Dealing with weight loss issues in 2011

An obesity epidemic is sweeping across the Westernized world. More than
ever, there is an acknowledgement that the regulation of body weight
regulation is more complicated than ever imagined. The last decade has
seen rapid progress in our understanding of how body weight is
regulated; multiple organs are involved adding to the complexity.

Studies
have shown that inactivity is not the cause of obesity; the real cause
is poor diet and overeating. But, overeating is often the result of
stress and lack of self esteem – emotional eating. Sports and exercise
can help to improve self esteem as well as improving confidence and
other social skills. Small changes, such as cutting 100 calories per day
and adding 2,000 steps per day of physical activity, may help combat
the obesity crisis.

The figures show that kids are
consuming approximately 3 percent more calories than they did in the
1970s but getting a whopping average of 20 percent less exercise. And
obese kids are 70 percent more likely to become obese adults.

According
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 61
percent of obese young people have at least one additional risk factor
for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
Additionally, children who are obese are at greater risk for bone and
joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems.
Obese young people are more likely than children of normal weight to
become overweight or obese adults and are, therefore, more at risk for
associated adult health problems, including heart disease, type 2
diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.

Simple ways to keep weight gain at bay in 2011,
1. Turn off the TV:
The American Journal of Public Health published a survey stating that
59 percent of children watched between 2 and 4 hours of television and
an additional 22 percent watched 5 or more hours of TV per day. And
this, apparently, didn’t account for time in front of a computer.
Chances are that turning off your TV isn’t going to sit well with your
kids, so here is some ammunition that will make it easier on both of
you. Staying thin will increase your child’s confidence level.
Researchers surveyed 1,520 children, ages 9 to 10, with a 4-year
follow-up, and discovered a positive correlation between obesity and low
self-esteem. They also discovered that decreased self-esteem led to 19
percent of obese children feeling sad, 48 percent of them feeling bored,
and 21 percent of them feeling nervous. In comparison, 8 percent of
normal-weight children felt sad, 42 percent of them felt bored, and 12
percent of them felt nervous.

2. Practice Being Deliriously Happy: A good laugh when you are
stressed or sad can instantly improve your mood; there are a reason
people who see pretty disturbing things on a daily basis, like cops,
firefighters, and journalists, tend to have darkly hilarious senses of
humor. Some studies have shown actual physical benefits to laughing as
well.

3. Get more sleep: A recent study indicates that inadequate
sleep has a negative impact on one's performance in life and on
emotional and social welfare, and increases their risk of being
overweight. A study represented longitudinal investigation on the
correlation between sleep, body mass index, and being overweight in
children between the ages of 3 and 18. The study found that an extra
hour of sleep lowered the children’s risk of being overweight from 36
percent to 30 percent, while it lessened older children’s risk from 34
percent to 30 percent.

4. Stay Active: Not only will this help with the perennial
lose-weight-and-exercise resolution, this might just turn you into the
kind of person who thinks of yourself as an athlete. And once you find
the activity that ignites your passion versus just mindlessly griding it
out at the gym, finding time for those workouts is going to be lots
easier. There are an endless number of outdoor activities you can choose
from, but the simplest, hiking, is one of the best activities you can
do. Not only does it force you to learn more about your world, it’s
great exercise, especially if you live around hills or mountains. Add 10
min of exercise weekly to your daily routine, start looking for ways to
do that in 2011.

5. Start planning your meals: Spending an hour plotting things
out once per week can keep more money in your pocket, keep you from
wasting food, and save you a ton of time and irritation. Knowing what's
for dinner on any given day and having all its components in the house
makes a huge difference to your ability to serve up a healthy, tasty
family meal every night ... and even enjoy it. Our nutritional needs
change during exercise, when we need a lot of sugar and salt. When we
aren’t exercising, those nutrients in excess are dangerous.

6. Get a home fitness program: We even know where you can find
some. Nothing beats home fitness in both cost and time efficiency. There
are home fitness solutions that will fit your lifestyle like a glove.
Most home fitness programs allow you to finish your exercise requirement
in less time than it would take to drive to a gym. A proper program is
researched to be time-efficient and will also come with dietary
suggestions to match the program. No other option comes close to home
fitness when you need to squeeze a lifestyle change into an already
booked schedule.




7. Have a Nurture List: Make a list of all the ways you can
nurture yourself besides eating. It might be taking a bubble bath or
going shopping at your favorite boutique. Anything that you really
enjoy. I call this my "backup list". All the things I can do besides
eating that are ways I can practice major self-care. Put it up where you
can see it. It's amazing what happens when you give yourself options!

8. Do not diet: Make a promise to yourself this year, say NO to
diet. Fad diets rarely help for long periods of time and very strict
diet plans may only make your disorder worse.
Share your concerns with friends and family. Never isolate yourself.
Last but most important, Love yourself for who you are, not what you look like.



Remember, Small changes can produce big results.