It doesn’t take a genius to know that carrying around extra pounds isn’t healthy. Goodness knows the media is constantly yelping about foods that are good for you or bad for you and it seems that half the time they can’t make up their minds. Fact is research studies can often find contradictory things. A food that is good for your heart may be bad for your liver. The real dilemma is figuring out how to deal with the information overload, and still eat normally and achieve weight loss goals that are good for you. It really isn’t all that complicated.
While from a caloric perspective it doesn’t specifically matter what you eat, as long as you eat less calories than you expend, it matters a great deal when discussing your health. We know a lot more about the effects of nutrition on the body and brain today than we did even 30 years ago. We know that eating heavily processed foods like trans-fats and bacon are bad for us in many ways. We acknowledge that eating foods high in antioxidants may help protect us against some forms of cancer. It is well established that even small accomplishments in weight loss can help reduce certain disease factors.
Each human has basic nutritional needs. If you are trying to lose weight it only makes sense to eat as many nutrient dense foods as you can. It is also critical to vary what you eat from day to day. While it is certainly easier to make a large pot of something and eat it all week long, your best odds of incorporating all the vitamins and minerals you need is to eat a combination of foods. Focusing your diet on fruits, vegetables, lean meats and whole grains will ensure that you get what your body needs over the course of a week. You don’t need to ingest every nutrient daily, but you do need to get them all over a reasonable amount of time.
Losing even small amounts of weight can have a positive impact. Losing between 5 and 10 pounds can help lower blood pressure. Asthmatics that lose 30 pounds demonstrate improved breathing and general health. Those with type 2 diabetes show better sugar control and a decreased dependence on medications with modest weight loss. Overall risks for heart disease and stroke are lowered by weight loss, and gout can be reversed. All these benefits are accompanied by a boost in energy and less discomfort in your joints. It really is a win/win situation when you lose excess weight.
One thing the medical establishment also recognizes now is that losing weight isn’t easy, and keeping it off can be even harder. With all the diet programs available touting their ability to have you shed huge amounts of weight immediately it is easy to get sucked into the hype. Remember, you didn’t gain your weight in two weeks and you won’t lose it successfully that fast either. Talk to your doctor and see what he recommends. There are several reasonable weight loss programs that help you redefine your relationship with food so you can lose weight and keep it off. If you are not a joiner then have your doctor recommend a nutritionist and start making changes on your own. The benefits are well documented.
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