The most dreaded word in many dieter’s vocabulary is ‘fat’. It is not uncommon to hear a dieter discuss their avoidance of eating fat as if it were something thoroughly unwholesome, or even life-threatening, like an allergen, or a contagious disease.

In one way, this impassioned hatred of fat is positive. It reflects a generally understood medical truth that overindulging in fat-rich foods often causes unwanted, and unhealthy, weight gain.

However, in another way, this fat-phobia is potentially dangerous, because awareness of fat is not enough; an understanding of how fat influences weight gain and overall health is required. Unfortunately, those who dread and avoid all fat “as a rule” are overlooking an important difference between saturated fat and unsaturated fat.

Saturated fat is often the real culprit when it comes to unwanted, and potentially unhealthy,
weight gain. These types of fats, which are solid at room temperature, initiate the production of LDL cholesterol, or “bad cholesterol”. In addition to weight gain, as cholesterol increases, so does the risk of heart disease. In fact, saturated fats increase LDL cholesterol disproportionately more than dietary cholesterol itself; that is how powerfully bad it is to the human body[i]. Dreading and avoiding this kind of fat is therefore quite intelligent.

Some dieters, however, are motivated less by concerns about high cholesterol and heart disease than they are about cosmetic weight gain. This is not a criticism; the adverse health effects of excess weight are well documented, as are the emotional traumas and social stigmas that tragically affect tens of millions of overweight people, especially children[ii].

Unquestionably, an excess intake of saturated fat is linked to weight gain. This is because a fat gram contains more than twice the amount of calories as a protein gram – 9 calories versus 4 calories[iii]. As a result, dieters can eat more than twice as many protein grams as fat grams to achieve the same amount of caloric intake. For dieters who are steadfastly watching every calorie, this 125% calorie difference between protein and fat can have an enormous impact.

Fat cells, once created, cannot be removed[1]; they can only be made smaller through the body’s metabolic calorie-burning process[iv]. Since an individual’s rate of metabolism is determined largely by genetics, a dieter with a slower than average metabolism will spend months, perhaps even years longer struggling to shrink fat cells then would his or her metabolically-gifted counterpart[v].

It is quite easy to understand, based on the above discussion, why the very idea of fat is dreaded by dieters; both because of the health hazards it poses, and its capacity to create excess fat cells. And it is just as easy to understand why many people are so afraid of consuming this kind of fat that they strive to remove all fat from their diet. This, however, is a large nutritional oversight.

Fat is a macronutrient that the body requires for a number of important functions. Fat is a source of energy. It helps keep the body warm, it aids in the absorption of some vitamins, and helps regulate the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system[vi]. This appears, however, to be a contradiction.

On the one hand there are health and weight gain hazards associated with fat, and on the other hand, there are proven health benefits associated with fat. How can this be? The answer is easily understood when we differentiate between the two types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. The kind of fat associated with health hazards is the former; the kind that the body needs and uses effectively is the latter.

There are two sub-types of unsaturated fat: polysaturated fat, and monosaturated fat. Popular foods that contain polysaturated fat include safflower oil and corn oil, while monosaturated fats are found in such foods as olive oil and peanut oil. These unsaturated fats are those that provide the body with the most useful and efficient sources of fat that lead to the health benefits noted above.

However, though there is a clear benefit to eating unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats, both types continue to offer eaters the standard 9 calories per gram. As such, no eater should consume an excess amount of fat.

Equipped with the awareness and understanding that avoiding saturated fat is hazardous to health, and that there is such a thing as “good” (unsaturated) fat, it would be expected that most nutritional supplements on the market have created foods that reflect this understanding. This is, regrettably, not the case.

Most nutritional supplements contain some fat content; many even contain saturated fat for some inexplicable reason[2]. Tragically – and there is no other word – many dieters are deceived into eating self-described nutritionally intelligent foods that may be “low calorie”, and may even have some vitamins and nutrients, but they but they are adding to the individual’s limited capacity to ingest fat grams. Many people who seek to lose weight by eating nutritional supplements often gain weight. They erroneously believe it is the result of a slow metabolism, when the culprit is the amount of fat grams ingested.

