Obsession with weight loss and dieting has become a national crisis. The health hazards and dangers of weight loss are not to be taken lightly.
Weight loss is a health-related endeavor. As such, it should be subject to accountability, clinical testing, and stringent regulation. Unfortunately, this is not the case. As a result, high-risk patients are often given high-risk treatments.
The only explanation for the above phenomenon is that the billion-dollar weight loss industry and its entrenchment with Congress policy makers are all behind it. They want you to lose weight to the extent of completely disregarding the health hazards and dangers of weight loss.
Dieting and weight loss are the goals of many individuals. But beware! Overweight is bad enough for your health, but overcoming overweight may be even worse. It could be a case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Indeed, weight loss can be dangerous, and even deadly.
Sudden death syndrome does happen to dieters. Women are more prone to sudden death syndrome than men. Sudden death syndrome is often due to total and prolonged fasting, too-low-calorie dieting, obesity surgery, and other health complications resulting from drastic measures to lose weight.
Besides sudden death syndrome, people who use nicotine to lose weight may face other heath issues, such as heart disease and lung cancer. In spite of the potential health risks in smoking, many people opt to use nicotine to lose weight, because nicotine can accelerate loss of calories by as much as 10 percent if they spoke 24 cigarettes a day. Sadly, many people focus their attention only on the immediate result of using nicotine to lose weight without any regard for their health issues down the road. Do not use nicotine to lose weight.
Many adolescents and young adults are so obsessed with getting the perfect body image that they may go to the extreme of using induced vomiting to lose those extra pounds. In addition, the use of laxatives, such as water pills, has potential health hazards in that they may lose potassium, which is critical to building muscle mass and normal heart functioning. Dehydration is yet another health problem. Worst, these extreme measures in weight reduction may lead to eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia.
Dieting is the most common method of weight loss. There are many fad diets, many of which are too low in calories that they are tantamount to a "starvation" diet. Calorie deprivation can lead to depression, development of gallstones, cardiac disorders, anemia, hair loss, and a host of health problems and complications.
Many individuals want a quick fix to their overweight problems, and they turn to oral and injected medications aimed at weight reduction. Some of these drugs may contain dangerous chemicals, such as dexfenfluramine, which can cause brain damage.
Exercise is an excellent weight-loss aid. But compulsive exercise is something else. To some, exercise takes priority over everything else in their lives. Compulsive exercise often results in stress injuries.
Finally, many obese individuals resort to surgery to eliminate their weight problems. Unfortunately, obesity surgery does not solve weight problems. In the first two years or so, some patients may have their weight under control. But many late complications begin to surface down the road. Obesity surgery for weight loss is dangerous and should be the last option in weight loss.
Weight loss is a complex health problem. As such, solutions are many, but they are far from being simple and safe. Just don't jump from the frying pan into the fire!
Copyright (c) 2009 Stephen Lau
The first thing I'd like to see you do is to calculate the number of calories you are currently eating. Start out in the morning when you get out of bed and have breakfast and go about your day as you normally would. I want you to make a real effort to eat the same as you would ordinarily be eating on any other regular day without changing anything, and keep a record of exactly what you consume and the exact quantities that you consume. Most people agree that this assignment can take a lot of seriousness on your part. It will be important that you remind yourself of your dedication to lose weight the healthy way, and to follow a consistent diet strategy.
This type of program will be a whole lot more beneficial in the long run than some new instant-gratification diet program or diet supplement. The fact is, carrying out this chore will only take a few minutes total, for the powerful lingering benefits that it will bring. While you are getting ready to go to sleep that evening, dedicate a little time to calculate the total number of carbohydrate, protein, fat, and calories that you had during the day. Be as exacting as it is possible for you to be so that you will know exactly what your current nutritional intake is like and which details of your present eating habits will end up being the most advantageous things to change.
You only need to take a few simple, natural tactics that you will follow that will help you to lessen the quantity of food energy you are putting into yourself so that you can enjoy losing weight.
The first step will be to actually increase the quantity of protein you eat in a typical meal. Studies have proven that increasing your total protein intake without any other change frequently brings about significant weight loss, for the simple reason that protein-rich foods are quite a bit more filling than other types of food. The more protein you add into your diet, you should work on steadily minimizing the amount of sugar and carbohydrates that you are taking in daily. Medical studies have indicated that carbohydrate can actually increase your appetite. This is why you will tend to eat a bigger portion of food for lunch if you have a soda to go along with the lunch.
In addition to making these changes in your diet, you will also want to increase your body's ability to burn fat by building up new muscle mass. This is done through weight training. Weight training can be extremely enjoyable due to the fact that you don't have to do it every day and the benefits can be seen and felt pretty quickly. The best weight training technique is to do nice, slow exercises and forget about the number of "reps" you are doing. Drink a strong protein shake before and after each workout to speed up the rate at which your body builds muscle.
Cardiovascular exercises have not been shown to be effective in promoting weight loss. Your body does not burn nearly as many calories as you would expect to burn doing these exercises. Also, this type of exercise brings your blood-sugar levels way down, quickly increasing your appetite and making you likely to eat more food than you otherwise would have. For this reason, doing cardio is not recommended unless you simply enjoy doing it.
By the time you've followed this plan for a week, you will likely be pleased to find that you have lost a pound or two. This is a perfectly healthy and natural pace for weight loss, you will do well to remember this and stay realistic in your expectations. You could lose weight more quickly with a crash diet, but you would likely damage your health and most likely stop losing weight very quickly. By sticking to this weight loss plan and shedding just 1-2 pounds each week, you will soon find that a year has gone by and you have lost more than fifty pounds with very little effort!
Both Stephen Lau & Dallas Dougan are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Stephen Lau has sinced written about articles on various topics from Chocolate and Health, Fitness and Disease & illness. Stephen Lau is a researcher and writer. He has recently published a 300-page e-book entitled "YOUNGER AND HEALTHIER FOR LONGER - A Handbook for Both Men and Women" which focuses on the physical, the mental, the intellectual, the emotional, and the spiritu. Stephen Lau's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.
Dallas Dougan has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cover Letter, Interior Design and Arts. Dallas is truly convinced that people can reach optimal health with with very little actual effort when they are given the right type of information about. Dallas Dougan's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.