No Nonsense Guide To Nutrition, Exercise, And Weight Control: The Problem

How are you doing on your New Years resolutions to eat better exercise - lose weight? Well, if its not going like you thought it would, we would like to help. Over the next four days, well present four articles, starting first with this one. The articles following will discuss Nutrition, Exercise, and Putting It All Together.

Every year hundreds, perhaps thousands, of articles and books are published regarding weight loss. Many of these articles feature fad diets, fast weight loss schemes or will attempt to induce you to buy products. Some of these articles espouse methods of weight loss that don't work, produce only a temporary weight loss, or may actually be injurious to health.

These articles are written with an eye towards both maintaining permanent weight loss and preserving long-term health. Dieting alone doesnt work; neither will exercise alone. Only a blended approach of proper nutrition, exercise, and a new way of thinking about food will produce long-term weight control and health enhancement.

America A nation of overweight people

Busy lifestyles and labor saving devices have reduced the amount of physical activity for modern people. Only two percent of jobs are physically active. Television, videos, video games, the Internet, and other sedentary activities have become more prevalent as leisure pastimes, with the limited time we have left after work, shopping, housework, family activities, and the commuting between all these activities.

In addition, restaurants and food producers sell increasingly large portions of high-fat, high-sugar food to consumers. More than half of all adult Americans are overweight, and more of America's children are obese than at any time since records have been kept.

The problem continues to worsen. Skipping meals adds to the problem because it lowers metabolism and increases the likelihood of overeating at the next meal. Low blood sugar from not eating makes the consumer more likely to grab high-sugar "goodies" or high-fat fast food on the run. These high-calorie, low-fiber, low-nutrient foods actually increase our appetite for more of the same.

A jaded "sweet tooth" will experience natural, unsweetened food as having no flavor or tasting bitter. Many so-called "healthy" breakfast cereals, breakfast bars, meal replacements, sports bars, or "low-fat" foods are cleverly labeled and marketed to weight watching adults, but are only marginally better for you then the breakfast cereals, candy bars, and soft drinks marketed to kids on Saturday morning TV!

The role of advertising, news media, and the modern workplace

Never in history has advertising and the media played such a large role in public perceptions and modern culture, and the sheer volume of messages makes catching the attention of the public increasingly difficult. The nature of television and radio tends to shorten attention span and patience. This limits the amount of facts that can be presented.

People just don't have the patience to weigh the evidence logically. Media hype and media saturation has become so necessary that reasonable claims seem paltry by comparison. For example, companies must claim a product not only gets the job done for which it was purchased, but will also make you wealthy, sexy, or the envy of all your friends.

The media today promote unrealistic ideals of appearance that most people can never hope to attain. Women's magazines are a prime example of the media's split personality in regards to food and body image. Its common to have articles with recipes for gooey deserts and high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt entrees along with fad diet articles.

The same magazine also features advertisements with very-young, very-thin models presented as the ideal of beauty. The two opposing ideas create a situation where the ideal image is ultra-thin and the public becomes fatter. Meanwhile, the media and advertisers tell us that being fat is a moral failing. Fat people are the last acceptable group to be laughed at or discriminated against. These false perceptions often lead to guilt and low self-esteem for the obese. It leaves people desperate. It is a situation ripe for exploitation.

The media, even supposedly objective news programs, tout every new fad diet, exercise machine, drug, or surgical procedure. The expectation is instant results with no inconvenience. Unfortunately, that is not how the world works.

The modern workplace is highly competitive and long hours may be required. This makes healthy and regular meals more difficult to maintain. Often, meals are eaten at company cafeterias, local fast-food restaurants, or ordered in. Sales representatives and other employees sometimes eat or drink with clients as a part of doing business and these establishments tend to have rich food and desserts.

Knowledge is power

It is only by educating yourself and reading labels that truly healthy foods can be found. Learn about nutrition from an objective source. Books used in college nutrition programs are generally based more on proven science, although they may reflect an instructor's bias. One does not have to become a fanatic and eat perfectly to be healthy.

How we think and feel about food is profoundly influenced by how food is used in our families as children. In many families, food is used as entertainment; a gift of love; a substitute for love; or as a relief for stress, sadness, anger, or other negative emotions.

Often, people will eat when they are not hungry, only bored, sad, angry, upset, or lonely. When eating for these reasons, they usually eat foods high in fat, sugar, or both. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a meal, just be sure to get sufficient healthy food and limit your quantities of junk food.

People who eat for reasons other than hunger will sometimes feel guilty after they indulge. This will often lead to more overeating and more guilt. These people often become obsessed with food. There are support groups and counseling for people who over-eat for emotional reasons.

Learn More about Anorexia Nervosa

The other side of food obsession is anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia nervosa is a serious condition in which the patient stops or severely curtails their food intake to induce weight loss. Approximately ten percent of people who are anorexic die of their disease.

Learn More about Bulimia Nervosa

People with this condition always see themselves as being fat, even when extremely emaciated. Bulimia is a condition where the patient eats food (sometimes gorging) and then vomits or takes laxatives or diuretics to avoid weight gain or induce weight loss. This can result in the loss of electrolytes and minerals essential for proper heart function and pH balance in the blood. Both these conditions are serious and require medical assistance.

You will gain success in weight control by understanding the root cause of your individual problem and then developing a program accordingly. Some people, who were unaware of what good nutrition consists of, only need to learn the facts about nutrition and exercise to apply what they have learned without difficulty.

Others have unconscious eating patterns such as eating while doing other activities and not paying attention to what or how much they are eating. By being aware of the problem and using techniques such as behavior modification techniques, can help the person with problems such as these.

People who have more trouble changing eating habits or extreme obesity may have deep-seated emotional or psychiatric problems and may be using food to help alleviate the symptoms. Consuming large quantities of high-sugar or high-starch foods releases serotonin in the brain, which imparts a feeling of wellbeing. This can be an attempt to alleviate undiagnosed clinical depression or anxiety.

Once people apply the principles of weight control for a while, it becomes part of the daily routine like taking a shower or making the bed. People lose their taste for high-fat, high-sugar food and would eat healthier food out of choice even when weight control isn't an issue. Only a blended approach including education, healthy sustainable eating habits, and moderate exercise, along with counseling if required will result in permanent fat loss and weight control.

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