Fortunately, there are several fat-free food supplements on the market today. There are several important benefits of this strategy that benefit dieters of all sizes.

The obvious benefit is that a dieter does not have to count fat calories when eating these
nutritional supplements; they are 100% fat free, and do not add to their daily fat-intake limit.

Less obviously, however, is that a zero-fat nutritional supplement that contains protein can stimulate the digestive system and minimize fat storage. This is because the protein content can help regulate the body’s ability to effectively absorb the calories that it derives from carbohydrates and fats. For example, a dieter who eats a sugary, fat-filled cupcake can mitigate fat storage and increase nutrient utilization by eating it with a protein-rich nutritional supplement.

The world of nutrition has long since known the link between dietary fat and weight gain. Unsaturated fat can be a trusted ally in the fight against weight loss. Understanding how it differs from saturated fat helps demystify the stigma of unsaturated fats – a stigma that should be reserved for its unhealthy cousin, saturated fats.

ABOUT PROTICA

Founded in 2001, Protica, Inc. is a nutritional research firm with offices in Lafayette Hill and Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Protica manufactures capsulized foods, including Profect, a compact, hypoallergenic, ready-to-drink protein beverage containing zero carbohydrates and zero fat. Information on Protica is available at http://www.protica.com

You can also learn about Profect at http://www.profect.com

Copyright – Protica Research – http://www.protica.com

——————————————————————————–

[1] Fat cells can be removed externally, through such methods as liposuction and stapling, but these so-called solutions carry their own brand of risks and consequences.

[2] Actually, the reason is usually because of taste.

REFERENCES

[i] Source: “Fat Dictionary”. Dietsite.com.
http://www.dietsite.com/dt/diets/HeartHealthy/fatdictionary.asp#SATURATED%20FATS:

[ii] Source: “The Surgeon General’s Call To Action To Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity”. US Department of Health and Human Services.
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_adolescents.htm

[iii] Source: “Reducing Dietary Fat”. WebMD.
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/46/2731_1679

[iv] Source: “Can Diabetics Benefit from the Removal of Fat?”. Washington University Physicians.
http://wuphysicians.wustl.edu/newsArchive.asp?navID=1&category=home&ID=288

[v] Source: “Weight Loss Understanding Why Diet’s Don’t Work – and what DOES Work”. Healthynewage.com.
http://www.healthynewage.com/losing-weight.htm

[vi] ibid.

About the Author

ABOUT PROTICA

Founded in 2001, Protica, Inc. is a nutritional research firm with offices in Lafayette Hill and Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Protica manufactures capsulized foods, including Profect, a compact, hypoallergenic, ready-to-drink protein beverage containing zero carbohydrates and zero fat. Information on Protica is available at http://www.protica.com

You can also learn about Profect at http://www.profect.com

 

Protica Research

Here’s a look at some of the most common diets people are using. I personally do not recommend or endorse any of the following diet plans. I recommend the “Bio-Rhythm Diet Plan” outlined in the “Weight Loss Secrets Revealed” E-book at http://www.weightlossobesity.com website.

The Atkins Diet
The Atkins diet is based on high protein, low-carbohydrate fare. It allows all of the meat and vegetables you want with no restrictions on fats. Fruits are kept to a minimum. Bread, pasta, and other grain products are restricted. Many people have had weight loss success on the Atkins’ Diet because it offers many delicious food options. However, it can be high in fat, possible harmful over long periods of time and low in fiber and calcium.

The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet
This is another reduced carbohydrate diet that allows meats, dairy, vegetables, fruits, and grain products, but restricts all other carbohydrates. It tends to be quite high in fat and saturated fat.

The Choose to Lose Diet
This is a low fat diet that allows you to eat from all of the major food groups. You are only restricted by a “fat budget” that you choose how to spend. Carbohydrates are allowed, as well as lean meat, poultry, seafood, fruits, vegetables, bread and pasta. The Choose to Lose Diet allows an ample amount of fruits and vegetables and it is low in saturated fat and it provides a fairly healthy eating plan for fast weight loss.

