Weight Loss and Maintenance - Lessons For Us All
We are living in a society where being lean is ideal. Pictures of rail-thin supermodels and waif-like film stars decorate every billboard and television display. We idolize people who are the thinnest of the thin-the thinnest five to ten per cent of our population. It's ironic that we're also a state of "super-sized" portions. The normal portion size at a U.S. restaurant is more than 25% larger than our European counterparts.
Unfortunately, 64% of the American people is obese and 33% of Americans are obese. Weight reduction and maintenance are cornerstones of good health and happy living. Obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, obstructive sleep apnea, depressed mood, and more. For most, weight loss and weight control ought to be realities of life.
However, for many a desire to drop weight or maintain weight reduction doesn't necessarily dictate achievement. Weight loss and weight maintenance are demanding work and successful strategies vary based on how much weight a person must lose. Some people can succeed with exercise and diet alone, others need more invasive interventions such as surgery. And even for those who are fortunate enough to realize their desired weight, maintenance, although more straightforward, can be even more difficult than the initial weight reduction.
Weight loss: diet and exercise
The status of a person's weight is best determined by their Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is a calculation derived from dividing a person's weight in kilograms by their height in meters squared. For your calculation-averse, a BMI calculator is available on the National Institutes of Health website.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, people with BMI's between 18.5 and 24.9 are considered normal weight. Individuals with BMI's between 25 and 29.9 are considered obese. Individuals with BMI's between 30 and 39.9 are classified as obese. In the end, individuals with BMI's more than 40 are classified as morbidly obese.
For Americans who are just overweight, self-control measures are a fantastic place to start. Medical intervention is best reserved for obese people or obese people who have medical issues or have neglected self-managed diets on numerous occasions. Although exercise is essential in any weight loss or weight maintenance regimen, study shows that diet is the most effective way of weight loss. A successful diet is a diet that is both balanced and calorically-restricted.
Exactly what does "calorically-restricted" mean? Everyone has a distinguishing Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). BMR is defined as the minimum number of calories needed to maintain life activity in the rest. It varies based on age, activity level, genetics and gender (men have higher BMR's than girls). For example, a Mr. Universe body builder includes a BMR which may be several times that of a year-old citizen. To be able to shed weight, a individual must consume fewer calories than their BMR or keep a diet equivalent to their minimum caloric requirements and also burn off enough calories exercising to undercut their BMR.
According to the USDA, a balanced, calorically adequate diet which most approximates the BMR of an average American comprises: 6-7 ounces of breads, cereal, rice and grain; 2 cups of fruit, 3 cups from the milk group, also about 6 ounces of beef, fish, nuts, poultry and legumes. The USDA has developed tools that help people decide a diet which best approximates their own personal BMR based on their weight and height.
All diets have to be balanced because despite equal calorie counts not all kinds of food are equivalent. For instance, a calorically-balanced diet high in trans-fats can harm the heart and facilitate the conversion of dietary fat to body fat. A balanced diet is a diet high in fiber (fresh fruits and vegetable) and reduced in saturated or animal fat. Trans-fats, often found in fast and junk foods, should be prevented altogether.
What exactly about diets such as the Atkins or South Beach? Fad diets such as the Atkins or South Beach normally serve as quick-fix panaceas. Few if any dieters may maintain the weight reduction from such drastic dietary shift. For all, eating just meats and proteins can only last so long until it's back to the cookies and cakes. Health researchers have discovered that people can simply restrict their eating patterns for a brief time period before they crave the variety of a much more balanced diet.
For overweight people intent on shedding weight, exercise can be important. Exercise is the "yin" to diet's "yang." Exercise increases a individual's BMR, maintains lean muscle, enhances mood, burns off calories, also prevents illness like diabetes and high cholesterol. Any exercise program should consider the physical and health states of the individual planning to work out. A fantastic place for most people to begin is walking between 150 and 200 minutes a week (30 minutes per day).
