Studies will routinely produce new information on weight loss. One released by Israeli researchers in of 2010 says drinking 12 oz. of milk daily is helpful and another recent study says drinking water before a meal helps. But no weight lose program is going to succeed without you and the effort to change.
Obesity and Excess Weight Costly Problem
Miriam-Webster online dictionary defines obesity as a "condition characterized by the excessive accumulation and storage of fat in the body" and it is one of the most written and talked about health issues today. Losing excessive fat is the subject of TV talk shows and physicians are forever counseling clients to lose weight.
It is difficult to tabulate all the money spent trying to lose weight but in the U.S. it's between a staggering 40 billion dollars and 60 + billion dollars annually. And yet despite that the rate of obesity keeps growing so simply spending money on diets and pills is not getting the job done. To stop trying is not an option, or statistics tell us it is not an option for anyone who intends to live a long and a healthy life.
AMA Urges Obese People to Lose Weight as Obesity Poses Risk to Health
The American Medical Association (AMA) says nearly a third of the U.S. adult population is obese and each year obesity "kills more Americans...than AIDS, all cancers, and all accidents combined." Other countries with high obesity rates include Mexico, Greece, Australia, the UK, Canada and Slovakia. Further, the AMA reports that around the globe obesity is "...causing problems in children...unthinkable 30 years ago."
Lasting Weight Loss Involves Life-Style Changes, Effort and You
As Dr. M. Scott Peck said in his1978 self-help book The Road Less Traveled the way to solve a problem is to just solve it. Simple enough but how? There's no sugarcoating weight loss, no quick fix or diet fad guaranteed to work. Losing weight takes time and commitment but with a bit of knowledge and effort, no major money outlay necessary, humans do lose weight and keep it off.
A refresher on basic elements of gaining and losing weight is a place to start for an overweight person looking to access their own power and become a leaner and more healthy and vibrant person.
Three Things About Weight Loss That Weight Loss Experts Agree On
There are three things that pretty much everyone agrees on with regard humans gaining and losing weight, three principles arguably unassailable:
- Eating fats, sugars, excessive calories leads to weight gain.
- There are no quick fixes; e.g. diet pills are dangerous, some addictive
- Exercising leads to weight loss and to increased well-being.
First point: Obese people need alternative foods to those full of fats and sugars. Information is at your library and on the web. Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has a popular television show, lists on his website 100 weight loss tips to help lose and keep weight off and they're practical and easy to follow. For example, here's number 5: Go nuts with nuts. Eating a handful of nuts will help you stay full.
Second point: Quick fix methods don't work and if it sounds to good too be true experts say it is. With diet pills it's hard to know what you're getting or how your body will react. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warnings on many over-the-counter diet pills on its website. And weight loss surgery often has poor results and many doctors recommend it only in extreme cases.
Third point: When people bring exercise into their life the fact they find sweating fun is a happy surprise. On its website, the Mayo Clinic says, "When you engage in physical activity you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burnl." The site goes on to say that weight training is an excellent weight loss tool because muscles burn more fat.
Getting Weight Loss Results is Exhilarating
It seems there is no way to lose weight that does not include the effort to change, not even drinking milk or two glasses of water before a meal. But perhaps that is as it should be because to take on change is an exhilarating experience and when it comes to weight loss to do so successfully makes for a longer, healthier and a more active life.
It also makes for a happier, more positive and confident human being.
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