If you look at many of the ads and articles about weight
loss, you will notice that a large percentage of them seem
to imply that you can lose weight without having to
exercise. They will promote some diet pill or simply a
diet which is going to take the weight off.
The question is, can you really lose weight just by
adjusting your diet? So many people feel that they do not
have the time to exercise, or feel they lack the energy to
exercise, or just plain don't want to. It would be great
if all they had to do was take some pill or eat some
specific diet and the weight would go away, right?
Now, my problem is that when I think of, or advise someone
on, weight loss, I automatically throw in adjectives like
"healthy" and "permanent". I'm not really in touch with
the concept of using a diet to lose a few pounds to get
back into last year's clothes or to look good at the high
school reunion. I tend to think of losing weight as a step
to the point where you achieve your weight loss goal and
enter the realm of weight management. At this point, you
are living a healthy lifestyle of combined physical
activity and proper nutrition and are able to enjoy life to
the max...for a good many years to come!
"Yeah, Don, that's great, but I'm one of the first group of
people you talked about. I just want to lose weight and
don't want to mess with exercise. Heck, man, I'm so
overweight and pooped all the time that just thinking about
exercise scares me. Just tell me what diet pill to take or
diet to follow so that I can get my weight down, look good,
feel good about myself, and enjoy life like you say!"
Well, there are people who want to be rich but who don't
want to "mess with" saving, or making wise purchasing
decisions, or working hard, either. Whatever we really
want in life usually has some sort of price tag attached,
and, as the saying goes, we usually, "get what we paid for".
To throw in another old saying, anything worth doing is
worth doing well.
To get back to the weight loss without exercise issue,
let's look at a couple of facts.
1. Diets do not work as far as permanent or healthy weight
loss is concerned.
2. Permanent, healthy weight loss is commonly achieved
through a combination of exercise and proper nutrition.
3. While there are diet products and supplements which can
enhance the effects of any weight loss program, they very
seldom do the trick by themselves for most people.
Let's start with that last one.
Start by reading the labels or advertising literature of
most diet pills and other weight loss supplements.
Somewhere you will usually find a statement that will say
something like "when used with regular exercise and a
sensible nutrition program". In other words, taking that
diet pill or supplement "might" help you lose weight IF it
is taken as part of some other weight loss program.
Even the manufacturers of the Alli fat loss pill, which at
the moment is the only federally approved weight loss pill,
will let you know that you really need to be doing other
things as well as taking their pill to experience effective
weight loss. Testing of that pill, one of the most
effective available, show that weight loss with the pill
alone will be minimal unless it is used with a program of
regular exercise and proper nutrition.
Let's face it. If there WAS one diet pill that you could
take and then sit around watching TV, eating ice cream, and
drinking beer...AND still lose weight and be healthy, there
would not be so many different diet pills claiming to do
the trick!
Okay, I started with the last fact, so let's jump around
and deal with the first fact next.
Diets per se do not work for permanent, healthy weight loss.
When you suddenly decrease the calories you regularly have
been feeding your body, it senses a starvation situation
(built in survival trait) and lowers its basic metabolic
rate. In other words, it adjusts itself to function with
fewer calories. This might not be too bad, but, if you go
back to your old eating habits, the same amount of calories
will now produce more fat to be stored on your body.
This is why going on and off of diets is actually possibly
likely to cause weight gain, rather than weight loss! It's
called yo-yo dieting.
Additionally, extreme reductions in nutrition can also mean
extreme reductions in the vitamins, minerals, protein,
carbohydrates, fats (needed for life), phytonutrients, and
other nutritional factors required for health, energy, and
long life. You might lose weight but actually endanger
your health and lack the energy necessary to live your life
with pleasure.
Just to make all this senseless as heck, once your body
adapts to its new diet regimen and adjusts its basic
metabolic rate, your weight loss will stop. This usually
occurs after only a few pounds have been lost. To lose
more weight, you will have to cut your nutritional intake
even more, or simply decide to take a look at the second
fact I listed.
Test after test and study after study has demonstrated
beyond a doubt that the most effective weight loss program
is one that includes regular, moderate exercise and healthy
eating and living habits. The exercise does NOT have to be
extreme, although overall results will usually be directly
related to the amount of effort expended.
Most of us are NOT going to wind up looking like Arnold
Schwarzenegger or Cory Everson unless we exercise and eat
like they do!
However; regular, moderate exercise can burn calories and
build lean muscle tissue which will continue to use up
excess calories and burn fat even when we are not
exercising. It will raise energy levels, make daily life
easier, help elevate mood and fight depression, and will
help protect us against a host of degenerative diseases.
It has been shown to delay and mitigate the effects of
aging, and has been shown a potent protector against many
conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure,
diabetes, arthritis, and many forms of cancer.
Healthy eating does not necessarily mean "dieting".
Healthy eating involves such things as proper selection of
foods, paying attention to portion sizes, and changing a
few eating habits...including that great American
pastime...snacking!
I used the term "healthy eating and living" because such
things as getting the proper amount of sleep, having fun,
and having friends can also contribute to health in general
and weight loss in particular.
Is weight loss without exercise possible?
Sure! Millions of people throughout history have gotten
very thin before they starved to death!
Millions more have simply combined exercise with healthy
eating and living habits to experience permanent, healthy
weight loss and have enjoyed a long and happy life as a
result.
Your choice?
----------------------------------------------------
Donovan Baldwin is a Texas writer. He is a University of
West Florida alumnus, a member of Mensa, and is retired
from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. His
interests include nature, animals, the environment, global
warming, health, fitness, yoga, and weight loss. He has
posted several of his articles on health and weight loss at
http://nodiet4me.com/articledirectory/
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