There's a specific psychology of weight loss. Taking benefit of the way we perceive our world will ease our desire to lose weight. Health pros and weight loss specialists have dedicated lifetimes to studying what works and what does not. The following are Just a Couple of pointers from a lengthy list of useful "mind tricks:"
* Logs and contracts: All people intent on shedding weight should keep logs of how much they consume and how much they function. Logs help put everything in perspective and also help dieters plan out what they will need to do. Diet and exercise contracts also help people lose weight. By composing a contract in succinct and specific terminology, individuals make a responsibility to themselves or others (for example another like-minded dieter) to dedicate themselves to losing weight.
* Stimulus control: Certain environments function as keys or causes to eat mindlessly. Good examples of mindless eating environments include sitting in front of the television watching "American Idol" or playing video games. Dieters should limit eating to one area of the house such as the kitchen or dining room.
* Altering the action of eating: Most men and women eat too fast. By consuming food quickly, people wind up not realizing that they're already complete. It's very important to novices to slow down and revel in their meals.
* Social support: No dieter is an island. It is ideal to enlist the help of family and friends when losing weight.
But inevitably most diets fail. People often underestimate their caloric intake and strive for unattainable weight reduction goals. Worst of all, dieters regularly end up gaining back weight in excess of what they lost. A lot of men and women develop an unhealthy history of unsuccessful diets and chronic weight loss and weight reduction ("yo-yo dieting"). For many unsuccessful dieters, even more intensive methods of diet and weight loss are beneficial, such as Weight Watchers or medical supervision by a physician or healthcare professional. Others might have to pursue more invasive interventions.
Weight loss: pills and "going under the knife"
Many people never achieve desired health and decorative effects from diet and exercise alone. There are other choices.
Certain obese individuals with BMI's between 30 and 40 are eligible for drug (medication) treatment. "Pills" contain stimulants, antidepressants and medications like Orlistat which decreases the absorption of dietary fat. At best, medication only results in moderate weight loss ranging from 10 to 15 per cent and stops once a patient stops taking the medication. What's more, all drugs have side effects and weight loss pills aren't any different. For example, due to their large addiction-potential, stimulants are only recommended for short-term usage.
Bariatric surgery is the best solution for people who are morbidly obese (BMI's higher than 40) or individuals that are obese with BMI's greater than 35 and have medical problems like diabetes, sleep apnea or coronary artery disease. Bariatric surgery has proven to suppress medical conditions like diabetes, heart disease and sleep apnea and also drastically improve quality of lifestyle. There are two types of bariatric surgery: restrictive and malabsorptive.
Restrictive bariatric surgical procedures like the gastric laparoscopic band (LAP-BAND) are becoming the most popular alternative for most morbidly obese individuals. Restrictive bariatric procedures reduce the volume of the gut and cause people to feel fuller faster. The LAP-BAND surgery entails placement of a flexible band around the surface of the gut by a highly-qualified surgeon. Procedures like the LAP-BAND have few medical repercussions and less than one percent of all people undergoing these procedures die after. Qualification for your LAP-BAND isn't easy and varies by insurance carrier, but many insurance carriers require a history of unsuccessful attempts at diet and exercise plus a battery of wellness visits with nutritionists, psychiatrists and other caregivers.
What's more, anybody needing to undergo the LAP-BAND ought to be all set for a very long commitment. The band has to be rigorously preserved after surgery. Nevertheless, the LAP-BAND is an outstanding option for anyone interested in losing a great deal of weight slowly and maintaining that weight loss.
Malabsorptive baratric surgical procedures such as the "Roux-en-Y" are somewhat more successful, leading to more weight reduction, but can also be more dangerous. Patients undergoing such surgical intervention have a surgeon remove part of their intestine to interfere with absorption of meals. Following surgery, patients must be cautious to consume certain kinds of foods and choose proper nutritional substitutes. Furthermore, unlike the LAP-BAND, malabsorptive bariatric procedures are irreversible and carry a greater risk of medical problems stemming from nutrient deficiency, small bowel obstruction and infection.
