Is Weight Loss The Only Goal

At my last checkup I got some advice that I knew but had let slip. I got it in my head that until I am at my recommended weight, I am not doing anything worthwhile. I should be realizing that even the few pounds I have lost over the past month help reduce my risks of heart or diabetes problems.

It is not an easy process for me, but I am making a conscious effort to unlearn some lifelong habits and replace them with healthy behaviors from here on out. I don’t count every calorie like my nutritionist wants me to, but I am trying to eat more of the green vegetables instead of just meat and potatoes. I have at least modified my attitude, and think about what I am going to eat, instead of just whatever I like, or what is within reach.

I am exercising more often, and getting my heart rate up for 30 minutes a day, six days a week, and I feel better for doing it, even though I don’t lose 8-10 pounds a week, like you see on TV.
There are others who are very overweight and cannot shed their excess pounds just by modifying their lifestyle a bit.

There are some very effective weight-loss medications and supplements available to help them also. For those with severe obesity, surgical procedures are also proving to be very beneficial.

Here are some general suggestions for dieters:

Start with SMART goals. As we get older losing weight is definitely an uphill battle, and the odds against a significant weight loss are high, especially in people with the most to lose. If one is able to lower their calories, maintain an exercise program, and have some support in making the necessary changes, they can expect to lose between 5 -10% of their current weight, which is generally all that is needed to achieve meaningful health changes. You don’t have to conform to the professional bodybuilder, or overly thin female shape to be healthy.

Maintain a regular exercise regimen. Do something you like. Check with a physician if you have any worries.

Don’t just eat as soon as you feel hungry. If you have been used to eating big meals, and your stomach has stretched, it will continue to tell you it wants more until it shrinks over time with smaller meals.

Really be honest with yourself about how much you eat and start writing it down. Studies suggest that we significantly underestimate the amount of high-calorie and over-estimate the low-calorie foods. This causes us to tend to gain when we think we are doing what we need to lose.

Watch closer what you eat on the weekend, because we tend to eat more then. You may not be able to monitor everything during the week, but it should be useful to at least track eating habits during these days.

Once you do lose some weight, maintain the healthier weight. Make daily, even hourly, conscious decisions about eating and exercising activities. Increase the amount of time between the stimulus to eat something and the response to actually do it. After a while it will become automatic and not painful.

Be persistent, even though you slip up repeatedly. I have learned an analogy that changing a habit takes as much energy as the space shuttle trying to break through the atmosphere and gravity to get into space.

Losing weight is just one piece of the puzzle, if you are concerned about leading a healthy life. The success of weight reduction efforts should be balanced with improvements in chronic disease risk factors or symptoms and by the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits, not by just the number of pounds lost.