The DASH Diet
The DASH diet allows for a high carbohydrate intake, with moderate amounts of fat and protein. It was originally designed as a low-pressure diet. The DASH diet follows the principles of the Food Pyramid, but it suggests more servings of fruits and vegetables (up to nine daily,) and more dairy servings (two to three daily servings of low fat or nonfat dairy.) The DASH diet may require too much food for most people to see weight loss results.

The Eat More Weigh Less Diet
This diet is an extremely low-fat diet that focuses on vegetarian fare. It allows fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, egg whites, and some nonfat dairy products. This is a very restricted diet that limits even healthy foods like lean organic meats, poultry, and low-fat dairy products. This diet is great for vegetarians, but it is low in calcium, and it may be too difficult for most people to follow long enough to see weight loss results.

The Eat Right For Your Blood Type Diet
This diet plan bases you food choices on your blood type. For example, those with Type O blood follow an eating plan that includes lots of meat. Some of the “blood type” diets in this plan are too restricted in calories and they may be poor in nutritional balance. Little proof is offered on basis of the diet, that blood type should affect dietary choices.

The Pritkin Principle Diet
This diet focuses on restricting calories and eating more “watery” foods that fill you up quicker. (It follows the same principle that suggests you should drink a full glass of water before each meal to make your stomach feel full faster. It allows fruits, vegetables, pasta, oatmeal, soups, salads, and low-fat dairy, but limits protein sources to lean meats, poultry and seafood.  This is a low-fat diet that offers plenty of fruits and vegetables, but it can be low in calcium.

The Protein Power Diet
This is a very high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. It allows for lots of meats and fats but limits that consumption of fruits and vegetables. This is a very restrictive diet that limits healthy foods like whole grains and beans.  It is very high in fat, especially saturated fat and it is very low in calcium.

Power Busters
This is a low-carbohydrate diet that is high in fat and protein. Fruits and grain products are forbidden, but high-fat meats and dairy products are allowed. Like many other low-carb diets, the Power Busters diet is high in fat, high in saturated fat, and low in calcium.

Volumetrics
The Volumetrics diet is a restricted calorie diet that allows fruits, vegetables, pasta, oatmeal, soups, salads, lean meats, poultry, seafood and dairy. High fat food and “dry” foods like crackers, pretzels, and popcorn are restricted. It is low in saturated fat and provides an ample amount of fruits and vegetables..

Weight Watchers
This diet does not restrict followers to a set meal plan. Dieters are able to plan their own diet every day following a point system that allows the dieter to spend a certain “allowance” in each category. This diet allows moderate fat and protein intake and high carbohydrate consumption. Generally, vegetables and whole grain products have the lowest point value and high fat foods “cost” the most amount of points.

The Zone
This diet is moderately high in protein and low in carbohydrates. It allows low fat foods like chicken and fish and plenty of fruits and vegetables. But whole grains are restricted. This is a healthy eating plan, although it is low in calcium.

Taking the product SlimirexT can also help you manage your weight.
For more information on weight loss go to http://www.weightlossobesity.com

About the Author

Dr. Group, the founder/CEO and clinical director for the Global Healing Center, heads a research and development team producing advanced, new, natural health protocols and products. To learn more visit http://www.ghchealth.com.

 

Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, Ph.D, ND, DACBN

You are not hungry most of the time. You are not always hungry when something smells good, looks good, or tastes good, whether or not you think you are. All food is prepared to tempt your taste buds, even though you’re not hungry.

You are also not hungry because there is stress, a deadline, pressure, a personal or business problem, anxiety, tension, it’s morning afternoon evening when alone with friends weekdays weekends day time night time money problems it rained it didn’t came with the dinner it was there . . . . You are not hungry 24 hours a day, though you might think you are.

There are many daily food encounters: friends offering food, a maitre d’ describing dessert, the smell of popcorn in a movie theater, to name but a few. Acknowledging the visual and emotional blitz helps interrupt the knee-jerk reaction that causes you to eat even though you’re not hungry. Just knowing you are not hungry most of the time is a helpful piece of information.

