by Ben Aidoo

Created on: May 18, 2010   Last Updated: May 19, 2010

When it comes to weight control problems, the main culprit is known to everybody: the quantity and types of food we eat. Control your food consumption, and you will see immediate change in your weight.

The good news is that you can do this safely without starving yourself, if you add physical exercise and lifestyle change to your weight control regimen.

Controlling the quantity and type of food you eat requires that you know a thing or two about good nutrition. To get a balanced diet your body needs proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals.

You should eat these food types in moderation. With carbohydrates, the type of carbohydrates is important. Carbohydrates high in fiber such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans are called good carbohydrates. The type of fats you eat, and the percentage of calories from these fats are also important factors affecting weight control.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil, fishes like salmon and mackerel are the good fats. Keep your consumption of these fats to 25 - 35% of your daily calorie intake, while your consumption of saturated and trans fats should not exceed 1% of your daily calorie intake.

Controlling your consumption of saturated and trans fats in foods such as fatty meat, fried foods, hot dogs, french fries, mash potatoes, dairy products, sugary and salty snacks is aimed at reducing your body fat, as body fat is the engine that drives weight gain.

Granted that the body needs a certain quantity and types of food to function properly, it follows that without moderate to vigorous physical exercise, the body will burn less calories than it takes in.

The excess calories are turned into body fat. If you are aiming at controlling your weight, you don't want excess fat accumulating in your body. Performing moderate to vigorous physical exercise can reduce your body fat to a healthy level.

Physical exercise need not be expensive. You can start with aerobic exercise such as aerobic dancing, bicycling, moderate to brisk walking, running, stair climbing or swimming. Do one, or a combination of these for 30 minutes to an hour, five days a week to maintain a healthy weight.

For many people, committing to a daily regimen of physical exercise is easier said than done. But once you realize that controlling your weight has major implications for your health, it might help to change your mind.

For instance, the body fat within your abdominal cavity, the fat that you don't see, is the most dangerous because it is next to and between the internal organs.

This deep layer fat produces hormones and other harmful substances; thus fat next to the liver drains into the liver, causing a fatty liver, and the unset of Type 2 diabetes.

You can reduce your deep layer fat and weight by reducing the amount of alcohol you drink. Alcohol beverages have high calories. The more you consume the bigger your problem with body fat will be.

This will require a change in lifestyle. And it's a choice you will have to make sooner rather than later, because it will not go away.

Another important lifestyle change you can make in controlling your weight is to resist the temptation to eat high fats, high calorie foods as a response to your emotional problems. If you find yourself often reaching for food when you are not hungry, seek help from your doctor or dietitian.

In the end, these tips are useful only when you include them in your daily activities, if they are merely admired and wished for, but half-heartedly or never practiced, your effort in controlling your weight may never happen.

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