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Long term health, Not short term loss.

February 5, 2010

Long-term health, not short-term loss

Posted By JAMES GORDON

 

If you want to lose weight, first think about why you have the desire to do so.

If it's to impress everyone at the beach, that's pretty harmless.

Studies have repeatedly shown that just a few pounds of weight loss can reduce your risk

for stroke, diabetes, heart disease and depression. Here are seven essential steps for following a healthy lifestyle that will help you lose those extra pounds. It's difficult to maintain long-term weight loss and good health if you don't make these changes.

1.Exercise:Exercise will reduce your risk for diseases such as obesity, depression, insomnia, anxiety, hormone imbalances, and more. You don't need to be a cardio junkie or take up residence at the local gym. Just move every day. If you don't use your muscles, your body thinks you don't need them and begins to shed them along with bone density.

2.Carbs:My frequent readers know that I ascribe to a diet rather like the "paleo" or "caveman" diet. I suggest that all of my clients choose vegetables, fruits, and squashes over wheat-based grain carbohydrates such as pasta and bread. Know good carbs from bad carbs. You need far fewer high-glycemic carbohydrates than the food pyramid suggests.

3.Fat:You cannot be healthy without fat. Fat is essential to many important functions in the body, including digestion and nutrient absorption. But it's not only about health. Fat is high in calories, but being so nutritionally dense, it's a smart, hunger-fighting source of fuel. Focus on getting primarily "good fats" in your diet from grass-fed, organic meats, raw nuts, pure nut butters, wild fish, and olive oil.

3.Nutrition:Think about what you can maintain over a lifetime. Once you lose the weight from the latest miracle fad diet, what's next? A sensible lifestyle focused on nutritious food is an actual strategy for a lifetime, not simply this month.

4.Portions:The reason most any diet works, at least in the beginning, is because they all typically restrict calories. To lose weight, and to maintain it over a lifetime, eat a variety of delicious foods you enjoy but keep the portions small. No matter what you eat, if you eat too much, the body is going to store it.

5.Water:Water is vital to health and weight maintenance. Drink at least a few glasses a day, for the sake of your digestion, mood, mental clarity, organs, blood and overall health. Food cravings, especially for sugar, are often a sign of dehydration.

7.Hormone balance:Hormones that are out of balance can cause depression, which is linked to obesity. If you eat a truly healthful diet and exercise at least three times a week but cannot lose weight, you may have a hormonal issue.