A Three-Step Program for Weight Loss

by Vishwaram Maharaj

Currently there are millions of people in the United States alone who suffer from obesity. Becoming bigger and bigger every year, they suffer from ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and more. They search for quick ways to lose the weight, yet still eat the wrong foods. Cake, Pizza, Lasagna, fried Chicken, etc. It is obvious that they wish to be healthy because they try to lose weight. Now with these 3 easy steps I hope they can become healthier. All of these steps are very obvious yet we either ignore them or wish to use a quicker method. Now we have to follow them, not ignore them. Follow the steps and we all can live healthier happier lives.

Step1: Eat Healthier!

Before we can exercise we must eat healthy because if we eat the wrong foods while exercising it can be a waste of time. Eat the right meals. Cut down on the quantity of food per serving. In the dietary guidelines at health.gov it urges us to “consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages within and among the basic food groups while choosing foods that limit the intake of saturated andtrans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, salt, and alcohol. Meet recommended intakes within energy needs by adopting a balanced eating pattern, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Guide or the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Eating Plan.”

Drink more water. Do you know that water can clean out our kidneys and wash out all the toxins that are there? When we drink unnatural drinks such as, artificial juices and carbonated beverages our stomach takes a longer time to digest it. When we drink water we replenish our cells and clean out our body. But do not drink too much water at one time. It may cause ill effects.

On http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/recommendations.htm we have found a great food guide.

FOOD GROUPS TO ENCOURAGE

• Consume a sufficient amount of fruits and vegetables while staying within energy needs. Two cups of fruit and 2½ cups of vegetables per day are recommended for a reference 2,000-calorie intake, with higher or lower amounts depending on the calorie level. 
• Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables each day. In particular, select from all five vegetable subgroups (dark green, orange, legumes, starchy vegetables, and other vegetables) several times a week. 
• Consume 3 or more ounce-equivalents of whole-grain products per day, with the rest of the recommended grains coming from enriched or whole-grain products. In general, at least half the grains should come from whole grains. 
• Consume 3 cups per day of fat-free or low-fat milk or equivalent milk products.

FATS

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• Consume less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fatty acids and less than 300 mg/day of cholesterol, and keep Trans fatty acid consumption as low as possible. 
• Keep total fat intake between 20 to 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils. 
• When selecting and preparing meat, poultry, dry beans, and milk or milk products, make choices that are lean, low-fat, or fat-free. 
• Limit intake of fats and oils high in saturated and/or Trans fatty acids, and choose products low in such fats and oils.

CARBOHYDRATES

• Choose fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, and whole grains often. 
• Choose and prepare foods and beverages with little added sugars or caloric sweeteners, such as amounts suggested by the USDA Food Guide and the DASH Eating Plan. 
• Reduce the incidence of dental caries by practicing good oral hygiene and consuming sugar- and starch-containing foods and beverages less frequently.

SODIUM AND POTASSIUM

• Consume less than 2,300 mg (approximately 1 teaspoon of salt) of sodium per day. 
• Choose and prepare foods with little salt. At the same time, consume potassium-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables.

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

• Those who choose to drink alcoholic beverages should do so sensibly and in moderation—defined as the consumption of up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men. 
• Alcoholic beverages should not be consumed by some individuals, including those who cannot restrict their alcohol intake, women of childbearing age who may become pregnant, pregnant and lactating women, children and adolescents, individuals taking medications that can interact with alcohol, and those with specific medical conditions. 
• Alcoholic beverages should be avoided by individuals engaging in activities that require attention, skill, or coordination, such as driving or operating machinery.

FOOD SAFETY

• To avoid microbial food-borne illness:
• Clean hands, food contact surfaces, and fruits and vegetables. Meat and poultry should not be washed or rinsed. 
• Separate raw, cooked, and ready-to-eat foods while shopping, preparing, or storing foods. 
• Cook foods to a safe temperature to kill microorganisms. 
• Chill (refrigerate) perishable food promptly and defrost foods properly. 
• Avoid raw (unpasteurized) milk or any products made from unpasteurized milk, raw or partially cooked eggs or foods containing raw eggs, raw or undercooked meat and poultry, unpasteurized juices, and raw sprouts.

With these guidelines you are guaranteed a loss of weight. Losing weight is not easy for some, but with time and energy we can all be healthier. If you follow these excellent guidelines provided by http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/recommendations.htm in no time you will feel healthier and happier. Just take everything step by step and your life will change instantly.

