Weight loss has become an everyday topic across all ages in the American population today. You will agree with me that the population has quickly realized the extent to which obesity has become a serious health problem that needs immediate attention. The sad reality of the situation is the fact that it is not getting any better. More and more children and young adults are becoming overweight at an early age now than it was ten year ago. This scenario is accelerated by the fact that majority of the affected population give up the battle against weight control and give in to obesity.
I get asked almost everyday by different people who are looking for ways to loss weight for an effective weight loss method. I am sure this question sounds familiar to most people in our society today – or at least most of us can relate to it in one way or the other. I wish there was one simple and clear answer to this question, but the reality is there is none. This does not mean there are no solutions to overweight problem. To better understand the effectiveness of weight loss method, we need to consider the following facts:
Overweight is long term: It is a fact that weight does not built up over night, it takes months if not years. The rate at which people gain extra weight however varies with individuals based on different factors that include, but not limited to: metabolism, physical activities, calories consumed, genes and lifestyle among others. Among these factors, food is the chief source of extra body weight gain. Considering that an average adult requires an average of 2000 calories daily, majority of the people go beyond. The body only utilizes what it needs for energy production to sustain the body systems and the surplus is converted to fats and stored mainly around the belly area. The only way to get rid of this fat would be through work. Whatever method of weight loss you choose should be one that enables you to burn more calories than you consume. It is also important to remember that a healthy weight loss is a slow process that demands some sacrifices.
The rate of losing weight is relative to individual’s body weight: When all factors are kept constant, the rate at which an individual losses weight depend the individual’s extra body weight. An individual with a larger extra body weight tends to loss more than an individual with a smaller extra weight. For instance, when a group of overweight individuals are put through a similar training program for some weeks, it is possible to witness as high as a 50 pound weight loss from one and as low as 2 pounds from another. This picture often misleads many people especially when the extra or targeted weight is not given. It is therefore more meaningful to calculate the percentage of an individual’s weight loss relative to the overall extra body weight. Losing more weight does not always imply that an individual is better than the one who loses less.
Achieving a healthy body weight does not always mean losing weight. Most weight loss methods, for example recreational sports, facilitate muscle growth in the place of fat. This means that even though you are burning fat by going to the gym, running or jogging, the scale may still be reading the same weight or in some cases even more. In this situation, physical fitness rather than the scale reading should be used to judge one’s health status. Remember muscle weigh more than fat. Strive for a healthy status rather than a mere drop in pounds.
Sustainable body weight is achieved through gradual healthy weight loss methods: It is only natural for humans to want to loss all the extra weight as quickly as possible and forget about it. There are consequently hundreds if not thousands of weight loss pills readily available everywhere for this quick fix. The troubles with most of them are the site effects. Contrary to quick fix, weight loss must be both achievable and sustainable. Sustainable healthy weight require work and patience, there is no short cut!
Hints: An effective weight loss method must:
Have no negative effects on the body Become part of one’s lifestyle Fun and entertaining Inexpensive and easy to perform
If you can’t think of any healthy weight loss method to use, here are some great options to choose from: Running, Jogging, Walking, Swimming, Weight lifting, Synchronized exercises, hiking, skiing, biking, rock climbing, beach volley ball, tennis and Kayaking among others. Be wise, choose what works for you and stick to it, make it part of your lifestyle, embrace it and you won’t have to worry about the scale.
