How To Prevent Obesity - Lesson 3
Intervention & Rehabilitation
Health is a choice, that many are not choosing. Allow me to present some perspective. Based on the influence of the media, many have an unrealistic outlook on what it means to be healthy. Sub 10% body fat, chiseled six pack, munching on kale and lean unseasoned skinless baked chicken breast six times a day. These are the extremes and not based in the reality of MAJORITY of the worlds population. Keep in mind, it is the job of these magazine cover models and Hollywood actors to look the way they do. Do not be fooled into thinking that the standard of health is determined by how lean and shredded you are. In the same breath, just because someones appearance is perceived to be healthy, doesn’t always mean they are. That’s for another topic!
What we as humans tend to do is ignore a problem until we are forced to address it. I’m not sure how many of you are drivers but think about this. How many times has the check engine signal popped up in your car and you ignore it until your car won’t start or hear the engine knocking? Sickness has a impactful way of providing perspective and time to think about the really important things. As cliche as the saying may be, “Prevention is better than cure.” It holds its potent truth. If we have the capabilities of preventing something catastrophic from taking place, why would we ignore that? Everyone may have not been dealt the best hand. However what we start with doesn’t have to be what we stick with. We have the ability to change many factors which will allow us a more optimistic outlook.
Steps to preventing obesity
1. Education – Congratulations, you’ve already taken the first step in preventing a potentially catastrophic illness from happening to you! Even if you’ve already fallen victim to obesity, you are now taking the steps to rehabilitate yourself. This course is a prime example of educating yourself. You cannot blame your ignorance on lack of knowledge of this subject as a reason for falling victim to a disease which is so prevalent in our society.Personal Awareness – Know your BMI!
2. Diet – Make better food decisions. You don’t have to be vegan in order to prevent or cure obesity. What happens is we eat too little of what’s essential for our healthy growth and development and too much of the things that cause degradation of our health.
3. Exercise – Once again this brings me back to the fact that you do not need to be a top tier athlete in order to be in phenomenal shape. This useful piece of information; which physical fitness specialists agree on. If you exercise 200-300 minutes per week you can enjoy the maximum levels of physical well-being available to you. In simple terms, you will need to exercise between thirty and sixty minutes, five to seven times each week. How’s that for a R.O.I. On the lower end, if you performed a thirty minute walk every weekday morning as well as each weekend day, you would literally be one of the healthiest people around. By increasing your activity level to sixty minutes each time, five times per week, you would be placed in the top 1 or 2 percent of physically fit people in the world today.
4. Regular check ups – While I myself am not a HUGE fan of sitting around the doctors office, it’s ESSENTIAL to know what’s going on inside your body.
How to cure it:
Above all, identify your why. WHY? Your why will become the deal breaker. When things get unbearable, if you truly believe in your why, you’ll keep pushing! If you were to ever quit, your why was not sincere. Only you can answer what your why is. Do you have kids you want to be around for as long as possible? Is it for your self esteem? Identify your why!
Don’t focus too much on the symptoms, dig deeper. What is the root of your current state? How did you get here? We’re going to work backwards and undo what has been done. That’s how you start!
The next major step is assessing the roof of the issue. Going through an assessment is a must in order to identify what needs to be fixed. A plan of action will be put in place and the process begins.
Begin a weight reduction program:
This should be a systematic approach to regaining control over your health.
This will likely present more of a psychological challenge than a physiological one. Physical exercise should certainly be included into a weight reduction program. Adults with obesity who began physical activity did realize satisfactory weight loss and lowering of the risk factors for CVD.
We begin by laying a single brick. Performing exercises of sufficient duration or sufficient intensity to expend enough calories to significantly affect the targeted daily caloric deficit would likely be difficult if you’re obese. A decrease in calories is IMPERATIVE in conjunction with physical exercise. It’s also worth stating, on average, persons who are obese have a higher resting metabolic rate and expend more energy on activities than those who are overweight or normal weight. The reason is that moving a heavy mass around requires more energy.
