Weight loss is the principle subject on the minds of everyone past 40 or even sooner. While we want to lose the weight and keep it off most of us simply find it impossible to do. Despite our best efforts the weight simply doesn't come off. We sabotage our efforts for two reasons:
1. We simply don't understand what it takes to lose weight.
2. We are ignorant of the external factors that prevent weight loss.
The food industry has a dirty little secret they'd rather you didn't know about. Many of those foods in fast food joints and what you buy off the store shelves come with chemicals which are designed to make you hungry. Those chemicals are not listed on the labels. You get a craving and before long, despite your best effort, your weight loss efforts go out the window and you're getting fatter. You can't be blamed for this. Food manufacturer's simply want to make a profit and the only way is to entice you to buy and eat more food. The only way to get around this is to stay away and avoid the foods that are making you fat. Generally, that means eating less refined foods high in carbohydrates, fat and sugar and more organic natural foods such as fruits and vegetables.
While we struggle to lose that weight, many of us sabotage our efforts through the bad habits we have cultivated over the years. Smoking is one of the major factors leading to weight gain. Those chemicals in cigarettes interfere with the proper functioning of the body. Since our bodies don't know how to handle foreign chemicals, many of them are stored in fat tissues and are hard to get out unless we engage in regular detoxification programs. Our level of stress adds to the toxins we ingest from our food and the environment. Stress keeps us awake and a lack of sleep leads to weight gain. Among the many habits we develop is skipping breakfast. While this meal may not seem important, studies have clearly shown that those who skip breakfast gain weight. Habits are hard to break, but if there is any hope in losing weight we must change them.
Since most of us are in constant hurry we don't have the inclination to discipline ourselves to put a program in place, we look for a quick fix solution. But it's not as simple as joining a weight loss program or popping a few diet pills. To really lose weight demands that we take a close look at all the factors that are causing us to gain weight and addressing those factors until the pounds come off and stay off. Eating fewer calories than what we burn off certainly helps us to lose weight, but there's much more. If all that was required was joining a weight loss program, we'd all be in great shape. But lasting weight loss can be boiled down to:
* Eliminating all processed and chemically treated foods and replacing them with wholesome fruits and vegetables.
* Eliminating the bad habits of smoking, drinking and drugs, many of which lead to weight gain. We'd be healthier simply by eliminating those over-the-counter and prescription drugs often used to treat the symptoms caused by other drugs. As already mentioned, getting the proper amount of sleep, eating breakfast and taking the time to eat properly will all help shed the pounds. Many of us eat on the run and eat far too much of the wrong things.
* Exercising more. Walking is one of the easiest and best ways to get circulation going so that the blood can move the toxins out of the body and help clarify thinking.
* Learning to relax. Many people are constantly on the run, seven days a week. There's no time to simply relax. As a society we need to learn how to relax through meditation, prayer, yoga, Tai Chi and a number of avenues that help the body restore its natural ph balance.
* Exercising the mind. It's a fact that we mostly react to problems instead of try to find permanent solutions. The toxins in the environment, the food we eat, the habits we engage in all translate into a sluggish mind that is not capable of reasoning. Chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, Alzheimer's and many of the mental disorders we see are the result of a mind that has become atrophied through lack of use. A tired mind directly affect the ability to lose weight.
As you can see, weight loss requires a total change of lifestyle, something few people have the energy or self-discipline to change. Unless you are willing to make a total change you will continue to sabotage your efforts and, unfortunately, will join the ranks of the many who become the victims of the plagues of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis and many other diseases which were not prevalent a hundred years ago.