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In the United States, it is estimated that 97.1 million, or approximately 35% of adults, are overweight. More than 60% of Americans over the age of twenty are overweight. About one quarter, or 1 in 4 American adults are considered to be obese. It is also estimated, that over half of the population of adults in the United States, go on a weight loss diet each year. Additionally, according to the World Health Report, published in 2003, about 1 billion adults worldwide are overweight. Obesity is becoming a worldwide epidemic. So how can one go about losing weight safely, while keeping one’s sanity?

The first and most important tool in losing weight, is to eat less. It sounds simply enough, however, most obese and overweight individuals just simply eat too much. The key to eating less, is not to eat until your stomach feels full, but to eat only enough calories to sustain a healthy lifestyle. For moderate daily activity, the average adult female only needs about 2000 calories per day, while the average adult male needs about 2500-2800 calories per day. For children and toddlers, the estimated average requirement is anywhere from 1000 to 1900 calories per day.

The second most important step in losing weight, is to eat healthy. Eating a giant bacon and cheese hamburger with extra large fries and a large milkshake for lunch everyday, just won’t cut it. Vegetables, foods low in fat, healthy grains, fruits, and lean meats are the best choice for a healthy diet. It isn’t just how much an individual eats, but also what an individual eats, that can cause obesity. Eating unhealthy foods in small quantities can also cause an individual to become overweight over time. So let’s watch those late night binges and lunchtime burgers.

The third most important step in losing weight, is to exercise. It is very difficult for most adults to exercise. With the hectic schedules of today’s modern world, many adults just simply don’t feel that they have the time to exercise. Although getting around to exercising is usually last on most adults minds, many would be surprised to find out just how little time it takes per week to stay in shape and lose weight. Most research indicates that as little as 3-4 hours of exercise per week, can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 65%. If you think about it, it’s only about 2% of the entire seven day week that an individual needs to exercise to stay healthy and in shape.

The fourth and final most important step in losing weight, is to have a realistic and positive mental attitude. It is unrealistic for an individual who is 50 pounds overweight, to think that they can lose the weight in two weeks. It’s just not going to happen. The truth of the matter, is that most sedentary individuals, will actually initially gain weight, once they start exercising. This is due to the gain of muscle mass. Having a realistic and positive mental attitude about how much weight can be lost in a reasonable time frame, is crucial.

Obviously, there are many dietary aids, stimulants, prescription medications, and exercise and weight loss programs to choose from, when one decides to lose weight. The market is flooded with weight loss products. The truth is, that obesity is a very serious and life-threatening problem. The Bottom line: being overweight is a choice. The key to starting on the path to shedding those unwanted pounds, is first and foremost, to make the decision not to be overweight.

A common perception among people is that a healthy lifestyle is something which is difficult to follow and it requires a lot of patience and self control. For most people dieting involves counting calories and having a check on each bite you take irrelevant of personal likes and dislikes. It is a closed short term process for rapid weight loss which is utterly unrealistic and cannot be enjoyed on a long term basis. This is half the reason why people quit dieting so easily. Lack of flexibility, dissatisfaction, feeling of deprivation and strict rules make it difficult for people to actually put it to practice. Very few diets talk about success in the bigger picture. You will find few diet which focus on health rather than diet, offering shopping tips for effective weightless, emphasizing natural weight loss to starvation, dining strategies, different alternatives to add flavor to food in a health conscious manner, etc. Some diets are unrealistic to the extent of being unsafe and a risk to health. They don’t talk about how to handle or deal with our cravings and hunger in an effective manner. Instead they promote shunning away from these natural feelings. Ultimately people lose their confidence and quit the whole regime. Each time you deprive yourselves in the name of diet, weight loss becomes strenuous and more difficult. This leads to frustration and discouragement. You end up giving in to temptation, unable to handle the pressure, and eat more. You get caught in a vicious circle which does nothing to help you. In fact you might just end up harming yourself or even develop an eating disorder. Deliberate deprivation only leads to unhealthy lifestyle and you end up defeating the cause for your diet.Diets cause people to listen to body signals and eat according to their system’s requirement. You ignore signs of appetite and hunger and the need to be satisfied. Hence your body becomes deprived resulting in feelings of low self esteem. And when you quit, you suffer from guilt and defeat and thus once again you go back to dieting. You body is not a switch to easily adapt to this on and off dieting patterns. The body becomes weak without proper nutrition and energy and a balanced exercising regime. Surveys show that only 5% of the people who diet are successful. This proves that dieting is neither a sure shot nor the right and the effective way to reduce weight or lead a healthy life. Diet slows down your metabolism, so when you stop your diet, your body is inefficient in metabolizing normal food quantities and hence you put in more weight. This is the reason why 95% of diets fail. It is impossible to live on the diet mode for life depriving oneself of delicious food and starving. So instead of suffering from frustrations, hunger, deprivation and guilt, try to inculcate healthy food habits which will work out on a long term basis. This will prove to be a realistic and an achievable target.