Let’s expand on the benefits of exercise in a Weight Reduction Program
– Increases energy expenditure
– Reduces the risk of heart disease more than what can be achieved by weight loss alone
– May help reduce body fat and prevent the decrease in muscle mass that often occurs during weight loss
– May decrease abdominal fat
– Decreases insulin resistance
– May contribute to better dietary compliance, including reduced caloric intake
– May not present the decline in RMR associated with a low-calorie diet, but may minimize the decrease
– Improves mood and general well-being
– Improves body image
– Increases self-esteem and self-efficacy
– Serves as a coping strategy
How to increase the success rate of a weight reduction program.
A combination of diet modification, increased physical activity, and lifestyle change. Physical activity is only a single factor, a complete lifestyle change will be required. Do not be intimidated, all things will not be done at once. It’s a process which will take time.
Compiled from National Institutes of Health and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 2000; and baker and Brownwell, 2000.
The time frame:
Studies have confirmed that an initial and reasonable goal of a weight loss program is a 10% reduction in body weight. A realistic time to achieve this goal is six months. Following this six month period, new goals can be set! Be mindful the benefits of achieving moderate weight loss over a long period of time far outweighs the benefits of losing a great deal of weight quickly only to gain it back. Yo-yoing is very dangerous and can lead to the build up of juvenile plaque on the walls of your arteries which leads to numerous disease, risk of strokes, and heart attacks.
Following this six month period, it can be increasingly difficult to shed additional weight. Here’s why. The decrease in your resting metabolic rate plus the increased challenge of sticking to your diet, this will likely pose a significant challenge.
As your weight decreases your energy requirements will decrease as their is now less mass to move which means less workload. This is why readjustment of your goals is a MUST.
Diet modification and the low-calorie diet:
You cannot talk yourself out of a problem you behaved yourself into. One does not become obese from consuming a few meals. As mentioned earlier there are a various factors which contribute to obesity. Let’s expand on one of the factors which is greatly within your control. By consistently remaining in a caloric excess while performing little to no physical exercise, this is a easy way to contribute to obesity. The types of foods we eat can add fuel to the fire that is already burning out of control. All foods are not created equal. High calorie dense foods, full of saturated fat and simple carbs have little to no nutritional benefit for the body. They taste good, sure! These foods become very addictive and once the cycle starts it becomes hard to break.
Use of a Dietitian:
The assistance of a dietitian is highly recommended. The role the dietitian will play can be pivotal in your continued success. The dietitian will assess your diet, structure an appropriate calorie-reduced yet nutrient-dense diet, offer hands on guidance to make adjustments in your diet, answer questions and concerns, and solve any issues that will likely arise along your journey.
We’re all different and the changes made should be able to sustain a lifestyle therefore the design of your dietary program should be within the accordance of your ethnic background and within your preferences, also the availability and cost of specific foods should be considered.
Faster isn’t always better. Precision is. Don’t waste your efforts! Trust the process and believe the work you’re putting in will eventually pay off and with the appropriate guidance, results are inevitable! While you read this next portion keep in mind what was just stated.
If you’re obese, an ideal caloric restriction should generally be 500 – 1,000 calories per day in order to generate a weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week. This slight reduction in calories is advised in order to result in slow yet progressive weight loss. Extra pounds will progressively drop with this level of caloric intake. There’s different variations to this method, such as the following. If exercise is included, a smaller deficit could be beneficial for you to stick to the diet. Example, if you burn 250 calories a day during an exercise session, the diet may have to be reduced by only 250 to 750 calories per day and still produce the 1-to-2 pound weight loss per week. This smaller decrease in caloric restriction may make it easier for you to stick to your diet. Through trial and error you can identify which method works best for your lifestyle.
Men Vs Women
How do these rules apply to different sexes? The bodies of men and women operate different in countless ways. We will. Keep this in mind for caloric consumption as well. Generally speaking, women should look to consume no less than 1,000 – 1,200 calories per day, and men should look to consume no less than 1,200 – 1,600 calories per day. For women weighing 165 pounds (75kg) or more who exercise regularly, the 1,200 – 1,600 calorie per day range can also be considered. Once again the only certain way to find out if a caloric range is returning the results expected is through trial and error. If you’re using the 1,600 calorie per day diet and you lose no weight, the 1,200 calorie per day intake may be more appropriate. If you find yourself lacking energy throughout the day and cannot even perform physical exercise, slight adjustments in your caloric intake can be made (100 – 200 calorie increase).