Five Fat Factors

By Nancy J. Miller-Ihli, PhD

Savvy Selections

. http://www.savvyselections.com/

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Five Fat Factors

There is an obesity epidemic in the United States. More than 60% of Americans are overweight and 25% are considered obese putting them at risk for health challenges such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, osteoarthritis and some forms of cancer.

There are 5 main reasons people are overweight

1. Yo-yo dieting (losing and gaining significant amounts of weight)

2. Chronic Stress (the result of physical and emotional pressures)

3. Garbage in (eating processed foods high in fat and sugar with few nutrients)

4. Sedentary Lifestyle (very limited exercise)

5. Portion Size (we live in a society where everything is super-sized)

Yo-yo dieting alters your body composition and that in turn contributes to carbohydrate sensitivity. When dieting, people often lose weight as muscle, and regain it as fat. One of the biggest disadvantages of increased body fat is that you have less room to store glucose so it has to be converted to fat to be stored.

Chronic stress is a real challenge. Stress leads people to eat high fat and high sugar foods and during stress, the body produces cortisol, a hormone designed to provide fast energy for escape from danger. Many adults suffer from chronic mental stress and that leads to frequently elevated cortisol levels resulting in excess, stubborn abdominal fat.

Garbage in refers to all the processed foods we eat in America. We eat foods loaded with fat and sugar as well as additives and preservatives. People don't read labels and aren't knowledgeable about the nutrient content of foods. We need to focus on food as fuel for our bodies and select “premium unleaded”.

Sedentary lifestyle is a well-known problem. High tech living simply doesn't promote exercise that is necessary for good metabolic function and for building muscle that is what dictates what you can eat. Exercise is critical to weight loss success and weight maintenance!

Portion size is also a challenge. Most people are not educated about healthy portion sizes and the super-sizing epidemic at restaurants continues to be a problem.

The best strategy for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is through a lifestyle change. When you combine a customized low glycemic eating plan based on your personality with stress reduction, nutritional supplements and exercise, you can reduce body fat and increase muscle mass. Exercise also helps manage stress. Forget diets and make a lifestyle change what have you got to lose but excess weight?

Be healthy and be happy!