Overweight or obesity means having an excessively high proportion of body fat. Most health professionals use a measurement called body mass index (BMI) to classify an adult weight as healthy, overweight, obese or extremely obese. You can calculate BMI by dividing bodyweight in kilogrammes with height in metres squared.
Formula: BMI = bodyweight (KG) / [height (M) x height (M)]
Example for 175 cm height und 70 kg weight: BMI = 70 / (1.75 x 1.75) = 22.86
Generally, according to BMI, the higher your BMI, the greater your risk of developing other obesity-related problems. However, BMI does not tell the entire story.
Being overweight can increase the body’s resistance to insulin and susceptibility to increase infection and puts one at a higher risk for developing coronary artery disease, diabetes, gallbladder disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, stroke and other serious health problems.
The most common causes of obesity are poor diet and/or eating habits (eating too many calories) and lack of exercise (burning too few calories). Some of the factors that can lead to obesity is like glandular malfunction, diabetes, hypoglycaemia or hyperinsulinemia.
Experts have different theories on how and why people become overweight but they all agree that the key to losing weight is simple: Eat less and move more. The reason why most people fail to lose weight is either they don’t like the programme that they’re on or they want to lose more weight than they should or they can’t adhere to the programme because it is too strict.
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Here are a few simple tips that can help you losing weight:
- Change eating habits by always eat breakfast, NEVER skip meals but put less food on your plate and set lunch your main meal, not dinner.
- Consume fewer calories than you burn in a day.
- Eat more complex carbohydrates that also offer protein such as tofu, lentils and other legumes, plain baked potatoes or sesame seed.
- Eat a healthy assortment of foods that includes vegetables, fruits, grains, fish, beans, nuts, seeds and soy products.
- Limit intake of foods and beverages that contain added sugar.
- Avoid eating before bedtime and during the night.
- Learn to ride out your cravings! You wouldn’t die if you’re not eating that.
- Drink ten 8-ounce glasses of liquids daily.
- Be active! Get regular exercise like walking, running, swimming or yoga.
- And last but not least, do not go to grocery shop on an empty stomach so that you wouldn’t buy ‘forbidden’ foods.
The Alternative Ways to Make a Change:
Exercise
Regular exercise improves digestion and elimination, increase endurance and energy levels, promotes lean body mass while burning fat, and lowers overall blood cholesterol while increasing the proportion of “good” cholesterol (HDL) and lowering the “bad” cholesterol (LDL), which is good for people who want to lose weight. In addition to the physical benefits, studies have shown that regular exercise elevates mood, increase feelings of well-being, and reduces anxiety and depression.
Green Juices or “Green Drinks”
Green juices cleanse the body of pollutants and have a rejuvenating effect. Made from a variety of green vegetables, green juices are rich in chlorophyll, which helps to purify the blood, build red blood cells, detoxify and heal the body and provide the body with fast energy which also excellent for people who wants to lose weight.
Green juices can be made with alfalfa sprouts, barley grass, cabbage, kale, dandelion greens, spinach, wheatgrass and/orother green vegetables of your choice. To sweeten and dilute your green juices, try adding fresh carrot and/or apple juice or even some honey. Steam distilled water is another good addition.
Vegetable Juices
Fresh vegetable juices are restorers. They boost the immune system, remove acid wastes, and alkalise the blood. Some of the most healthful and delicious vegetable juices are beet, cabbage, carrot, celery, cucumber, kale, parsley, turnip, spinach, and wheatgrass juice.
Fruits Juices
Fruit juices help cleanse the body and nourish it with important nutrients, including cancer-fighting antioxidants. Any fruit can be juiced, but fruits like watermelon, apples, apricots, bananas, berry, citrus fruits, kiwi, melon and pear are particularly the most healthful and delicious.
Fasting
Fasting is an effective and safe method of helping the body detoxify itself, In fact, fasting is recommended for any illness, as it gives the body the rest it needs to recover. By relieving the body of the work of digesting foods, fasting permits the system to rid itself of toxins while facilitating healing. By fasting regularly, you give all of your organs a rest, and thus help reserve the ageing process and live a longer and healthier life.
