Little Weight Loss Goes A Long Way
From driving up your blood pressure and cholesterol, to increasing your risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and more, there's no question that being overweight is more than just a cosmetic problem - it's a serious threat to your health. At the same time, if you're like most folks, even the thought of embarking on a 20-, 40-, or even 100-pound weight-loss plan can seem like a mountain that's impossible to climb. If this is the way you're feeling right now, take heart. Today, the most progressive weight-loss experts agree you don't have to climb the whole mountain, or even go halfway up, to improve your health. Indeed, taking even a few small steps toward your weight-loss goals can go a long way in reducing your health risks, even if you never reach the ideal number on your bathroom scale. Even Small Steps Have Big Benefits
--------------------------
At the same time, Sondike tells WebMD that losing weight in an unhealthy manner, for example, by starving yourself or using diet aids like ephedra, can work against your overall health, sometimes leaving you in worse shape than before you attempted the weight loss. "Depending on what you take or what you do, you could end up with higher blood pressure and a worse cardiovascular profile than when you weighed more," says Sondike. Along these same lines, University of Utah nutrition expert Shawn Talbott, PhD, cautions that attempting too stringent a weight-loss plan can also backfire, and take its toll on your health. "Both extreme calorie restriction and placing yourself under a great deal of mental stress about losing weight has been shown to increase cortisol levels, the hormone that is associated with high stress," says Talbott, the author of The Cortisol Connection. When this happens, he says, it causes your appetite to soar, not only encouraging you to eat more, but also increasing the likelihood that whatever weight you do gain will be stored as abdominal fat. "This can then increase your risk of heart disease and other significant health problems," says Talbott. In the end, he says, it's the act of living more healthfully, and not just dieting, that matters most, even if you never reach your weight goals. Anhalt agrees. "A little weight loss achieved in a healthy way is far more beneficial than a large weight loss that happens in an unhealthy way." If you lose even one pound through healthy living, he says, "You do an incredible service to your body and your health." Better to Be 'Fat and Fit'
--------------------------
If you simply take some healthful steps in the direction of your weight-loss goals, you are likely to reap some healthy rewards, even if you never drop a single pound. As remarkable as that sounds, in studies published in March 2003 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, CDC researchers found that those folks who simply tried to lose weight lived longer. The finding does not surprise dietitian Samantha Heller, MS, RD, who believes effort does count. "Very often, simply making the effort to lose weight, such as adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet, reducing your intake of sweets, junk foods, and saturated fats (found in foods like meat, cheese, and butter), and becoming more physically active can improve your overall health and reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, too," says Heller, a nutritionist at New York University Medical Center. So, Heller tells WebMD, even if you never actually lose any weight, doing these things alone is bound to help you feel better and ultimately, impact your health in a positive way. And many doctors now believe that even if you are unable to lose any weight at all, keeping yourself from gaining pounds as the years go by will also help you gain some important health benefits. "If you can focus your efforts on achieving a more healthy lifestyle, if you increase your level of physical activity just a little bit, and maybe incorporate some healthful changes into your daily diet you will not only be successful at preventing weight gain, in the process you will be doing something positive for your health," says Sondike. "In the end," says Anhalt," it's not about the pounds, it's all about the lifestyle changes, and about understanding that, in the long run, fat and fit is ultimately better than thin and unfit." If you make the changes that lead to a healthier lifestyle, experts say you will definitely be healthier, and ironically, you'll probably weigh a lot less as well. Source: WebMD You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated. About The Author
------------
Michael Lewis has been collecting articles and information on Weight Loss and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health benefits. He has created and edits numerous web sites about this subject. Michael is a staff writer for http://www.ageforce.com and several other websites. If you would like to contact Michael you can e-mail him at Michael@AgeForce.com or if you would like to know more about Weight Loss, HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health topics please visit us at AgeForce.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
|
5 Summer Fruits For Fast Weight LossRetirement PlanningBy Scott Sheffield One of the healthiest and fastest ways of achieving weight loss is by eating summer fruits – and lots of them. In effect, since fresh fruits and vegetable are abundant during summer, we can say that is the perfect for considering ... |
|
Tailored Weight Loss Program for Veterans DisappointsNational JournalBy Maggie Fox An intensive, one-on-one weight loss program developed by the Veterans Affairs Department failed to attract many comers, and the few who did take part didn't lose much weight, researchers report. It's not clear why the program did not ... |
kjrh.com |
Wes Cole: Weight-loss principleskjrh.comMost of us have tried low carbohydrate diets, low fat diets, aerobics or weight lifting, but according to our fitness expert, Wes Cole, there are four laws of weight loss that will always be. Create a caloric deficit - This is a fundamental law of ... |
Google News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Fibre And Weight Loss: How Closely Are They Connected?
The incidences of deseases like obesity, diabetes, colon deseases etc.are minimal in countries where the population has a regular dose of fiber in their diet.
Weight Loss Programs and Pills: Is Your Weight Loss Program Safe and Effective?
In this age being ignorant is like committing a crime. With so much of knowledge around you, following a trend blindly doesn't confirm the fact that you are intelligent.
