The article brings focus on the health hazards that overweight and obese people are susceptible to and suggests some simple but useful ways to battle this issue.
Obesity is slowly creeping on to be a raging health issue, of serious concern. Having both immediate and long term impacts, it is one critical issue that we as individuals, the society and the government need to tackle at the earliest so that we can successfully nip it in the bud. The health hazards associated with it range from diabetes, hypertension, respiratory disorders, infertility and the list can just go on. Considering these hazards, one can just imagine the amount of economic burden a nation will have to bear, in terms of mounting healthcare costs.
The current phenomenon of Globalization and Urbanization, which I feel is more like the east blindly aping the west, has drastically altered the lifestyles of people in this part of the Globe. Most of the jobs today are desk jobs, with little or no physical activity involved. In addition to that, our busy schedules and increasing levels of stress at work have altered our eating habits and the level of adequate physical activity.
With little time on our hands we often turn to quick fix or ready to eat food, which are not always the healthiest of options. Even the Kids today, spend most of their pocket money and most of the time, prefer to binge on junk food and Colas rather than eat a healthy meal. Even certain surveys carried out by different educational institutions in India, indicate that 30% of the adolescents today in the urban areas are overweight and going forward this group of individuals are going to add to the growing population of Diabetics and Cardiovascular patients in the country.
Sedentarism seems to be the new trend that's really catching on these days. With most of our daily chores being substituted by maids and sophisticated machines, we are left with a lot of inappropriately utilized time. We often spend this free time, by either being glued to the television sets or to our latest obsession our ‘mobile phones.'
Thus all or most of the above discussed factors seem to taking a huge toll on our health status. Following a sedentary lifestyle and being careless about what we eat, is just making it very easy for us to pile on those extra kilos of weight and extremely difficult to lose it thereafter.
Often when we realize that we have gained a considerable amount of weight or gone out of shape, we tend to fall prey to the ‘Lose Fast' gimmicks that are part of most weight losing advertisements. We register ourselves for rigorous weight loss exercise programs, go on crash
diets which promise to help lose weight in a weeks time and some even turn to easier but not so safe options of fat metabolizing drugs.
To what extent the above mentioned options really work, is your and my guess. Needless to say, once you stop with these routines you are simply headed back to square one. All these quick fix options only give you temporary results and if you can't keep the momentum going then its just like being caught up in a vicious cycle. Thus its very important to realize the vital role that a simple thing like Motivation can play in all of this. By just thinking positive and motivating oneself to achieve the set goals, one can not only beat those extra kilos gained but also maintain a healthy lifestyle going forward.
So it finally just boils down something as basic as motivation. You don't have to refer to different catalogues or go shopping for it. It's a force within you. All you have to do is learn to use it to for your benefit.
Through this article I mainly wanted to bring to your attention the health hazards that overweight and obese people are susceptible to and some simple but useful ways to battle this issue. I have enlisted 10 simple ways, that I think can really help you get back into shape and maintain a healthy and fit lifestyle. I call them;
The 10 simple mantras of change
1. Maintain a food log
Carry a small pocket diary with you all times. Every time you eat or drink anything, pen it down in the diary. You can then analyze this log and identify the times that you have literally gone overboard on your binging spree.
2. Invest in a pedometer
This is one investment which you really won't regret. A pedometer basically tells you the number of steps you walk. It has been proven that walking is one of the best possible exercises the body can have. On an average, walking around 3000 to 3,500 steps a day can do a great deal to the body. While in the market looking for a pedometer you have some good options to choose from. You can either, hit your local China Goods Market, go to a gym equipment store or just opt to order one online.
3. Buy yourself a Blue plate
Various Color studies have suggested that the color blue acts like an appetite suppressant. And that's why you find that it has little or no place on adverts of food chains. Thus going by the research done, I think you could successfully try to control the amount of food you eat at your meals.
4. Put up a huge mirror in your bathroom
Examining the way you look in the nude will help you a great deal to identify your flaws and focus on them specifically.
5. Chant positive thoughts in the morning
Positive thinking can take you a long way in all that you do. By merely telling yourself that you can lose the extra weight you have put on and that you will walk or exercise for certain amount of time, will take you step forward in achieving it.
6. Challenge yourself
Set yourself a weekly target as to how much weight you plan to lose. Let it be a realistic one so that you can motivate yourself to achieve it.
7. Buddy up
Many a times, people find it difficult to do things by themselves and simple love the idea of company. If you fall in that category, then buddy up with a friend of yours who has the same concerns. This way you can both push one another to achieve your goals.
8. Chart out a tight weekly Budget
This step will ensure that you be careful on the amount you spend on junk food and unnecessary binging sprees. Make this deterring fact work in your favor.
9. Make appropriate comparisons
At regular intervals compare yourself to individuals similar to you, but those who are in better shape than you. This can be a great way to motivate you to keep up the good work done so far.
10. Put on a motivation ring
It can be any ring that you like, or in case you don't have a favorite one then you can simple go shop for one. Every time you see the ring or fiddle with it, it will remind you about your resolve and will simply act as a motivator to keep going at it.
Good Article... Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete