Simple Aerobic Exercises

Aerobic exercises are an excellent way to lose excess weight and maintain weight. You can stay fit by doing very simple aerobic exercises. Simple physical activities are an easy way to lose some weight. Generally aerobic exercises are recommended for weight loss. Aerobic exercises not only burn calories. Aerobic exercise increases the amount of oxygen which is sent to the muscles. 

Some examples of aerobic exercises are

• Walking
• Jogging
• Running
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Rowing
• Skating
• Skiing

Each one of these aerobic exercises has its own benefits. Each exercise also has a few disadvantages. You can choose the exercise that suits your individual goals. It is also fun and advisable to opt for a combination of these exercises.

However do not ever forget that a balanced diet or a low calorie diet will work synergistically you can achieve your goal of overcoming obesity or maintaining your healthy weight.

Benefits of Exercise

“If you exercise, you call into action every body system including your heart and lungs and molecules and hormones dash madly around the body.” Steven Blair 

This is how Steven Blair Director of Research at the Cooper Institute for Aerobic Research in Dallas feels about exercise and I am sure most of us who exercise will agree with him.

Exercise is essential for your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Regular exercise helps the body to build stamina; it gives you strength and keeps your mobility on a Physical level. On a psychological and emotional level it gives a boost to your self esteem and may give you appositive body image. Thus it can improve the quality and standard of your life. 

Every body needs to exercise to stay fit.  It is still more important for those who have been defined as obese to exercise so that they can lose the excess weight they carry. They can also use exercise to ward off the various diseases which are the unfortunate result as obesity remains.

It doesn’t matter if you cannot regain your svelte figure. Exercising for fitness helps everyone. Even if your obesity is due to other causes rather than an improper lifestyle management exercise may not help you shed those excess pounds accumulated. However exercise can help you maintain the desired fitness level which will improve your stamina and may help you ward off unnecessary complications associated with overweight.   Research has shown that former obese individuals who have managed to keep excess weight off for long periods share the common fact that they maintained their exercise schedules regularly, together with other changes like a low fat diet.     

Obesity and Exercise

Obesity is the biggest problem of the twenty first century. Exercise and diet control are two major ways to control obesity.

Obesity is reaching such alarming proportion that the World Health organization is considering whether to term obesity as an epidemic which needs to be tackled world wide.

Jeffrey Koplan, former Director of Centre for Disease Control CDC has said: “Obesity is an epidemic and should be taken as seriously as any infectious disease epidemic.”

The numbers of obese individuals are growing literally in immense proportions world wide. Obesity is becoming very common in urban populations. However the most disturbing factor is that the number of urban children world wide who are becoming obese is steadily increasing.

This does not augur well for the future of human population on earth as obesity is not just the accumulation of fat but is also a condition which is the precursor of many related diseases including diabetes, hypertension, cardio vascular diseases and cancers.

Although there are various ways to tackle this obese epidemic the two major ways include a combination of a balanced or low calorie diet as well as sufficient exercise. Education on both these factors is the need of the hour. Although diet alone or exercise alone can combat obesity a combination of both is always the best solution as they work synergistically.

Simple Food Tips

Do’s and Dont’s  

You can follow some simple tips to manage your obesity and try to lose weight in a healthy way.

Do’s

• Eat more healthy foods like fruits and vegetables.
• Avoid high fat and high sugar foods as much as possible.
• If you are very obese consult a professional nutritionist.
• Have a regular exercise system daily.
•  Try to balance your diet so the best of nutrients from the least amount of foods.

Dont’s

Don’t totally cut out any favourite food initially-just limit its consumption.

Don’t anticipate results overnight. Losing weight slowly and surely is healthy.

Don’t get demotivated and go back to all your old eating habits.

Try to avoid high calorie fast foods and fizzy beverages. Drink water instead of cool drinks.

  

Protein and Obesity

A moderately high protein diet may help you lose weight. When you follow a reducing diet or a low calorie diet to control to treat your obesity you should take extreme care to see that you consume sufficient protein. The body may survive better with lower carbohydrate and fat but the immunological system will get compromised if you go on a low protein diet.

