The Problem with our Modern Day Eating Habits

Monday, March 17, 2014

Obesity and weight-related problems are worse than ever before in the history of mankind. But what exactly is the problem with our modern day eating habits, causing such chronic problems?
Firstly, the biggest culprit is an overdose of sugar. If you look at the nutritional information of just about any product you buy, you will note the carbohydrate (partly, sometimes mostly, sugar) or energy content. While it might not seem like much, it adds up…
The bread you eat has some sugar in it. The soda you drink has some sugar in it. Your coffee or tea has sugar in it. Your snacks, your cereals, your spreads, your crispbreads…
Just about everything.
The problem?
Well, your body considers sugar to be “easy energy” As such, if it is consumed alongside other “harder” forms of energy like proteins or fats (oils), the latter is simply stored away as reserves. After all, why work hard to digest something when you have access to easy energy?
Now, consider this: Sugar and protein, oils or fats are consumed together when you eat chocolate, eat cereal (milk has some fat built into its chemical structure, even fat free milk), have a snack, have a peanut butter sandwich, etc.
It all happens little by little – but it does happen, and the effects add up – around your waistline.
Secondly, our lifestyles contribute to our weight gain – badly. Stress causes our bodies to store as much energy as possible for possible later use. Unfortunately, many people simply eat more to compensate. Additionally, we are not always able to eat when, or as regularly as, our bodies need it.
To make things worse, modern day life means that many of us get home relatively late, and end up eating at a time when our bodies cannot consume the energy – so once again it is simply stored away for future use. Ideally, we should not eat within four hours prior to bedtime – but it is simply not always possible.
To make things even worse, our lifestyles have become so rushed that we often resort to grabbing something on the go – which usually contains some unhealthy elements…
And again, all the little bits add up…
Literally.
If you don’t do something to stop it, its not going to do so by itself.
Your call.

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Side Effects of Diet Pills

In some cases, diet pills can be beneficial – depending on their content and your situation. Some of them, however, carry unwanted side effects that could cause health complications…
In fact, some of these complications can be deadly serious. Sure, you want to lose weight, but not at a price not worth paying. Consider the following:
Vitamin deficiencies
While many diet pills inhibit the consumption of fats and carbohydrates, there is a possibility of reducing vitamin absorption along with it. A number of vitamins can be caught up in the functioning of these diet pills, including Vitamin A, E, D and even K. As such, you risk damage to your eyesight, skin deterioration, etc. As such it is wise to supplement your intake – just don;t overdo it, because too much vitamins can be harmful as well.
Fat deficiencies
Since many of these products inhibit the absorption of fat into the system, the results could be problematic. There are some forms of fat that your body actually needs. Remember that your body can generate energy from fat or protein – but not the other way round. Fats are essential to elasticity of the skin, flexibility of the joints, and the Omega oils are essential for brain functions. As such, simply stopping any fat intake could be disastrous, and these side effects can be hard to turn around.
Blood pressure increase
Some diet pills contain stimulants – usually to speed up the metabolism. While it is not always the case, these can lead to rising blood pressure in some people. While a mild increase in blood pressure is not too serious for most people, those suffering from the condition already would greatly increase their risks of strokes or cardiac problems. Ironically, it is mostly obese people that suffer from hypertension anyway – so those who need to lose weight badly, are the ones who should really be watching out.
Lastly
There are obviously plenty of other potential side effects from diet pills – you should read the information leaflet inserted along with any medication (not just diet pills). Some consumers have reported insomnia, palpitations, rashes, acne, headaches, etc. In some severe cases, depression, anxiety, anorexia, and even heart failure has been seen to occur.
So…
Be careful. When attempting to lose weight, you are about to change the balance in your body – so take care that whatever you use will not cause any further complications.
It’s not worth it.

