Obesity is now a worldwide epidemic. USA is the most obese Country in the world, and my country, Australia, is quickly catching up with the states. Also, of even more concern is the growing number of obese children who are thinking that fast food is a normal way to eat.
I see it every day, and I used to see it in the mirror in the past, the fat rolls, the chubby fat skin, the fat faces, the big asses. Yes its not very nice, but if you are a realist like me, you will notice that most people you see are fat and over weight. Whilst it is there own choice and if they are happy I have no qualms with them being like that. However, obesity is not just visual thing. Obesity is killing the world with heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses stemming from having too much fat in your system.
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Let me set one thing straight first. I don't like really skinny girls. I really appall the cat walk shows and the stuff they say to young girls how they are fat and look too chubby etc. etc. These people are extremists and I am not a fan of the fashion industry and what it does to young impressionable people all over the world. Recently there was a comment made on one of those "how to be a super model" shows here in Australia, they judge said something to the effect that the girl should look at herself in the mirror as she is clearly too fat. And the girl didn't even look overweight to me, I know they have to be anemic in the model industry, but this stuff makes me sick. Anyway, I'm getting away from what I was saying. I'm just stating that when I refer to 'overweight', 'obese', 'fat' people, I am referring to people that if they saw a Doctor, the Doctor would tell them that they should consider changing their diet as its harming their health. So please once again, realise that I am not advocating that everyone should be skinny and not eat anything!
A bit about myself, I am a middle aged guy, 36 years old. Large boned, I have found that I have always struggled with my weight and body image. I love the food like most people, and I am a vegetarian as well, did I say I love beer also? :-(.
After I hit 30 or so my body changed almost over night, and I noticed that weight was harder to keep off and went on quicker without much help! I guess when you eat badly over a period of time, it just adds up and before you know it a year or 2 or more and you will be obese if you don't watch yourself or unless you have one of those magical metabolisms that let you eat whatever you want. Unfortunately I have a slow metabolism, and I need to exercise a fair bit to lose the weight.
The year 2008 arrived and I woke up one morning and looked at the mirror and said to myself, I am not happy with the way I look and I am not happy about getting out of puff when I kick the footy with my son or run around with him. I made a conscious decision to change myself. This is the key to making change in any part of your life, you have to take the first vital step, which is telling yourself you want to change, you will change and you are damn well going to change.
So anyway, I decided to join the gym as I have lifted some weights in earlier years and enjoyed it, I am big boned and I tend to gain muscle relatively easy so that's a good thing, always have to take the positives that you have been given. Over the years I have been on lots of different diets, but never stuck with t hem in the long term. I don't like the term diet and I don't like the mental damage it does to one that wants to lose weight. Diet conjures up all sorts of images of starving yourself on weird and ridiculous food combinations, it makes you think that you are going to put yourself through some sort of food boot camp and you can no longer eat the foods you enjoy eating.
Know what you eat
So I don't use the term diet, I use the term "healthy eating". Its about changing your diet thoughts and changing what you eat and the foods you eat. The harsh reality is if you are obese then you can no longer eat the same foods and live a sedentary life as this will not change your body at all.
The first thing you should do is become knowledgeable on the foods you eat and understand what good foods are and bad foods. Bad foods are foods that are high in saturated fats and sugars, and will do your body not much good at all. Foods that fall into this category are deep fried foods, candy, full fat ice cream, donuts, fast food burgers and fries, full sugar soda drinks, chocolate bars, you get the idea ok. Start to read the labels for the amount of fat in foods, you should aim at lower fat foods when you shop.
Weight loss and diet & exercise is a topic that I could sit here all week and discuss but instead I will be adding new articles when I have the time so you can come back and read the different weight loss and exercise articles when you have the time as well, theres only so many hours in the day and its hard to get everything done.
The good foods that you should be eating are fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meats, low fat dairy and whole grain carbohydrates.
That means fish, lean meats, wholegrain rice, pasta and breads. Low fat cheese, yogurt, & milk. Fresh fruit each and every day.
Organic foods are always better for you than standard foods, it means there are no nasty chemicals in the foods and if you can afford it I really encourage you to buy organic products, have a look next time you go to the supermarket.
Eat plenty of fruit each day, say 3 to 6 pieces of fruit each day. I know its a pain, but your body, your digestive system and your bowels will thank you for it. Have an apple, orange, a cup of tinned fruit salad (in natural juice), a banana, you get the idea.
Have snacks during the day. Its been proven that this increases your metabolism to burn calories faster. Have a morning snack of say an apple and some low fat crackers, a cup of low fat yogurt. In the afternoon have some low fat dip with some low fat wholegrain biscuits.
Fat Loss
Try to really cut down on your fat intake. Try only having a very small amount of butter on bread/toast, try some lower fat butter spreads. Use olive oil in your cooking and minimise this as well. Get a low fat grill like a George foreman one or whatever, this helps you cook low fat without even trying! Non stick cooking pans are great as you can put your food on there with some spray oil and it wont burn, try a lower heat with these pans though as they don't like high heat it damages the surface.
I know desserts are wonderful but try to limit these and try to choose low fat alternatives, check out the supermarket and look for low fat desserts, they are everywhere.
Exercise is a crucial part of your life changing weight loss plan. Start today and go for a brisk walk, it doesn't matter how far it is, just do it, get the walking shoes out and do it, its important to get the ball rolling ok.
Then walk each day, or at least 3 days a week. Make it fast enough so you get a bit out of puff, very slow walking is not beneficial to weight loss. 45 minutes is your goal to aim for at least 3 times a week, then increase if you really want to see results.
Join the gym or buy some cheap weights from a garage sale! Lifting weights is incredibly good for your body, doing the likes of "squats", "bench presses", "rows" will aid you in your weight loss journey. It doesn't matter what your age or sex, weights are a remarkable exercise for strengthening your whole body, working your muscles, increasing your metabolism so you can lose fat faster and burn calories quicker and quicker. Don't kill yourself though, start slow with a short weight lifting program and then as you gain confidence you can add extra exercises later. You can do all your exercise at the gym using the cross trainers and treadmills etc. I cant stress how important plain old walking is, so if you can add regular walking to your life your body will be so much better for it.
Don't stress if you don't have the funds for the gym (they are expensive) as you can do exercises at home, weights are cheap, lots of people buy them and don't use them so they are always for sale! There's a stack of exercises you can do that require no equipment. Crunches, situps, push ups, reverse crunches, ab workouts etc. can all be done with no equipment at all.
The best time to exercise is first thing in the morning, this is when you burn the most calories. This is excellent as you can get it out of the way at the same time and not have to worry about doing it for the rest of the day. The gyms are busy that time of the day though so maybe the morning walk is better option for you.
Take it easy at the start
One of the most important things to remember at the beginning of your weight loss journey is not to go into it too hard core. You will burn yourself out really fast and not want to do it ever again. Start regular walking, regular exercises. Change the way you eat, and what you eat. Start to eliminate fries and bad foods from your diet. If its too drastic at the start, then start reducing these foods each week and you will still notice weight loss as long as you are exercising and reducing your food intake. Keep a journal and write down when you start your weight loss regime, write down what you eat, what exercise you do and put down everything you eat, this is very important.
I am making a web site with all of my hand written weight loss articles in it and am putting an email form on it so I can send out members interesting articles and advice for weight loss. Have a look at it here natural weight loss. Thank you for reading my article and please come back and read more articles that I will be adding. I tell the truth and give an honest opinion on what I feel is right based on my experience.
Have a great day and enjoy the journey to the new and improved you!
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