Fighting Obesity – Why Dieting Sometimes Doesn’t Work?

Losing weight is an enormous problem. It’s a gargantuan task to overcome. Obesity goes perennial and you see obese people in every walks of life.

It’s mystifying that even in developing countries are not spared. Is there anything in finding it difficult to lose weight?

Aside from a self imposed will in losing weight, what other factors contribute to lose weight failure? Hence, let’s examine some of them:

1) Over Compensation- A diet expert has observed that dieters tend to compensate after a weight loss regimen after most of them experienced a sensation of intense hunger and responded to it by eating at least as much before the diet has started.

As a rule, any diet that has resulted in a loss of couple of pounds in the first week or two will result in the gain of the same amount a few months later after the diet has ended.

2) Overeating- A weight control expert has also noted that a person’s metabolism started life as perfectly normal and by overeating in effect causes to become a metabolic disorder in the same way that of yo-yo dieting- up and down and up again, it is not only discouraging but also dangerous, because when you’re reducing, you take both fat and muscle.
But when you regain weight, what you regain is mostly fat. Each time you lose and regain, the percentage of body fat increases.

3) Diet Myths- Here are some common misleading perception and practices by some dieters and now exposed by a fitness and weight loss experts which we need to consider.

a) Skipping breakfast- by not taking food first thing in the morning chances are of gaining weight is likely when they run the risk of nibbling food with high caloric value such as fatty foods and sweets.

b) Strict diets regimen are good- If in losing weight is directly proportional to the plunge of your metabolism, your body now is less efficient in burning calories.

c) Low fat is good- You need to consider that low fat does not always translate to low calories. There are a lot of process low fat products
almost contain the same calories as of their regular counterparts.

d) Midnight snacks/Eating late at night is bad- Taking food during this time, it has no bearing at all of what happens to the calories.

e) Starch is bad- Moderate intake of starchy and high carbohydrate foods give us long lasting energy containing B vitamins, calcium and iron which are vital in a well balanced diet.

f) Carbohydrates in combination with protein are bad- Separating the proteins and carbohydrates apart goes against all the norms of healthy eating.

g) Fat is bad- Though this statement is true because fats contain many calories, we must understand that fat is also a key component in a healthy balanced diet and a good source of vitamins A, D and E.

h) By not eating, will shed weight- When your food intake is truly little, there may be other causes of weight gain. Some medications, such as antidepressants, steroids, and high dose hormone replacement therapy can make weight lose more difficult. Moreover, it is also worth consulting your doctor for a test of your thyroid function. (An under active thyroid slows down your metabolism making it more hard to burn off calories.)

4) Medical disorders- This concern some certain endocrinological conditions lead to a yo-yo metabolism which medical experts have revealed and are attributed to the following:

a) Thyroid hormone deficiency- This is a low thyroid function which poses a real problem. However, a small percentage only of obese people afflicted with this.

b) Low glucose level- The patient in this condition suffers a yo-yo metabolism, headaches, dizziness and sleeplessness. A test was conducted on the patient, the result revealed a tumor in the pancreas, the insulin producing area as the cause. The tumor was removed and the patient’s sufferings has stopped and accordingly regain his proper weight.

c) High levels of thyroid antibodies- When antibodies of a particular substance is present in the blood, they tend to neutralize the normal action of that substance. Thus, the thyroid antibodies were neutralizing the thyroid hormones. The overweight patient undergoes on proper medication and diet, within three months he can achieve his ideal weight.

5) Genetics- It was noted that if both parents are obese, chances are 4 out 5 that you will be obese. It is possible to lose weight but only it will be an uphill battle. However, if both parents are athletics and physically active in sports such as swimming, biking or any strenuous activities, chances are children will model their behavior after them.

6) Ambiguous Motivation- A fitness and nutrition expert has said that swimsuits,to fit into that wedding dress, etc., class reunions or any social function for that matter are the biggest motivation why obese people wanted to lose weight in order to look great.

7) Gullibility- With obese people’s obsession to look great, losing weight is a very demanding challenge to them so much so that they turn to diet books those promise quick results with little effort. Fad dieters are getting set up for regaining any weight they may lose. Studies have indicated however, that every time people put their weight back on they can lay down arterial plagues at an accelerated rate and also increase the size and number of fat cell in their bodies.

8.) Restricted diets- A clinical expert has noted that if you stay on a very restricted diet, your metabolic rate goes down and you burn your calories less and less, and it becomes difficult to lose weight. When you do start your food intake regularly again, you will more likely to store fat rather than burn it, because you’re burning it in a lower level.

In Conclusion: Ultimately, it’s not your waistline that counts, it’s your cholesterol and blood pressure. A professor of social and preventive medicine has said that “Fitness is not a matter of being skinny, it’s a matter of being healthy.”

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