Where Diets Go Wrong

Jul 10
18:19

2005

Jay Harris

Jay Harris

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

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.

mediaimage

Keep in mind that the human body took shape millions of years ago,Where Diets Go Wrong Articles 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.

Article "tagged" as:

Categories:

Also From This Author

The Insider's Guide To Getting Along With Your Boss

The Insider's Guide To Getting Along With Your Boss

Understand, the fact that your boss, like yourself, is a humanbeing. Like everyone else, bosses come in all shapes and sizes.Like you, he has ambitions, aspirations, and dreams. Some hewill achieve, others he won't. Some bosses are good managers,others bad, but most fall somewhere in the middle range.
You Can Have Healthy Skin

You Can Have Healthy Skin

With new research, new products and new skin protection advice popping up all the time, it is hard to figure out the best things to do to improve and protect your skin.
Handy First Aid Tips

Handy First Aid Tips

When someone is injured or suddenly becomes ill, there is usually a critical period before you can get medical treatment and it is this period that is of the utmost importance to the victim. What you do, or what you don't do, in that interval can mean the difference between life and death. You owe it to yourself, your family and your neighbors to know and to understand procedures that you can apply quickly and intelligently in an emergency.Every household should have some type of first aid kit, and if you do not already have one, assemble your supplies now. Tailor the contents to fit your family's particular needs. Don't add first aid supplies to the jumble of toothpaste and cosmetics in the medicine cabinet. Instead, assenble them in a suitable, labeled box (such as a fishing tackle box or small took chest with hinged cover), so that everything will be handy when needed. Label everything in the kit clearly, and indicate what it is used for.