Why Do Athletes Use Ephedra?
You are probably familiar with the weight loss connection with the ephedra pill, but did you know that the ephedra pill is also extremely popular with performance athletes? For decades, athletes have been seeking out ways to enhance their performance. One of the most common and popular enhancing substances was the ephedra pill.
Of Super Mice and Supermen- and the Magic Apples of Avalon
Recently, a Japanese study showed dramatic results of organ fat loss and increased muscle strength, in test rats fed rare phytochemicals from baby green apple skins.Without additional vitamins or supplements, these rats lost 27% of their internal organ fat -- "belly fat" in you and me-- and increased in muscle strength by 16%, in just three weeks.
Plot Your Weight Loss Course
I'm sure you already know that weight loss and improved fitness don't happen overnight. But did you know that there are steps that you can take to improve your chances of weight loss success before you even start your healthier eating and exercise plan?There are five distinct stages of behavioral change.
Get Started Exercising Now, But Take It Easy!
So you're overweight, "fat"--to be honest--and you want to start exercising. Before you take off like an overlarge airplane and start preparing for the Olympics trials, stop right there.
How To Lose Weight Quickly and Safely
"I eat like a bird, why do I gain weight?" When someone says that, I ask them "What kind or a bird a sparrow or a vulture"? Studies showed that there is a direct correlation between a person being inactive and weight gain. Experts say that it is inactivity, not excess eating that can add excess body fat.
Maintaining Your Weight Loss Momentum Away On Vacation
Going away for your holidays will also bring with it a good supply of temptation on the food front, unless you are on a survival course, climbing a mountain or camping in the wilderness on limited rations. The chances are you will be at a hotel, and if you have chosen a good hotel, it is likely there will be good food, often as much as you want.
Eat Fat to Burn Fat
For about 50 years now, Americans have been eating low fat (some no fat) diets and the funny thing is we have gotten progressively fatter and less healthy. Who ever said low fat diets were healthy, and more importantly, why does eating less fat mean you'll be less fat?In attempt to keep this easy to understand, as most of what you read and hear is complicated, confusing, and contradictory, I'm going to be direct, to the point, and explain things in a way that most people can understand.
Gastric Bypass Surgery - Is It Right For You?
When we hear all the success stories of the gastric bypass, it sounds so easy. One pricey operation and the pounds just fly off! Right? Not quite.
Push a Button to Lose Weight
Trash Your TV! is pleased to announce the easiest weight loss program in the world. It is as easy as pushing a button-the "Power" button on your TV.
The Seven Secrets of Weight Loss
When embarking on a weight loss program people will almost always focus on just one or two of the seven necessary components needed to achieve their goal. In order to maximize ones weight loss results they must combine all seven components.
Seven Reasons to Choose Hoodia Part 5
Good health is an invaluable bliss and you cannot simply count on its benefits. Similarly, a drug that solves a typical health problem is exactly an elixir for its sufferers.
How to Spot False Weight Loss And Diet Advertising Claims
Flip through a magazine, scan a newspaper, or channel surf and you see them everywhere: Ads that promise quick and easy weight loss without diet or exercise. Wouldn't it be nice if - as the ads claim - you could lose weight simply by taking a pill, wearing a patch, or rubbing in a cream? Too bad claims like that are almost always false.
Lose Weight - Find Hidden Calories
If it seems that you have been eating as usual and the pounds seem to be creeping on - you could be a victim of hidden calories.When we are busy, stressed or focused on something else we reach for convenient snacks that are usually high in fat.
5 Ways To Make Protein Benefit You
Imagine this ..
Ephedra - Is It Safe And Effective?
Burn fat while you sleep! Eat whatever you want and still lose weight! Don't suffer through hours of grueling exercise to burn fat!You've probably heard all these phrases before but are the fat burners containing ephedra that these claims are attached to really that effective and are they safe?The primary ingredient in fat burners is the herb ephedra, also known as ma huang, or it's manufactured version ephedrine. It has been used in Chinese herbal medicine quite safely and effectively for thousands of years.
Facts You Need To Know About A Low Carb Diet
What is low carb?We've all heard about the Atkins diet either good or bad, low carb eating is a weight loss program popularized by diet plans like Atkins, The Zone and South Beach Diet to name a few.They all have the same basic premise, lower carbs eating will result in weight loss and help to make you healthier.
Weight Loss Tip - The Importance of Lowering Your Body-Fat!
When you hear a doctor or a personal trainer say, "Your body fat is too high, or you are borderline obese, what do you think? Does it matter to you? Does it motivate you to lose weight? Or are the numbers on the scale more important?Most people will always have a love - hate relationship with the scale in their bathroom. However, with the dramatic increase in diabetes and obesity cases in America the importance of keeping your overall body fat down becomes the most important issue to ones health.
Weight Loss Issues - Can You Be Cellulite Free?
One thing I really must say at the outset of this article is, that if you were to ask the majority of men to define cellulite they would most probably be completely baffled.Then after you explained it to them in detail and told them that you suffered from it, more likely than not the reaction would be to look at you as if you were slightly mad, shrug their shoulders and say that they had actually never noticed it.
|
