A special word to men: although all the surveys of body weight show that more men than women are overweight, it is women who are much more likely to take part in weight loss programmes. While women may be partly motivated by questionable cultural stereotypes about what makes a woman attractive, at least they are trying to lose some weight. Men, it seems, are more inclined to say it does not matter: After all, it is just a beer pot (or a little middle-aged spread). This is an unfortunate attitude for men to adopt because it now appears that overweight is a bigger health risk for men than women. In 1987 Professor Albert Stunkard from the University of Pennsylvania, a pioneer in obesity research, pointed out that men tend to accumulate fat in their upper bodies. This upper body fat is associated with high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. Women tend to accumulate fat in their lower bodies, which does not have the same degree of health risk. So the same degree of overweight is more likely to be a health risk in a man than a woman. Better take this to heart, fellers, and start losing some weight or you may take it to heart in a less desirable way.

A Few Sensible Tips

Drink at least ½ gallon of plain water a day. That’s only eight 8-oz. glasses of water. It flushes out the toxins in your body, helps to eliminate waste, aids weight loss and, surprisingly, stops you retaining water. So, stop using diuretics to lose that bloated stomach and puffy legs and ankles and start drinking water. If you hold a lot of water, try reducing your salt intake. In excess of 10g a day can retain up to 2 quarts of water in your body. Watch out for processed foods that contain about 80% of our daily intake of salt.

Exercise a little every day. Just 30 minutes is all it takes to keep fit and aid weight loss. If you haven’t exercised at all recently, then brisk walking is best to start with. After that, try cycling, swimming and better yet try skipping. You will lose 200 calories from a vigorous 20-minute skip. Strength training exercises help you build lean muscle mass, which is where the fat is burned.

Protect your heart and fight the big ‘C’ with fruit and vegetables.

Rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants they help counteract potentially damaging molecules in your body called ‘free radicals’. 

Eat fewer sweets and starches. Foods with high amounts of sugar help trigger the body’s fat storage mechanism. Try a diet soda or Crystal Light instead of ice cream or candy. Choose sensible amounts of pasta, whole grain breads, or brown rice instead of potatoes, corn, or cake .

Lose weight slowly. If you lose weight too quickly (more than 1-2lb per week), it’s
likely that you’ll be losing muscle mass as well as fat. With less muscle your metabolic rate goes down and when you stop dieting, you’ll put weight back on even faster.

It all adds up. Weight loss is a simply a mathematical relationship. If you consume more calories than you expend you will gain weight. Use more calories than you consume and you will lose weight. It’s often easier said than done, but eat less, be more active or both and you will lose weight. Stop feeling guilty about what you eat and start being sensible about diet and exercise.

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