Finding a Healthy and Effective Weight Loss Diet

 

It is no secret that many people, and many Americans, are now overweight or obese, and rates of obesity are high among teenagers and adults alike. Many different causes for this have been proposed: sedentary lifestyles, fats and sugars in processed foods, and poor nutrition and sleep habits. Fast food and video game use are among the most commonly blamed causes, but there can be many. Going on a diet is a popular route to take, but many diets exist, and some may be merely ineffective or even hazardous for health, especially if they cut out need nutrients or vitamins. But a healthier lifestyle can still be had, and a meal plan, meeting a nutritionist, and eating better, along with good workouts, can lead to a better waistline and eating habits.

Rates of Obesity and Attempted Weight Loss

The bad news is that many Americans are overweight or obese, and the good news is that many are trying to change that. A person’s body mass index, their BMI, is not a comprehensive evaluation of health, but it is a starting point, and a BMI over 30 generally means obesity, and over 25 often means overweight. And today, with around one in three adults qualifying as obese and many teenagers and even kids being overweight, this is a widespread problem to handle. A poor diet may cause it, such as hamburgers, desserts like cake and ice cream, sugary soda, or many processed, convenient foods perpetuate this trend, often due to food companies wanting to push addictive foods for higher sales. Sedentary lifestyles, whether at the office or at home watching TV or using the computer all day, aggravate rates of obesity.

Many Americans are at least trying to lose weight, but it can be challenging. 54%, or just over half, of American adults are trying to lower their weight, but half say that they cannot because they lack discipline to see the diet through. The benefits, though, are bountiful, from lowered blood pressure to clothes fitting better to decreased risk of heart disease. In fact, obesity ranks second among preventable death causes among Americans, right behind smoking tobacco. What diet and exercise routine can be both fun and effective to really make Americans lose more weight?

Jump-Start Your Health

A fad diet can be at best unpleasant and ineffective, and at worse, dangerous for one’s health. Weight loss should not mean compromising one’s health or starving for results. Instead, a person who intends weight loss can visit his or her physician and consult them, asking what precautions should be taken and what a new diet should look like. The physician’s answer may be based both on general human health and the patient’s age, exact weight, sex, lifestyle habits, and more. A nutritionist can build on this and outline an effective diet for maximum nutrition and vitamins, while minimizing such things as processed sugar and saturated fats. A nutritionist will not know a client’s health the way a personal physician would, though, so the doctor should be visited first.

Each person’s exact diet will vary based on what his/her doctor and hired nutritionist say, but most likely, this diet will involve cutting processed and sugary foods like doughnuts and soda and fried chicken, and instead focus on whole, more organic foods such as eggs, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, plus leaner meats like fish and chicken. This is not an exact guide, but rather a general idea of what a new diet may look like and include. Entire new meal ideas and recipes may come from a diet, and this can make the person excited to cook, trying new flavors and dishes.

Exertion is another part of weight loss. As with a diet, a person’s workout regimen will be based on their own health, and their physician should be consulted for this too, so accidental injury can be prevented. Anything from jogging to bicycle riding to swimming may be involved, and more strenuous work such as learning martial arts may be involved if the dieter is interested and his/her body can handle it. Kickboxing or karate, just to name two, get the whole body moving and have the advantages of being fun and teaching a new skill.