabolism. For example, if you
usually consume 3000 calories a day, but today you work off 2000
in your daily activities, and if you continue to consume 3000
but expend 2000 calories a day for seven days; in one week you
will have expended 14,000 ckal. It will equal to a total of 4
pounds lost or 14,000 kcals of energy burned. Dramatic weight
loss depends on your sex, present weight, energy expenditure,
and your calorie intake. Say you are a morbidly obese male who
weighs 400 lbs, not pleasant, but follow me. A morbidly obese
but comely female who also weighs 400 lbs challenges you to a
weight-loss duel. Since men are more muscular, you will lose
significantly more weight at a significantly faster pace than
your hefty but comely female challenger. But the both of you
would win at losing weight in a short time when pitted against a
person that is only five to ten pounds overweight. But as your
weight levels off and you are close to your ideal weight, then
you will lose weight at a slower pace. This is called
plateauing.
When starting a weight-loss diet, the first thing you
will need to do is consult your doctor to make sure you are
healthy enough to start a new weight-loss and exercise regimen.
If your doctor gives you permission, and if it is possible to
start moving more than you do now, just do it. If you are
morbidly obese you can practice by walking a block or two, take
an additional trip up the stairs, park farther from the store
when shopping. There are lots of way to get in more exercise.
Just do more. As you become more adept at your activities you
should choose an activity that is a tad more difficult. Walk
around the block. Try to work your self up to 2000 steps: there
are around 2000 footsteps in a mile and 10000 steps in 5 miles.
Once you can move about without much difficulty you will feel
better. Starting a diet while feeling good will give you a good
start on changing your eating habits.
This will show you where you
are.
*To get a better gauge of your BMR I have
given you a link.
Week of healthy diets
FDA Peanut Product Recall Widget.
Flash Player 9 is required. Visit
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm
to search for peanut product recalls or call CDC-INFO at
1-800-232-4636 for more information.
New Years Resolution 2012
