Weight loss is a goal for many people; however, unlike other health issues the need for weight loss is often considered for cosmetic or self-image reasons as much as to reduce the risk of developing health problems. The need to lose weight is also often viewed as one of those necessary evils in life and efforts to do so can be fraught with emotional and physical challenges. Learning as much as possible about how the body gains and loses weight and the steps to take to achieve and maintain a normal weight is a matter of getting educated and becoming determined to succeed.
Weight gain occurs for many reasons including stress, medical issues, lifestyle changes, inadequate exercise and poor dietary habits. The good news is that weight gain can be reversed at any time with a simple formula of increasing energy burned by the body while concurrently decreasing the amount of calories consumed.
Research into effective weight loss programs shows that even modest changes in body weight of less than 10% can have very positive health and emotional benefits. In recent studies obese individuals were able to achieve a 5% decrease in initial Body Mass Index (BMI) scores, and as a result experienced measurable improvements in all aspects of their lives including physical health, psychological well being and social relationships.
Understanding the risks associated with being overweight and obese can help motivate people to work on achieving weight loss goals. Understanding the physical aspects is only one factor though. Just as important is understanding the emotional aspects. Let's face it – many of us want to wear skinny jeans and get compliments from others making us feel like celebrities in our own way. We are inundated with advertisements showing wealthy and skinny celebrities as marketers try to make us believe that being thin equates to success in many areas of life. It's tempting to feel inadequate or anxious when it's difficult to zip up your favorite pants or skirt or when you discover it's time to move into a larger size.
Weight is a complex subject that incorporates our total life and not just the physical one. We are the sum of our physical, emotional and spiritual well being and embarking on a weight loss plan should be kept in perspective. It is important to choose a safe, effective and healthy weight loss method, maintain a healthy perspective and remember that feeling good about yourself involves much more than the number on your scale.
There's no getting around the fact that finding the right eating plan as well as increasing exercise and activity levels is regarded as the most effective way to reach weight loss goals and maintain a healthy weight.
Weight Loss Fads Versus Healthy Options
 There are many different weight loss fads that crop up. These fad diets often require consuming one type of food like only fruits or only vegetables or mostly protein. There are starvation diets, celebrity diets and diet programs that promise fast weight loss and great results. These diets may result in short term weight loss, but they also create nutritional imbalances in the body, making them unsustainable for long term weight loss maintenance.
The truth is that staying on a diet all your life is not practical and it's not fun. Our culture revolves around food in many instances – weddings, funerals, holidays, parties, athletic events, office picnics all involve food. There is even what is called "comfort food" or food we eat that makes us feel better emotionally even if it harms us physically.
There are plenty of healthy weight loss options. Finding nutritious food to eat is not difficult. A healthy diet provides a balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. An increased intake of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables combined with a decrease in consumption of fats and refined sugars and empty calorie foods are considered by to be the most effective overall weight loss options. Substituting healthy monounsaturated fats for saturated fats is another key component to weight loss and satisfaction with the food on a particular diet or eating plan.
However, diet alone does not address all of the issues surrounding weight loss.
Weight gain occurs for many reasons including stress, medical issues, lifestyle changes, inadequate exercise and poor dietary habits. The good news is that weight gain can be reversed at any time with a simple formula of increasing energy burned by the body while concurrently decreasing the amount of calories consumed.
Research into effective weight loss programs shows that even modest changes in body weight of less than 10% can have very positive health and emotional benefits. In recent studies obese individuals were able to achieve a 5% decrease in initial Body Mass Index (BMI) scores, and as a result experienced measurable improvements in all aspects of their lives including physical health, psychological well being and social relationships.
Understanding the risks associated with being overweight and obese can help motivate people to work on achieving weight loss goals. Understanding the physical aspects is only one factor though. Just as important is understanding the emotional aspects. Let's face it – many of us want to wear skinny jeans and get compliments from others making us feel like celebrities in our own way. We are inundated with advertisements showing wealthy and skinny celebrities as marketers try to make us believe that being thin equates to success in many areas of life. It's tempting to feel inadequate or anxious when it's difficult to zip up your favorite pants or skirt or when you discover it's time to move into a larger size.
Weight is a complex subject that incorporates our total life and not just the physical one. We are the sum of our physical, emotional and spiritual well being and embarking on a weight loss plan should be kept in perspective. It is important to choose a safe, effective and healthy weight loss method, maintain a healthy perspective and remember that feeling good about yourself involves much more than the number on your scale.
There's no getting around the fact that finding the right eating plan as well as increasing exercise and activity levels is regarded as the most effective way to reach weight loss goals and maintain a healthy weight.
Weight Loss Fads Versus Healthy Options
 There are many different weight loss fads that crop up. These fad diets often require consuming one type of food like only fruits or only vegetables or mostly protein. There are starvation diets, celebrity diets and diet programs that promise fast weight loss and great results. These diets may result in short term weight loss, but they also create nutritional imbalances in the body, making them unsustainable for long term weight loss maintenance.
The truth is that staying on a diet all your life is not practical and it's not fun. Our culture revolves around food in many instances – weddings, funerals, holidays, parties, athletic events, office picnics all involve food. There is even what is called "comfort food" or food we eat that makes us feel better emotionally even if it harms us physically.
There are plenty of healthy weight loss options. Finding nutritious food to eat is not difficult. A healthy diet provides a balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. An increased intake of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables combined with a decrease in consumption of fats and refined sugars and empty calorie foods are considered by to be the most effective overall weight loss options. Substituting healthy monounsaturated fats for saturated fats is another key component to weight loss and satisfaction with the food on a particular diet or eating plan.
However, diet alone does not address all of the issues surrounding weight loss.
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