It is important that your body gets the eight essential amino acids daily through the diet. You need to eat high quality complete protein in your daily diet.  Only those who have kidney problems may need a low protein diet under the guidance of a renal dietician.

If you need to lose weight do not decrease your protein consumption. In fact a slight increase may prove to have better benefits.

According to researchers consuming a high protein diet can help women preserve lean body mass before they become obese. They also found that a high protein diet actually helped to increase pleasure and the satiety value of the foods consumed when they were put on low energy diets.

It is very important that you consume good quality protein. If you are a vegetarian one of the best ways to obtain good quality protein is by consuming legumes and beans. If you have no allergies consuming soy protein is an effective way not only to lose some weight but also to obtain essential amino acids. 

 According to some researchers dietary soya protein can bring down the body weight in obese human beings together with lowering the plasma cholesterol and triglyceride content. Soya protein can be used in limited amounts in weight loss dietary for controlling obesity. However it is not a miracle cure and   must be used with care as any food in excess has never been and will never ever be a panacea for any illness or condition.  

Thus a moderately high protein diet can help you to lose weight provided you don’t have any other potential complications. Do not forget that whatever diet plan you follow to lose your obesity a balanced diet and regular exercise and patience are the best ways to lose weight.

Fat and Obesity

A low fat diet can definitely cause weight loss in adults. Fats have always been implicated as major cause for obesity. There is some evidence for this implication. According to researchers a large number of obese humans (both men and women) were asked to list ten of their favourite dishes. While the men listed mainly protein and fat laden dishes mainly meat dishes the women listed dishes rich in carbohydrate and fat like doughnuts, cakes and cookies. Hence it was concluded that no single macro nutrient could be cited as a cause for obesity. However it was also concluded that fat rather carbohydrate may be the main nutrient implicated in obesity.

It is unfair to implicate the increased consumption of fat with the rise of obesity without acknowledging the role of a sedentary lifestyle in increasing obesity. If you want to decrease your obesity do not forget to add an exercise regime together with your low fat diet.  

Fats are essential for the normal functioning of the human body. These fats are called essential fatty acids. They perform vital functions in the body. However some fats may not be essential and though they provide energy when consumed in large amounts   increase the cholesterol content which leads to cardiovascular problems. Hence fat can be categorized as both good fat and bad fat, though I think not so good fat is more appropriate.

Foods which are rich in the so called good fats include

All nuts especially walnuts.

Oils like sunflower, safflower, olive oil, corn and rice bran oil

Olives

Oily fish including salmon, trout, herrings, sardines  etc

Fat per se is essential as it performs many functions. It is important that you choose the right fats and consume them in appropriate amounts. So if you suffer from obesity, use them in limited quantities and add flavour, zest and good health to your diet without the excess of calories.

Obesity and Carbohydrate

Excess consumption of carbohydrates has very often been implicated as a leading cause of obesity. Low carbohydrate diets are considered to be a way to lose weight. Carbohydrates do get converted to fat when consumed in excess but some amount of carbohydrates is necessary for good health. Instead of cutting carbohydrates it is better to limit your carbohydrates and perhaps even count them like what is advised for diabetics.

Try to eat carbohydrates which have a medium or low glycemic index (GI). The glycemic index can be defined as a measurement used to rank how the carbohydrate effects blood glucose. All whole grains and unrefined carbohydrate rich foods will have a lower glycemic index than highly refined food especially those which contain sugar. Starchy vegetables especially potatoes could be consumed moderately

According to a study on Carbohydrates and their impact on Obesity: the type of carbohydrate does make a difference. According to researchers the good carbohydrates like non starchy vegetables should be consumed in larger amounts along with high fibre legumes.   

Try to avoid all foods which have sugar or sugar by products like glucose or fructose or corn syrup or invert sugar. Eat whole grains and fibre rich foods.

Do not forget that you need some carbohydrates in your diet for taste for good health and for balance. Do add an exercise regime together with a good eating plan and you will definitely lose weight.

Diet and Obesity

“There is no such thing as a perfect diet.” Hence there is no such thing as a perfect diet to control obesity. The closest one can get to it is by having a balanced low calorie diet everyday. The best way to adopt a balanced diet is to follow the Food Pyramid which is a good indication on how much you should consume from each food group roughly.