You may even have pinpointed the reasons you’re thinking of food, reasons that seem to justify your eating when you’re not hungry. I’ve heard excuses as varied as “I got so angry because I couldn’t get a cab” to “I got caught in a downpour without an umbrella.” Many of these reasons might seem a valid enough reason to make you eat. They are not.

Certainly anger might tempt you to use food as a drug to keep the feelings down. If you eat when you’re angry, does the anger go away? Or perhaps frustration weakens your resolve. At which point is your threshold for discomfort seriously challenged? Bored? At exactly which point does a yawn become a yen? Tired? When does food become a replacement for sleep?

Does the emotional pain diminish when you eat? Is the celebration any better because you come home stuffed, bloated, and full of gas, uncomfortable and with lowered self-esteem? Is it worth it?

Consider, if you will, that your past behavior has not worked. A clear vision of what you’re trying to accomplish will. Most of all, you need a mind open to the possibility of change.

One man I almost taught was so afraid to change that he was locked into where he hung his coat, where I sat, and where he sat. He was terrified I was going to pull off his covers and yank away his security blanket of whatever food he was holding onto – whichever food he thought made him comfortable. He was so uncomfortable with even the thought of change, he would not tell me how much he weighed, or what he wanted to weigh.

Of course it’s possible that some discomfort might occur while you’re changing. The very act of weighing less than you did before is a change. And there is no change without change. But there are ways to lessen the discomfort of the journey from where you are to where you want to be; to offer options, suggestions, tactics, tips, tried and true assignments that work more and more as they are practiced. After all, you learned to use food to calm yourself down. You can learn a new method, a new automatic response.

Do you eat out of habit, not hunger? Identifying habits requires guidance, introspection, and patience, but most of all honesty. Once you acknowledge, “Yes, I do that,” you can decide you don’t want to do that anymore and begin to do something else, instead.

It is unrealistic and self-defeating to expect to go from habitual, compulsive, or addictive eating behavior to a calm, rational, in-control eating person by reading an article, even this article. You can, however, alter automatic, learned responses by creating new and effective alternative behaviors that will result in permanent change. The new behavioral choices add up to a permanent weight loss, incrementally, not rattattattat. It’s worth repeating: Your original patterns evolved over a lifetime. Now you can consciously plan the person you want to be.

Food does not contain a narcotic. Food only has the power you gave it by doing the same thing with it each time you encountered it. Food has the power you vested in it as part of a ritual distraction with your mind, many times since childhood, when you might have learned how to cope with stressful situations by using food inappropriately. It might have worked then, but it’s not working now. Now you need to find a new way that will work now.

I’ll show you what to do if you are not hungry but are tempted. There are many things you can do when food is offered, baked, cooked, prepared, and present just for you. Learn how to handle the compelling urges at the office, in a restaurant, or at home. Learn that an umbrella-topped pushcart, wafting a familiar aroma, doesn’t always mean you have to eat a hot dog.

Hunger demands to be fed. An urge passes. Know the difference? The next time you’re at home and thinking of food, and you just ate a little while before, set a kitchen timer for 20 minutes and distract yourself with some activity. Sometimes I set the timer, get busy with some other project, and when the bell goes off, I not only forget I set the bell, I’m not even sure why I set it in the first place.

One woman recalled a walk she took one summer day. She spied a man eating an ice cream cone, (a visual stimulus). She used the mental repatterning techniques she’d created to distract herself. She’d practiced and repeated the words, “Alert. Alert. Cross the street,” which she did while laughing. She reassured herself that everything was going to be okay, and she prompted herself to calm her breathing.”Two minutes later, I’d found the most adorable sequined hat in a store window,” she recounted. The moment clearly had passed.

The techniques were there in her memory bank because she had written the specifics of her plan, reviewed it daily to remind herself of the details, envisioned it in her mind, so that when the ice cream cone appeared, her new automatic response to say, “Alert. Alert. Cross the street, take a deep breath, and keep walking,” kicked in. It is a process everyone can learn. It begins in your mind.