Guest Writer: Bushra

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How to Diet – 5 Golden Rules of Weight Loss

There are just so many different eating plans and weight loss programmes out there that it can become confusing. If in doubt on how to diet, use the 5 golden rules to guide your choice:
1. It should not be something drastic. As with everything else in life, moderation is the key. Keep in mind that, in most cases, the weight you want to shed has been building up over a long period of time. As such it is unrealistic to simply expect it to go away overnight. Take time to do it right – naturally.
2. It should be easily understandable. If it does not make sense to you when someone explains it, chances are it might not make sense to your body, either – so beware when people simply start throwing around big words and complex concepts. While body chemistry is complex, most of it can be explained so that common people can understand it – pretty much like Dr. Oz on Oprah explains stuff that he took years to learn.
3. It should not be complicated to follow. The fact of the matter is that losing weight is a challenge by itself. As such, you don’t need to make it any more difficult than it already is. The more complex it becomes, the more of a hassle it becomes. The more the hassle, the more the chances of just giving it up. The simpler the eating plan, the better – although it still has to make sense from a nutritional point of view.
4. It should be easy to maintain over long periods – especially if you have lots to lose. If you lose weight in a healthy manner, it is bound to take some time. As such, your diet should not be something of which you will get tired within a month, or else you are likely to just call it a day and go back to your old ways of eating again. If it strenuous to maintain the eating plan, it simply lowers your chances of success. Pick something you feel you can sustain indefinitely if need be.
5. It should focus on health as well – many fad diets and crash diets out there are solely designed for rapid weight loss. Unfortunately, if you try and fix a long term problem in a week or two, something’s gotta give – and usually it is your health that pays the price. Not that you see it immediately – the damage is usually under the skin, and you will pay the price only at a later stage…
So…
Whenever you are confronted with the question “how to diet?”, just measure anything you are interested in against these 5 golden rules – and your chances of success will increase dramatically.

Guest Writer: Bushra

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Slipping on your Diet is Not Failure

Many dieters feel that, once they slipped up or cheated on their diet, everything has gone down the drain. While it is discouraging, you might want to look at the bigger picture…
Firstly, think logically. Do you give up on everything in life if you make one single mistake? Heck, no. If you did, you would never have been able to walk, ride a bike, knot a tie…
Weight loss is no different. If you have to give up every time you make one slip-up, you will never allow yourself to achieve your goals.
Secondly, consider the immensity of your weight problem. For most people, the excess weight is the result of years of poor eating habits or inactivity. It is not something simple or insignificant, so you would be unwise to underestimate the power of habit.
Lastly, get over the “all or nothing” mindset. A war is won one battle at a time – and not all of them are easy victories.
So how do you handle it when you slip up, or cheat?
1. Accept that you are human – which is why you are struggling with your weight in the first place. What we fail today, we can always try and improve on tomorrow.
2. DON’T make it worse than it already is. In other words, if you find yourself eating something you should not be eating, simply stop. Don’t throw in the towel and indulge “because you already failed”. You had a setback, that’s all. Yes, it does mean that it will take longer to achieve your goals, but it need not be the end of your diet.
3. Try putting up a few notes throughout your living space that will constantly remind you – not that you are fat and on a diet, but what you want to achieve. Don’t focus on the sacrifices you make along the way while you are dieting, but instead focus on what the end result will be.
So – give yourself – and your diet – a fair chance of success. Heck, even if it takes you a month to get past the vulnerability of cheating, you will still be closer to weight loss success than you have ever been before.
Always remember this:
Many great people have worked through many failures (or rather, falling down) before they were able to achieve success.
As with all things in life, falling down is not failure.
Failure is when you don’t get back up.

Guest writer: Bushra

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How to Diet: Failure = Learning

Many people try one diet after another, failing time and time again. Many people eventually give up, and simply “accept that they will never be slim”. But maybe…
What most people fail to realise is that every failure brings you closer to success – mathematically speaking, anyway. In real life it depends on how we handle those failures.
But let’s look at a few facts:
The average “dieter” attempts weight loss roughly four times in any given year.
As such, the “average dieter” actually starts every time with the expectation to fail, while hoping that maybe, just maybe, “it will be different this time.”
This mindset becomes the basis for “justifying” failure, and makes us more prone to slipping up and cheating.
We move on from one eating plan to the next, failing time and time again. Every time the effect on your self esteem is a little worse, and it takes more courage to pull yourself together and go ofter “the next weight loss miracle.”
You end up spending a small fortune – and never getting what you paid for.
Right?
Now let’s consider this:
When you started walking, how many times did you fall before you could walk? Did you eventually give up, saying that it was just not something you could achieve?
When you started riding a bike, how many times did you come off before you were able to stay on top?
Well…
Consider this:
Beside the fact that you stuck it out until you got what you wanted, weight loss already has ONE advantage…
Once upon a time, even if it was long ago in childhood, you did have the perfect figure. You have already been there, so it should be possible for you to get back there – unless of course you are suffering from a condition that interferes with weight loss, or take medication that acts similarly.
You have already been where you want to go to – so it is not a “first time journey”, but it is a “returning trip.”
So…
Look back at your failures…
And see what dd not work for you. At least you know that much now. Failure is a tough teacher – no need to study any longer than is necessary.
If you have been doing any reading on the side, you might even have found out why they did not work for you.
So…
Simply avoid any new diet that is based on the same principles as the ones that failed you before.
And then – get your mindset right before you start.
Commit and dig in. It might not make your diet journey easier, but it sure will add to your chances of weight loss success.