  

There is no consensus on what constitutes as the best diet. Any diet that works is okay as long as the general principles of nutrition are followed. However most of the obese want instant results. Unfortunately they adopt fad diets which are dangerous for their health.

It is a fact that for most people it is much easier to gain weight than to lose weight. All the so called tasty food whether they are fast foods or fried items and almost all desserts are always very calorie dense. It may even just take seconds to eat them but it will definitely take more than 30 minutes of vigorous or even an hour of sustained exercise to burn those extra calories consumed. 

High calorie snacks may begin as minor temptations but as time passes they become habits. This leads to a constant weight gain as the body reaches a negative balance. This is when the energy consumed as calories through food is greater than the calories expended due to metabolism or exercise.

Managing obesity is a life time task. Set sensible and achievable goals. A weight loss of one to two kilograms per month is considered healthy. Once you have lost weight it is very important to sustain the weight loss.

Proper and balanced diets and exercise along with a patient and positive outlook can go a long way to help you lose weight and maintain. However much you spend of your time, your money or your effort it is your motivation ultimately which can help you not only to lose but also to maintain proper weight.

If you try to hurry things by following the so called loss in number of pounds in number of days some of you might get temporary results. Whereas some of you wont get the promised results. Those who may achieve the result will find out that it soon wears away and you will be back to your old weight or even find you gain more weight. Those of you who don’t lose the weight may begin an emotional downslide. So it is always better that you lose weight slowly but surely. 

Careful selection of appropriate amounts of foods within a low calorie diet will help you to get balanced diet. You have to avoid all fast foods and sodas etc. which can be termed as empty calories. Fast foods and sugared and fizzy beverages can be considered as the main culprits for weight gain.

It is very important for you to consume more from these food groups

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Whole grains

It is better if you consume less but please consume some amounts from these food groups.

• Milk, yogurt, cheese
• Fish
• Nuts
• Meat, poultry and eggs
• Legumes, dried beans etc

The more fruits and vegetables you are able to incorporate in your diet, the better your health will be. However you have to some amount of protein, fat and carbohydrate to obtain all the vital nutrients necessary for good health.

  

Nutrition and Obesity

Whether one is within the so called “normal range” of weight, over weight or obese it is very important to be healthy. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) health has been defined as ‘the state of physical, mental and emotional well being and not just the absence from disease.”

To be healthy both good nutrition and some amount of exercise are essential. Our body needs at least six vital nutrients to function properly. They are

Proteins

Carbohydrates

Fats

Vitamins

Minerals

Water

It is paramount that we consume all these nutrients in the correct amounts. A balanced diet is absolutely essential for good health.  

Unfortunately those who suffer from obesity rarely follow good nutrition principles. To lose weight or control their obesity some individuals sometimes follow extreme steps by totally cutting down on the carbohydrates consumption. Some of them totally cut down on their fat consumption.

Although they may produce temporary results initially both of these are extremely dangerous in the long run. It is absolutely essential that the body gets all these nutrients daily to function properly.

Even if you are obese do not cut down your consumption of any of these vital nutrients. Instead consult a nutritionist or dietician to lose weigh if you are extremely obese. If you are mildly overweight you can lose weight on your own by improving your knowledge on nutrition, eating a balanced diet and regularly exercising. 

  

Nutrition, Diet and Obesity

Overweight and obesity are two terms which define the excess of body fat to such an extent that it can impair good health. Excess body weight is defined in terms of the BMI or the Body Mass Index. The BMI is a ratio of an individual’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of her or his height in metres

According to the World Health Organization WHO when an individual has a BMI of over 25 he or she is defined as being overweight. When an individual has a BMI of over 30 he or she is defined as being obese. When the BMI is high it constitutes a major risk factor for the incidence of various diseases including diabetes, heart diseases, cancers, kidney diseases, osteoarthritis etc. 

 Obesity is a condition which leads to several complications in the human body. It can affect all the major body organs. Hence it is prudent to maintain your weight to remain healthy.