If you do not eat something when you normally would have, you might be particularly motivated to reach your goal weight for an upcoming wedding, class reunion, or birthday celebration. If you use will power, self-control, good intentions, and inner resolve, you’ll find the results temporary. The next time the same circumstances or food appear, you may be a little less motivated or a little more angry, lonely, tired, or bored, and you’ll probably eat the food, only to reinforce your old eating behavior, which is what caused you to gain weight in the first place. There is no good intention, self-control, inner resolve or will power sharp enough to cut through the layers and tentacles of your very practiced and polished ritualized eating habits – habits gone haywire. If you ever had good intention, self-control, will power or inner resolve, you would have used it 5, 10, 20, 30, or 50 pounds ago.

If, however, you begin to change your overreaction to food by doing something else, you might end up eating the object of your desire, but, you’ll most likely not put as much on your plate, you’ll eat a little less, stop a little sooner, and eat it a little less intensely than if you had not attempted some repatterning techniques.

The first time you do it the new way, it might feel awkward and uncomfortable. It is different from what you’ve done in the past. But no matter how uncomfortable you feel at the beginning of creating a new habit, nothing is as uncomfortable as having to choose what to wear based on how much of your body it will cover. Nothing is as uncomfortable as selecting what to wear based on what fits on a particular day rather than what is appropriate for a particular occasion.

Maintain a positive, I can do it mental attitude, and positive results happen. Avoid negative words about yourself, such as bad or failure or I blew it. They are just words and do not apply to anyone who continues to try. “It ain’t over until it’s over,” Yogi Berra said. I believe that.

For best results, attempt many kinds of change in your life. If drinking water doesn’t help by itself, perhaps the water and deep breathing will be helpful. Sometimes water, deep breathing, changing location and calling a friend is what you need. It is the action of taking an action – any action – that gets the result. It almost doesn’t matter which techniques you use to repattern – what is important is that you take a swift, purposeful, and immediate action. The quicker the action, the quicker the moment of anxiety passes.

It is possible that sometimes you might try every technique available and the moment is still difficult.  It happens. But that doesn’t mean you should stop trying. It just means your results have not quite accumulated enough to effect a noticeable change. It doesn’t mean nothing is happening. It just might be too subtle for you to notice. Keep doing it anyway. It accumulates. Continue trying, and from each seemingly failed, imperfect human attempt, the structure of the old, destructive habit will be eroded another little bit . . . you will be that much closer to success which is eating only when hungry.

It took many episodes of reinforcing old behavior to create patterns as ingrained as the ones you are trying to change. It takes many steps of new behavior until you’re hooked on the new way.

Sometimes one technique works, sometimes another. Every food encounter is different from every other one. Everyone responds to each stimulus differently and responds to repatterning techniques in a different way, too. A combination of several techniques may be just the ticket when one is not enough. Be creative.

Identify your eating patterns. Even the seemingly insignificant ones, such as it’s only broccoli, or I only drink black coffee add up. Do you mean an orange has the same significance as a piece of candy? What ritual thinking is in your subconscious? Are leftovers a problem? Does food preparation end up being one for you and one for the pot? Does someone else serve you your food at home, in the office, in a restaurant? Do you finish everything served to you?

One woman I teach had the habit of eating after eating. She battled that habit for many months. When I spoke to her last week, however, she reported a two-week period when she did not once eat after dinner. This lifelong pattern had finally been laid to rest. She is 59 years old.

If you buy, prepare, serve, and accept a little less food, you’ll eat less. Ultimately, you’ll be a little less.

If you don’t bring it into the house you won’t eat it. Out of sight, out of mind.

If it doesn’t taste good or look good or satisfy the eye and palate, don’t eat it. We all belong to a nation of people who finish everything on their plate. That is not necessary. You may leave food over. It’s okay. Food is wasted if you put it into a body that doesn’t need it. Better to throw it away. If you order less the next time, there will be less to waste.

When you go off your program because you’re human, you didn’t blow it, weren’t bad, or a failure. Don’t beat yourself up. Simply get back on your program at the very next meal. Try to figure out what you could do next time the same thing inevitably happens. The quicker you’re back on your program, the more you’ll want to stay on your program. It is becoming comfortable, enjoyable, and preferred behavior.

Think of things you can do if you’re thinking about eating but know you’re not hungry.

About the Author

Caryl Ehrlich, the author, also teaches The Caryl Ehrlich Program, a one-on-one behavioral approach to weight loss in New York City. Visit her at http://www.ConquerFood.com to know more about weight loss and keep it off without diet, deprivation, props, or pills. Caryl welcomes questions or comments about this article and the behavioral methods she incorporates into her weight loss program. Contact her at Caryl@ConquerFood.com

 

Caryl Ehrlich

 

In order to identify hunger, you must first understand what it is. This is not as easy as it seems. Many of you may never have let yourself experience true hunger, only a feeling of discomfort. Not knowing exactly what it was, you may have been eating past hunger for such a long time you can no longer differentiate between hunger and the feeling of anxiety, stress, boredom, or any number of other emotional or circumstantial stimuli. You haven’t allowed yourself to go without eating for a long enough period of time to have felt true hunger; you may not have experienced it since childhood.

Each of us is born with an innate sense of hunger. When you were a baby and felt this sensation, you cried. Your mother or caregiver pacified you with a bottle or breast, and when you were no longer hungry, you pushed the food away. Before you could speak, you made yourself understood.

As a toddler beginning to eat baby food, you were still in control of your food consumption. Your mother might have thought you had to finish everything she served, but you had other ideas. You might have clenched your little baby teeth and not permitted one extra spoonful of anything to enter your mouth.  She might have pushed your chubby little cheeks together trying to force you to open your mouth, but you would not. If she did manage to insert some food, you spit it out, sometimes on your bib, sometimes on mom. The message was clear. “No more food, Mommy.”

As she persevered, you finally learned to please your mother by finishing everything on your plate. You may have been told that if you ate your vegetables, your reward would be dessert. You were bribed with a lollipop if you’d stop crying. You learned to eat all your food because it gave pleasure to others. It didn’t seem to matter anymore whether you were hungry or not. You were taught to ignore your feelings of hunger and satiation just to please someone else. And you learned well.

Years later, you’re still keeping a friend company by sharing a meal when you’re not hungry, or accepting an alcoholic beverage just to be part of the crowd, or to please a hostess.

The dictionary describes hunger as “the painful sensation or state of weakness caused by need of food.” Some people become irritable, shaky, or disoriented if they are not fed at their usual mealtime. Others experience hunger as feeling lightheaded, empty, low, headachy, or hollow. At times a growling stomach prompts an eating episode. Some eat when they get depressed. Others lose their appetite when they get depressed. External stimuli are abundant, as are emotional and physical ones, yet few of these are hunger, just some other strain on your nervous system.

Human beings have a built-in fight or flight mechanism that helps them to survive. When your ancestors roamed the earth and encountered a tiger who had leaped out of the bushes, they would mobilize themselves to either fight the tiger or flee from it. Years later, you still face the tigers. A death in the family, loss of a job, or an illness may certainly have the bite of a tiger. Your pulse quickens, your mouth feels dry, your palms sweat and you revert to old behavior and try to quell the anxiety by putting something into your mouth. You also may be reacting to the fluctuations of daily life – a waiter being inept, traffic inching along, a line at the bank – that cause you to eat a box of cookies or ask for a second helping of food. You might be misidentifying a minor travail as a tiger when it is only a baby cub.

Have you had the experience of thinking you were hungry at noontime only to become absorbed in a project or in a book, and have several hours pass before you think about food again? True hunger cannot wait a few hours. It demands to be fed. You were not hungry at noon but were responding to a time of day stimulus, another reason you’ve given yourself to eat. If you distract yourself with some other activity, the urge usually passes within a few minutes. Try to differentiate between your hungers and your urges.

Food need not fill you up in order for you to feel satisfied. A few bites of foods you don’t usually eat can be very satisfying while baskets of bread, mugs of coffee, or liter bottles of diet soda might leave you feeling hungry and unsatisfied.

It is not okay to eat when you are physically or emotionally uncomfortable. Eat when you’re hungry. Stop eating when you are no longer hungry, not when you are full or there is nothing remaining on your plate. As your clothes get looser, you’ll start to enjoy leaving food on your plate. It is a process that takes time to achieve. Remember:

· Volume of non-nutritious food merely stuffs and bloats but does not satisfy real hunger.

