Approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese.
Simple practical tips to help you lose weight can and do make a big difference. When you are reaching for that bag of potato chips or that package of your favorite cookies, please think twice. While it might seem like a great fix for your sweet tooth craving, there are things that you might first want to think about.
According to the American Obesity Association there are “approximately 127 million adults in the U.S.” who are overweight. Of these 60 million are obese and 9 million are severely obese. Yes, in the moment that junk food fix might seem like it will hit the spot, but each time you give in to a craving that is not good for you it adds up, and it adds up quickly.
Do not let yourself become one of the growing numbers of those recorded in these statistics. Food cravings when your body really does not need more food come about for a wide variety of reasons, most notably due to stress, emotional problems, and other such factors where food becomes a comforting “friend” to turn to.
Unfortunately, in a world that is more concerned with the bottom line and how much money can be made at the end of the day, health and peace of mind has often been strewn to the wayside. People often sup up cars with the best oil, gas and detailing to the neglect of their own health.
It often baffles my mind to think that people will give such care to an inanimate object, and yet to themselves, they will ingest some of the most unhealthy substances I have ever seen. Would put the lowest grade of oil in your car? Would you pump your gas tank with gas that is dirty, contaminated and full of sludge? If you want your prized vehicle to last, you would do everything you can to make sure you take care of it. Why would you treat your body any differently?
Much of our food habits and ways of eating come from what we are used to. If our mother's mothers created dishes high in flavor, but doubly high in fat, this is what we were brought up on, this is what we tend to go to. But, habits can be changed. We have learned that smoking can cause cancer and, thus, most states have taken action and banned smoking in public arenas. Now, that we know just how dangerous poor eating habits can be to our health, why not treat this predicament with the same seriousness.
Progress does not take place when we place the blame on any one person. We need to take accountability for our own actions, for in the end it is our life and we are placing the food into our mouths. While maybe it would have helped if our Grandpas didn't fork huge bites of greasy steak into their mouths, putting that image in our minds, we can still do something about our choices today.
I used to eat fast food about three times a week, but then I began doing research. I began making difficult, but important changes to my life. Now, refusing to eat things has become much easier.
I have formed a new habit. This habit entails envisioning every positive reason why I don't want to eat that high fat snack a co-worker, neighbor, or family member has created even when I feel the peer pressure that they want me to. I almost feel a bit offended that they would make me feel bad for wanting to take care of my health.
Part of my logic is this: if I wouldn't feed it to an infant, why feed it to myself? We still all have that baby inside of us. Just because we are young adults, adults, and so forth does not mean that we are still not precious and worth the extra care and total benefits of a complete healthy and nutritional lifestyle.
Take care to know that your life is precious, every moment. If you place a penny out in the harshest conditions, it will rust sooner and perish. However, if you place it in the best conditions possible, it will shine and last for years to come. And, as Deepak Chopra believes, in one of my previous articles called Perfect Health, DNA never dies, nor ages, thus, technically neither should we.
