What Should I Eat To Lose Weight?
This is probably one of the most asked questions out there. Older aged people, middle-aged people and even teenagers ask this same question. Unfortunately, it's a question with too many answers. And, it's really a question that should be asked only after a previous question has been answered. What question is this?
This would be, "Why am I overweight?" or "What makes me overweight?"
Why is it important to answer this question? Well, all people are different and they are overweight for different reasons. This is why one diet or way of eating for one person may not work or even be harmful for another person.
For example, one person, even though they are overweight, may have nearly normal blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Maybe they just need to watch calorie intake and do a little more exercising to start losing more weight.
However, someone else may have a case of Metabolic Syndrome, or Insulin Resistance. These are just fancy terms for saying that your blood sugar level is high because your body is not responding to it's own insulin. Therefore, your body tries to make more insulin to get the blood sugar into the cells where it should go. This higher level of insulin puts your body into "fat storage mode". And when this occurs, it seems that your exercising efforts really don't do much...you can't seem to lose more than five or six pounds no matter how much you exercise.
Insulin resistance is associated with Tummy Fat and lower body fat, high blood pressure, high resting pulse rate and as mentioned above, elevated levels of blood sugar and insulin. As time goes on these conditions can lead to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
So, this person really needs to modify their diet to also address conditions that could possibly lead to diabetes. They need to learn about the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load and how what they eat affects their blood sugar levels.
Still, another person may have a thyroid problem and this needs to be treated by their doctor or other medical professionals.
Before you begin a real effort to lose weight and bodyfat, one of the best things anyone can do is go to the doctor and get a routine physical with some blood work done to check things like cholesterol, triglycerides and fasting blood sugar levels. Visiting a doctor is actually more important if you are middle aged. Everyone hates physicals I think. Blood work is not a favorite either. However, a simple physical can help you understand why you are overweight and what it is doing to your body now and what problems this can lead to in the future.
So remember, ask yourself, "Why am I overweight?" first. Next, educate yourself on what the best way is for you to lose the weight that you want and need to lose. Then you will know many of the answers to the questions that you had.
Article submitted Monday, January 28, 2008 & read 337 times.
Start learning about proper nutrition and proper eating habits now. Win the war on weight gain, obesity and bodyfat, especially that stubborn tummy fat. Put your body into Fat Burning Mode! For a great source on how to do this, see:
Mason Grae is a big believer in properly changing eating habits to promote weight loss, improved blood sugar control, lower blood pressure and improved overall health. Education is key, so that the "fad diet" effect, which many times ends in failure, can be avoided.
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