· Variety and texture along with nutrition satiates hunger.

About the Author

This article is an excerpt from the book Conquer Your Food Addiction authored by Caryl Ehrlich. Visit her at http://www.ConquerFood.com to know more about weight loss and keep it off without diet, deprivation, props, or pills. Contact her at Caryl@ConquerFood.com or call 212-986-7155.

 

Caryl Ehrlich

People are obsessed with dieting and weight loss! Don’t believe me? Just tune-in to any source of advertising…you’re instantly bombarded with the latest diet schemes and “Hollywood” food fads.

Here in America, we have built a thriving industry trying to control our weight and treat the consequences of over-indulgence. The cost of weight loss and obesity related health care treatments is staggering…Americans alone spend around $114 billion every year! And even with all this interest in losing weight, we continue to pack on the pounds like never before…

– A whopping 64 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese…up about eight percent from earlier estimates.

– Among children and teens ages 6-19, 15 percent or almost nine million are overweight…triple the rate in 1980!

– Nearly one-third of all adults are now classified as obese.

For Americans, modern life may be getting TOO easy. Our cushy lifestyle means we expend less energy and consequently need fewer calories to sustain our normal body weight.

Think about it for a moment…

Entertainment no longer requires energy expenditure. In fact, it’s usually quite the opposite. We now entertain ourselves in the comfort of our own home while watching TV and munching on our favorite snack. Whether it’s television, computers, remote controls, or automobiles, we are moving less and burning fewer calories. Common activities that were once a part of our normal routine have disappeared…activities like climbing stairs, pushing a lawn mower or walking to get somewhere.

And please do not misunderstand me…I appreciate comfortable living just as much as the next person. But, here is the problem…

With all of our modern day conveniences and “cushy” style of living we have not adjusted our caloric intake to compensate for our decreased caloric expenditure. We consume more calorie rich and nutrient deficient foods than ever before. Consider a few of the following examples comparing what we eat “today” vs the 1970’s (U.S. Department of Agriculture survey):

– We are currently eating more grain products, but almost all of them are refined grains (white bread, etc.). Grain consumption has jumped 45 percent since the 1970’s, from 138 pounds of grains per person per year to 200 pounds! Only 2 percent of the wheat flour is consumed as whole wheat.

– Our consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased, but only because French fries and potato chips are included as vegetables. Potato products account for almost a third of our “produce” choices.

– We’re drinking less milk, but we’ve more than doubled our cheese intake. Cheese now outranks meat as the number one source of saturated fat in our diets.

– We’ve cut back on red meat, but have more than made up for the loss by increasing our intake of chicken (battered and fried), so that overall, we’re eating 13 pounds more meat today than we did back in the 1970’s.

– We’re drinking three times more carbonated soft drinks than milk, compared to the 1970’s, when milk consumption was twice that of pop.

– We use 25 percent less butter, but pour twice as much vegetable oil on our food and salads, so our total added fat intake has increased 32 percent.

– Sugar consumption has been another cause of our expanding waistlines. Sugar intake is simply off the charts. People are consuming roughly twice the amount of sugar they need each day, about 20 teaspoons on a 2000 calorie/day diet. The added sugar is found mostly in junk foods, such as pop, cake, and cookies. In 1978, the government found that sugars constituted only 11 percent of the average person’s calories. Now, this number has ballooned to 16 percent for the average American adult and as much as 20 percent for American teenagers!

Unfortunately, it would seem that the days of wholesome and nutritious family dinners are being replaced by fast food and eating on-the-run. We have gradually come to accept that it’s “OK” to sacrifice healthy foods for the sake of convenience and that larger serving portions equate to better value.

It’s time recognize that we are consuming too many calories and time to start doing something about it! Each of us can decide TODAY that healthy eating and exercise habits WILL become a normal part of our life!

We can begin by exploring our values, thoughts and habits… slowly and deliberately weed-out the unhealthy habits and activities and start living a more productive and rewarding life. And remember, it has taken a long time to develop bad habits, so be patient as you work toward your goal!

About the Author

For more information go to: http://www.ampleadvice.com