Guest writer: Bushra

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How (not?) to Diet – The Caveman Diet

The controversial Caveman Diet has some positive and negative points. While it could definitely be useful in losing weight, it also raises concerns about potential risks that could develop along the way…
The Caveman Diet, also referred to as the Paleo or Paleolithic diet is simply a simulation of how our ancestors supposedly ate when they were still living primitive lives. As such, food sources only include that which they were supposedly able to kill or gather, limiting it to meat, fish, fruit, nuts and vegetables.
Additionally, fire was not really a big thing back then – as far as cooking was concerned, what they ate was raw.
The reasoning behind this is that our bodies were genetically engineered for these conditions, and we should simply accept that the human system will function best of treated as it was designed to be treated. In prehistoric times, it is assumed that there were no problems with heart disease, cancer, etc.
Since fire was not yet available, cavemen did not have the ability to cook foods – which means that there were no rice, grains or potatoes in their diet. The diet does, however, make provision for cooking your meat – for the sake of safety (micro-biologically).
As such, the actual calorie content of their food was quite low – which is actually healthy. Some people have raised concerns about the low calorie content – and the debate still goes on about its suitability to the modern human body chemistry as it is known to doctors today.
Compared to our modern day way of eating, it is rather drastic – cutting out most food types we have gotten used to – like bread, cereals, potatoes, pasta, etc. Additionally, man has not started milking animals yet, so dairy products were unknown. Keep in mind that pottery had not been invented yet, so even if they had fire there would not be any way of preparing grains or warming any liquid.
The risky part comes with a lack of calcium…
(although the jury is also still out on the high fat content…)
Since there is no dairy or soy involved in the diet, there is not much to supply decent amounts of calcium as we know it. There are some people who reason that the calcium is only needed to balance the acidic nature of our systems…
But we have to keep in mind that we are living in stressful times – unlike our caveman ancestors – which tends to drain calcium (and some other minerals) from our bodies at an unnatural rate.
So…
Do you dare risk applying ancient habits to modern conditions?
Your choice.
But the Caveman Diet – even if it can be used effectively for weight loss – might simply not be suitable for weight loss considering the demands placed on our bodies by modern day life.

Guest writer: Bushra

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Elements of Successful Weight Loss

Many people fail to acknowledge that there is more to losing weight than simply going on a diet. As such, it is no wonder that around 98% of diets fail – miserably. So what are they missing?
Firstly, most people fail to recognise the fact that being overweight represents a problem. Note – it isn’t the problem, just the result of another problem.
As such, most people simply address the visible problem – the excess weight – and even fail to succeed in doing that, purely because they ignore the other pieces of the puzzle.
Secondly, in most cases, being overweight has underlying psychological causes. In some cases it can be emotional eating, or even a food dependency, and in others it can simply be bad habits. All of these, however, need to be addressed.
Thirdly, consider your lifestyle. If you work yourself into the ground, and then eat a huge meal just before going to sleep, your body will not need the energy right away, and store it for another occasion – as fat. It has been said that you should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a common man, and supper like a poor man – unless, of course, your working hours are irregular, in which case you will need to adapt.
Next, you will need to look at your medication. There are a number of medications which can interfere with weight loss – and in fact cause you to pick up weight while you are using them. Trying to lose weight while consuming these will simply be counter productive.
Lastly, consider your own likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. If, for instance, you hate vegetables, a diet like the raw food diet would probably end in disaster. If you prefer to eat healthy portions, any “starvation diet” would be disastrous. Know yourself – and adapt to it.

Guest Writer: Bushra

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