..Are We Dieting For The Right Reasons?

Well yes obviously we diet to lose weight but what is the result we want to achieve? What is the image we have of ourselves that drives us to crash diet or burn the fat? – is that where crash and burn comes from – slim down or whatever term we choose?

You would like to think that the over-riding image of ourselves at our desired weight is one of a happy sole skipping through a sun drenched, daisy littered meadow, content in the knowledge that as a non-fatty the risk of contracting

1. liver disease
2. various cancer types
3. heart attacks
4. strokes
5. gallbladder disease
6. diabetes
7. sleep apnea
8. joint problems
9. infertility
10. pregnancy complications

has been greatly reduced due to all the healthy weight loss from the diet(s) that have been undertaken. There is only one condition on that list that you can, one hundred percent avoid, if you’re obese and for that you have to be male.

It would be interesting to poll 100 people who were on a diet, wanting to lose weight and to find out their response to this blog title – why diet? We diet to lose weight but…?

Would the majority answer something like “I’m worried about developing insulin resistance” or “I’m trying to stave off the onset of osteoarthritis”?

Like smoking, being overweight has become unfashionable and not de riguer if you want to be a member of the cool school.

Being a regular smoker, like heavy drinking can mean a 25% increase in the likelihood of having some sort of chronic condition as listed above; being obese would see that figure rise from 25% to a whopping 65% chance of becoming chronically ill.

For some reason these risks we take with our health don’t seem to fill us with a sense of urgency or surprise. It’s as if we think it won’t happen to us and yet we think a large lottery win will.

There was a recent huge US lottery which was won and the chance of winning was 1 in 175 million. The chance of being hit by lightening in the US, for any 12 month period, is 1 in 280,000. Conservatively someone who is overweight has a 1 in 2 chance of becoming chronically ill. 

Social attitudes have changed everywhere where there is an over consumption of the modern, media-hyped culture that appears to consider a lean, slim, defined body to be the goal, a prize that everyone wants to win but not necessarily for the right reasons.

There are so many, many individuals who will have their own personal take on what it’s like to be overweight and how eating has become a battle and no longer a way to fuel the body.

It’s as if the drive to diet and become slim has clouded the way we view ourselves. We try to lose weight because we think we need to be slimmer, or rather look slimmer, whether our bodies need to or not. This is pandering to the cultural and not to the physical requirements of the body.

This unnecessary dieting, especially when it begins from an early age, when the social influences are strongest, can put our natural metabolism out of kilter and can kick start a crazy cycle of weight gain, weight loss, fatty, skinny, ups and downs.

Why diet? Why lose weight?

We need to reach an attainable healthy weight to allow us to avoid chronic sickness and enjoy life through all stages of life. Of course there are certain genetic pointers that might be involved to scupper our plans but that’s a topic for a later post.

I love these dietary tips that focus on one element of the whole slimming, weight loss mania and then a study is carried out of some focus group which shows “clearly” that those who ate a certain food at a certain time whilst kneeling on a cold surface with one eye closed not only lost more weight but also kept it off for longer.

Well you get the idea. These studies are often serious, interesting and thought provoking and I don’t want to denounce them, the scientists who carry them out or even the results, but this sort of research doesn’t go any way to helping overweight people who simply want to lose weight.

The need is for a weight loss blueprint or maybe a number of blueprints depending on variables such as age, gender, BMI or whatever.

This would be a step by step guide describing the measures needed to go from current size to desired goal. Maybe there is an “app” that you can download as we speak or one in the pipeline, into which you can enter a few facts and then a day by day to do list spills out.

There is a whole volume of books to write about why that can never happen given what we currently know regarding the complexities of our bodies and the way we produce energy from food, all given the rate of cultural evolution that is taking place.

In fact the resulting work, if complete enough, would probably be an enormous help and problem a solution for everybody if only it was incomprehensible to us.

Maybe that’s why most really really clever people are slim and don’t suffer weight gain. Hey I just made that up but I’m trying to think of fat Einsteins and I can’t.

Well that very nicely brings me to cake – how can it – I hear you shout, well it just does but then a lot of things make me think of cake, talking of which…

Image: Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Actually I read recently that even if Marie Antoinette actually said “let them eat cake” to the starving, revolting, le pan eating Parisians prior to there Bastille storming days, then she wouldn’t have meant it in an uncharitable way.

In fact she was brought up as a very thoughtful, caring and compassionate young lady with an obvious fondness for madeleines – nothing wrong with that.

Now it seems that a new report I recently came across which has the title, and I LOVE this, “Lose Weight by Eating Cake for Breakfast” is based on a study carried out at the University of Tel Aviv in Israel.

Here’s how it goes; when you lose weight your body restricts the release of the hormone leptin which is responsible for controlling hunger pangs so you get hungry which causes an increase in the hormone, ghrelin making you crave carb comfort food.

Don’t forget sleep and weight loss go hand in glove as lack of sleep is also responsible for increasing the production of that hormonal enemy – so having a breakfast full of proteins and carbs helps control these hormones and apparently greatly helps in keeping weight off.I found the details of the study in the ynet news.

So it’s no olde wives tale that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I like this new spun of eating cake to break the fast – seems to me like a better option than bacon and egg.

My current breakfast choice follows the study’s resulting apparent conclusion and really does set me up for the day.

So I get a banana and slice it up into a bowl, followed by around 6 – 8 dates, each cut into 3 pieces, then add a cup of rolled oats followed by a cup of water or enough that the contents in the bowl are fully drowned.

Bang it in the microwave for 3.5 minutes, add sugar, milk, cream, honey or whatever you like and enjoy.

 I am continuously adjusting the quantities, time spent in the microwave and other variables to end up with the perfect porridge but as long as there is enough liquid when microwaving it will taste delicious and give you that full feeling.

A good healthy, filling carbohydrate loaded breakfast like the one above should help as part of an ideal diet for weight loss as it  moderates the hormones involved in telling you when you’re hungry and so reoccurring weight gain in the future can be less of a risk.

Healthy Tips For Weight Loss To Follow Right Away

Determining how you can lose weight and slim down is a real challenge for a lot of us particularly after a session or five around the holiday trough and the process for determining the fastest way for weight reduction will be different for each of us, but here are some easy tips for weight loss that can be applied right away so that we start as we mean to continue.

Obviously, the most popular factors are certainly proper dieting and exercise, which not only helps with weight reduction, the goal we have to make us look good for the summer break, but also the combination of dieting and exercising consistently, also makes us feel great.

Naturally you’ve heard this all before – the task is to follow through with the plan. Others have started their diet program by following these simple tips for weight loss, and you can as well.  For some additional weight loss tips I would recommended going here.

Realistic Goals

Set small, realistic goals for you to reach. For those who have piled the pounds on over the festive season, think about losing 5 pounds to start, relax a little, reward yourself with a non-calorie pat on the back or something equally non fattening, after which you can go for the next 5 and so on.

Begin a modest physical exercise program but stick with it. It doesn’t have to be too strenuous nor do you need to start trying to lift heavy weights, instead start with the an easy cardiovascular regime that you know you can achieve and maintain. Start walking or jogging a little a few mornings a week and don’t forget to stretch before and after.

Try adding some other calorie burning times but ones that can easily be worked into your daily activities like parking a block away and walking the rest of the way or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Even simple actions like washing the car or cleaning the house can also be an effective way to burn those calories and so lose weight.

Healthy Choices – of course

Tips for weight loss has got to include healthy meals avoiding processed foods as they are an essential component in weight loss. Slimming down can’t be achieved by exercise alone, because by eating unhealthy foods with large amounts of unsaturated fats for instance you will simply be replacing the calories burned with more unwanted, empty calories.

Eat healthy fats from nuts, seed products and olive oil and for the fiber that you also need choose meals with vegetable or salads and whole-grain pastas. It’s important to select meals that you enjoy so when preparing low calorie, healthy food don’t forget to still include the things that gets you excited about food and eating so include your favourite spice or discover a new one if that’s what you like.

Eating well does not need to mean eating dull. As long as you are creative in making new dishes out of healthy foods, there is no way eating healthy foods can become boring. Eat smaller portions, more frequently. By doing this, the body begins to improve its metabolic process to ensure that calories are burned faster and consistently over a longer period. It also means your stomach will get used to being not distended so will contract.

Snacks On-Hand

Lastly, on tips for weight loss, you would need to plan in advance. Keep your fridge filled with healthy food and you will be less likely to give in to the temptation of grabbing high calorie, high-body fat and unhealthy foods. Determine your preferred snack time and make certain to have ample healthy options when you are feeling a bit peckish and dinner is too far away.

Always be prepared by having crackers or some other healthy snack in your bag. You never know when you will be hungry and be tempted by all the heavenly foods in the market. Keeping a diary and writing down as much detail as possible will let you know what and when your cravings are and will enable you to pinpoint which diet and exercise regime works best for you.

More Tips for Weight Loss

Losing weight does not happen immediately, it takes time and it takes a level of determination. Taking what appears to be the easy way out such as the use of pills may seem the answer, but you should remember the consequences and side effects it may have on your body and besides you’ll almost certainly end up with too much skin and make you look and feel… well not great.

Losing weight is a step by step system and though there are ways to speed up the process you should learn the virtues of patience as well. I would encourage you to take a look at some more fast and easy tips for weight loss that you can carry out right now or for more information on the best weight loss program…