Weight maintenance: a most difficult path
So you've shed the weight or you are happy with the weight you are at, now all you need to do is to maintain. However, in this land of lots, weight maintenance is not difficult. Apparently, candy bars increase from convenience store counters and McDonald's lineup every significant throughway. What is the health-conscious John Q. Public to do?
More than ever maintaining a healthy well-balanced diet and exercise regiment is essential. Lifelong diligence is key. Furthermore, cosmetic medical procedures like liposuction can help eliminate and shape subcutaneous fat.
As with weight loss, there is a psychology to weight maintenance:
* Visual cues: Health researchers, most notably Dr. Brian Wansink author of "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think," find that people eat with their eyes not their stomachs. As an example, Dr. Wansink found that individuals presented with a "bottomless" self-refilling bowl of soup ended up swallowing 73 percent more soup than they would have otherwise. Furthermore, they didn't feel any more sated after doing so. With no point of reference like an empty jar, people just continue eating. Anyone who is interested in keeping their weight may make the most of this simple psychology by purchasing little plates, smaller bowls, 100-calorie "snack" packs, and avoiding all-you-can-eat buffets altogether.
* Taking a day off: Health researchers also discovered that after physically fit men and women lose restraint they're more inclined to continue eating. In a quaint experimentation, researchers fed fat and physically fit areas a milkshake and then provided them just as much ice cream as they wanted. The thinner subjects, who are normally restrained in their eating patterns, threw caution to the wind and ate more ice cream than their obese counterparts. This line of thinking influenced the common recommendation that everyone take off one day a week from rigorous diet care. People intent on keeping their weight should consume a bowl of ice cream and a couple snacks each Sunday night after "The Simpsons" rather than eating a candy bar every second day.
Connected to weight loss and maintenance, everyone controls their own fate. It's important for all of us to realize that healthy living is within our hands. Determination is the key to proper weight loss and maintenance. We all hold the keys to our own fitter and thinner selves.
Unfortunately, 64% of the American people is obese and 33% of Americans are obese. Weight reduction and maintenance are cornerstones of good health and happy living. Obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, obstructive sleep apnea, depressed mood, and more. For most, weight loss and weight control ought to be realities of life.
However, for many a desire to drop weight or maintain weight reduction doesn't necessarily dictate achievement. Weight loss and weight maintenance are demanding work and successful strategies vary based on how much weight a person must lose. Some people can succeed with exercise and diet alone, others need more invasive interventions such as surgery. And even for those who are fortunate enough to realize their desired weight, maintenance, although more straightforward, can be even more difficult than the initial weight reduction.
Weight loss: diet and exercise
The status of a person's weight is best determined by their Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is a calculation derived from dividing a person's weight in kilograms by their height in meters squared. For your calculation-averse, a BMI calculator is available on the National Institutes of Health website.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, people with BMI's between 18.5 and 24.9 are considered normal weight. Individuals with BMI's between 25 and 29.9 are considered obese. Individuals with BMI's between 30 and 39.9 are classified as obese. In the end, individuals with BMI's more than 40 are classified as morbidly obese.
For Americans who are just overweight, self-control measures are a fantastic place to start. Medical intervention is best reserved for obese people or obese people who have medical issues or have neglected self-managed diets on numerous occasions. Although exercise is essential in any weight loss or weight maintenance regimen, study shows that diet is the most effective way of weight loss. A successful diet is a diet that is both balanced and calorically-restricted.
Exactly what does "calorically-restricted" mean? Everyone has a distinguishing Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). BMR is defined as the minimum number of calories needed to maintain life activity in the rest. It varies based on age, activity level, genetics and gender (men have higher BMR's than girls). For example, a Mr. Universe body builder includes a BMR which may be several times that of a year-old citizen. To be able to shed weight, a individual must consume fewer calories than their BMR or keep a diet equivalent to their minimum caloric requirements and also burn off enough calories exercising to undercut their BMR.