Certainly every single person in this entire world has found a flaw in his or her appearance. So it would be safe to say that people who have a few extra pounds wish to lose the weight. We’ve found that in order to begin our weight loss program we should slowly bring ourselves to eating healthy. With a healthy diet we can live a longer, healthier, happier life. But eating healthy is just the beginning. We can eat healthy all we want and some of us seem to never lose a pound. That is because we are all different. While some may lose weight just by eating healthy, others will have to continue to step 2.

Step 2: Exercise! Everyone of you readers had to know this would be one of the steps. If you don’t exercise you may feel weak at times and even have health problems. Exercise is the key to losing weight. It can make you stronger, healthier and maybe even happier. By exercising, you could even gain more confidence. Did you know exercise could improve your mood? Many studies have found that people who exercise more suffer less from tension, anxiety, stress and irritation from daily life. Because of this, they can sleep more at night. Exercise can also increase the flow of blood to the brain. With more blood, the brain receives more oxygen causing our brain to operate much more productively. When you exercise you increase sweat production causing your entire body to get rid of salt. Salt can be harmful to the body, but due to a certain secretion in the body salt is subdued and taken care of. If we have less salt in the body we can operate much better. * Studies have also found that exercise can help mentally ill people, especially by jogging. What exercise also does is that it strengthens the heart and can help to prevent heart attacks. None of us want to die at a young age. We want to live our lives to its fullest. But some of us try and buy expensive products to live a long life when the obvious step in life is to exercise. Just a few minutes a day would bring about a gerastic change. Why spend tons of money on overpriced products when we could exercise for free? If you’re still not convinced, think about this; when someone eats fatty foods they build up fat plaques in their blood stream. Sooner or later that person will have a heart attack. In a conventional heart attack a fat plaque obstructs the blood supply inside an artery causing that part of the heart muscle to die. This kind of heart attack can be treated, but in the end we will have all sorts of medical bills to pay. When several arteries supply blood to the same area this is called collateral circulation. Everyone is like this. When fat is deposited on the inner surfaces of these arteries, a plaque forms which may obstruct the flow of blood. If the plaque builds up on an artery to the point where the blood supply is cut off, the part of the heart muscle fed by that artery dies. If a large part of the heart muscle dies, the heart can no longer pump blood through the body causing death. While you read the above paragraph what did you feel? Did you worry about what could happen? Or are you reminiscing of what did happen? Either way it could end with a sad story. In step 1 we learned that we should eat healthy and diet right. If we do this there should be no worries. Especially if we follow step 2 because another positive effect from exercise helps our heart. Exercise enlarges all the coronary arteries which feed the heart. It lowers the concentration of fat in the blood and also lowers blood pressure.  In the above paragraph exercise gets rid of at least 3 problems, heart attacks, diabetes, and high blood pressure. It may get rid of more, so eat healthy and stay fit. Eat healthy and exercise! What other step is there? When we eat healthy foods and exercise our body daily, what more is there? There is no third step right? Wrong! The third step is usually the most difficult part. When a person does all he/she could to lose weight, and they do, one thing comes into their head, food. After possibly dieting for months, a person will want to reward themselves by having foods they couldn’t eat in a long time. This is where so many people go wrong. The first step is to eat healthy, the second to exercise, the third? Step 3: Maintain Diet and Exercise! Success! By the third step you have already succeeded. By this step you will have lost a lot of weight and you will have the figure you always wanted with a healthy body to go along with it. You will have accomplished all you set out to do and now this would be the time you will want to eat the foods you could not eat. The key to this step is will power. All the will power you used to ignore this type of food should carry on forever. You don’t want to become sick and unhealthy. You want to live to see not only your grandchildren, but your great grandchildren. This step is easy to follow, just repeat step 1 and 2 over and over again and you will be alright. When that craving for cake or pizza comes in, you can have it because you are healthy enough to eat it. If you continue to eat foods like that then you won’t be healthy enough to eat it, but occasionally partaking of these kinds of foods are alright. Another problem that arises when we lose the weight we wanted is that we stop exercising. When we stop exercising we stop burning calories. This could be a problem if you ate a lot of food during the day. When you stop exercising you will stop burning the calories needed to eat the amounts of food you were eating and you will begin to gain the weight you once lost. Keep exercising and eating healthy and you will automatically go to step 3. Remember to eat right daily. Eat healthy breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Exercise at least one hour a day. By doing these things your stress levels will decrease and your moods will be positive. So just eat healthy and exercise and you will feel good as well as look good.