Balanced Healthy Diet - Lose Weight Easy With Sensible Eating

WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE OVERWEIGHT?

It would be very easy to blame the fast food outlets and as Morgan Spurlock painfully showed us in his movie, "Super Size Me" fast food certainly offers up their helpings of fat, cholesterol and calories.

If you have not seen this movie then I really do recommend it and after, you may change your mind and quickly pass the next fast food restaurant rather than joining the queue for a Double Whopper Burger with fries.

To be fair some of these fast food outlets are now seeing the financial benefits of offering more healthy items on their menus.

So what other factors contribute to so many people being not just a bit on the podgy size, but being so grossly overweight?

A lot of this can be put down to the very busy lifestyles that people in industrialised countries lead. It is so often the way that both parents are having to work and so it is very easy to opt for pre-packaged foods. Unfortunately these 'convenience' foods usually contain high amounts of salt, fat and other unhealthy components which all contribute towards unhealthy weight gain problems.

Sadly children are also being affected. In the 'Good Old Days' children would spend a lot of time outside in the yard or park playing simple made up games or were encouraged to participate in many sports and healthy activities. Today kids are more likely to be found sitting in front of the TV watching the latest must have computer game. munching on a candy bar whilst drinking sugar or chemical sweetened soda rather than enjoying a healthy piece of fruit.

IS SLOW METABOLISM TO BLAME?

Some people blame their excessive weight gain on their slow metabolism, and in some cases this may be true.

However the centre for Disease Control has confirmed: We are overweight because we simply eat to much of the wrong foods and exercise far to little. Healthy Weight is not a diet, it is a lifestyle.

All you really want to do is sherd those few extra pounds and there are many ways to go about this. Losing weight is actually quite simple - eat less and exercise more. but is it that easy? No, there are a number of things to consider. food choice, exercise, what kind and how much?

You can simply wait around for the next miracle yo-yo diet but by then you could be another few pounds heavier.

METABOLISM AND YOUR WEIGHT

It is an often held belief that an overweight persons metabolism is low and a slim persons metabolism is high. It is not as simple as that. It is not metabolism alone that determines ones weight.

It is a simple fact that if you consume more calories than your body burns you will put on weight.

Metabolism is the amount of energy (calories) your body burns to maintain itself. Whether you are eating, drinking, sleeping etc...your body is constantly burning calories to keep you going.

The number of calories your body burns each day is called your total energy expenditure. The following 3 factors make up your total energy expenditure:

Basic Needs

Even when your body is at rest, it requires energy for the basics, such as fuel for organs, breathing, circulating blood, adjusting hormone levels, plus growing and repairing cells. Calories expended to cover these basic functions are your basal metabolic rate.

Typically, a persons basal metabolic rate is the largest portion of energy use, representing two-thirds to three-quarters of the calories used each day. Energy needs for these basic functions stay fairly consistent and are not easily changed.

Food processing

Digesting, absorbing, transporting and storing the food you consume also takes calories. this accounts for about 10 percent of the calories used each day. For the most part, your bodies energy requirement to process food stays relatively steady and is not easily changed.

Physical Activity

Physical activity - such as playing tennis, walking to the store, chasing after the dog and any other movement - accounts for the remainder of calories used. You control the number of calories burned depending on the frequency, duration and intensity of your activities.

Losing weight, like any task you undertake, requires that you have dedication and motivation to success. This means you need to get into the right mind set.

If you follow these tips, you are sure to notice that you will achieve some weight loss, without having to go on the latest fad diet and you will soon be back on track to being healthy and happy! Whatever you do, it is important to remember you can be successful in your weight loss without having to starve!

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