According to the USDA, a balanced, calorically adequate diet which most approximates the BMR of an average American comprises: 6-7 ounces of breads, cereal, rice and grain; 2 cups of fruit, 3 cups from the milk group, also about 6 ounces of beef, fish, nuts, poultry and legumes. The USDA has developed tools that help people decide a diet which best approximates their own personal BMR based on their weight and height.
All diets have to be balanced because despite equal calorie counts not all kinds of food are equivalent. For instance, a calorically-balanced diet high in trans-fats can harm the heart and facilitate the conversion of dietary fat to body fat. A balanced diet is a diet high in fiber (fresh fruits and vegetable) and reduced in saturated or animal fat. Trans-fats, often found in fast and junk foods, should be prevented altogether.
What exactly about diets such as the Atkins or South Beach? Fad diets such as the Atkins or South Beach normally serve as quick-fix panaceas. Few if any dieters may maintain the weight reduction from such drastic dietary shift. For all, eating just meats and proteins can only last so long until it's back to the cookies and cakes. Health researchers have discovered that people can simply restrict their eating patterns for a brief time period before they crave the variety of a much more balanced diet.
For overweight people intent on shedding weight, exercise can be important. Exercise is the "yin" to diet's "yang." Exercise increases a individual's BMR, maintains lean muscle, enhances mood, burns off calories, also prevents illness like diabetes and high cholesterol. Any exercise program should consider the physical and health states of the individual planning to work out. A fantastic place for most people to begin is walking between 150 and 200 minutes a week (30 minutes per day).
There's a specific psychology of weight loss. Taking benefit of the way we perceive our world will ease our desire to lose weight. Health pros and weight loss specialists have dedicated lifetimes to studying what works and what does not. The following are Just a Couple of pointers from a lengthy list of useful "mind tricks:"
* Logs and contracts: All people intent on shedding weight should keep logs of how much they consume and how much they function. Logs help put everything in perspective and also help dieters plan out what they will need to do. Diet and exercise contracts also help people lose weight. By composing a contract in succinct and specific terminology, individuals make a responsibility to themselves or others (for example another like-minded dieter) to dedicate themselves to losing weight.
* Stimulus control: Certain environments function as keys or causes to eat mindlessly. Good examples of mindless eating environments include sitting in front of the television watching "American Idol" or playing video games. Dieters should limit eating to one area of the house such as the kitchen or dining room.
* Altering the action of eating: Most men and women eat too fast. By consuming food quickly, people wind up not realizing that they're already complete. It's very important to novices to slow down and revel in their meals.
* Social support: No dieter is an island. It is ideal to enlist the help of family and friends when losing weight.
But inevitably most diets fail. People often underestimate their caloric intake and strive for unattainable weight reduction goals. Worst of all, dieters regularly end up gaining back weight in excess of what they lost. A lot of men and women develop an unhealthy history of unsuccessful diets and chronic weight loss and weight reduction ("yo-yo dieting"). For many unsuccessful dieters, even more intensive methods of diet and weight loss are beneficial, such as Weight Watchers or medical supervision by a physician or healthcare professional. Others might have to pursue more invasive interventions.
Weight loss: pills and "going under the knife"
Many people never achieve desired health and decorative effects from diet and exercise alone. There are other choices.
Certain obese individuals with BMI's between 30 and 40 are eligible for drug (medication) treatment. "Pills" contain stimulants, antidepressants and medications like Orlistat which decreases the absorption of dietary fat. At best, medication only results in moderate weight loss ranging from 10 to 15 per cent and stops once a patient stops taking the medication. What's more, all drugs have side effects and weight loss pills aren't any different. For example, due to their large addiction-potential, stimulants are only recommended for short-term usage.
Bariatric surgery is the best solution for people who are morbidly obese (BMI's higher than 40) or individuals that are obese with BMI's greater than 35 and have medical problems like diabetes, sleep apnea or coronary artery disease. Bariatric surgery has proven to suppress medical conditions like diabetes, heart disease and sleep apnea and also drastically improve quality of lifestyle. There are two types of bariatric surgery: restrictive and malabsorptive.
Restrictive bariatric surgical procedures like the gastric laparoscopic band (LAP-BAND) are becoming the most popular alternative for most morbidly obese individuals. Restrictive bariatric procedures reduce the volume of the gut and cause people to feel fuller faster. The LAP-BAND surgery entails placement of a flexible band around the surface of the gut by a highly-qualified surgeon. Procedures like the LAP-BAND have few medical repercussions and less than one percent of all people undergoing these procedures die after. Qualification for your LAP-BAND isn't easy and varies by insurance carrier, but many insurance carriers require a history of unsuccessful attempts at diet and exercise plus a battery of wellness visits with nutritionists, psychiatrists and other caregivers.
What's more, anybody needing to undergo the LAP-BAND ought to be all set for a very long commitment. The band has to be rigorously preserved after surgery. Nevertheless, the LAP-BAND is an outstanding option for anyone interested in losing a great deal of weight slowly and maintaining that weight loss.
Malabsorptive baratric surgical procedures such as the "Roux-en-Y" are somewhat more successful, leading to more weight reduction, but can also be more dangerous. Patients undergoing such surgical intervention have a surgeon remove part of their intestine to interfere with absorption of meals. Following surgery, patients must be cautious to consume certain kinds of foods and choose proper nutritional substitutes. Furthermore, unlike the LAP-BAND, malabsorptive bariatric procedures are irreversible and carry a greater risk of medical problems stemming from nutrient deficiency, small bowel obstruction and infection.
Weight maintenance: a most difficult path
So you've shed the weight or you are happy with the weight you are at, now all you need to do is to maintain. However, in this land of lots, weight maintenance is not difficult. Apparently, candy bars increase from convenience store counters and McDonald's lineup every significant throughway. What is the health-conscious John Q. Public to do?
More than ever maintaining a healthy well-balanced diet and exercise regiment is essential. Lifelong diligence is key. Furthermore, cosmetic medical procedures like liposuction can help eliminate and shape subcutaneous fat.
As with weight loss, there is a psychology to weight maintenance:
* Visual cues: Health researchers, most notably Dr. Brian Wansink author of "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think," find that people eat with their eyes not their stomachs. As an example, Dr. Wansink found that individuals presented with a "bottomless" self-refilling bowl of soup ended up swallowing 73 percent more soup than they would have otherwise. Furthermore, they didn't feel any more sated after doing so. With no point of reference like an empty jar, people just continue eating. Anyone who is interested in keeping their weight may make the most of this simple psychology by purchasing little plates, smaller bowls, 100-calorie "snack" packs, and avoiding all-you-can-eat buffets altogether.
* Taking a day off: Health researchers also discovered that after physically fit men and women lose restraint they're more inclined to continue eating. In a quaint experimentation, researchers fed fat and physically fit areas a milkshake and then provided them just as much ice cream as they wanted. The thinner subjects, who are normally restrained in their eating patterns, threw caution to the wind and ate more ice cream than their obese counterparts. This line of thinking influenced the common recommendation that everyone take off one day a week from rigorous diet care. People intent on keeping their weight should consume a bowl of ice cream and a couple snacks each Sunday night after "The Simpsons" rather than eating a candy bar every second day.
Connected to weight loss and maintenance, everyone controls their own fate. It's important for all of us to realize that healthy living is within our hands. Determination is the key to proper weight loss and maintenance. We all hold the keys to our own fitter and thinner selves.
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