There are several contributing factors to being or becoming overweight; it is not always solely due to an unhealthy diet or lack of exercise. While these factors may explain our reasons for weight gain, they do not excuse obesity. Being overweight and, more especially, being obese is dangerous and even deadly, and must be avoided at all costs. However, identifying these possible risk factors aids in the prevention and treatment of weight gain.

Genetics play a large role in weight gain or in being overweight in general. Your genetic makeup determines how your body burns energy (metabolism) and how effectively it receives and handles calories. If one or both of your parents suffer from obesity, it is vital that you keep a close watch on your weight and metabolism.

Men’s bodies are made up of more muscle and less fat than women’s. Their metabolisms are also faster than women’s, which means that they are able to burn energy faster and more efficiently. Therefore, women are more susceptible to obesity and weight gain than men are. Women need to be more diligent in ensuring that they remain relatively fit and healthy to avoid becoming overweight.

As we age, our bodies gradually slacken in their ability to burn energy as effectively. Muscles deteriorate and are replaced by fat and flab (flaccid muscles). As energy decreases, older people are unable to maintain their exercise regime. All of these factors combine to cause weight gain.

Of course, our diet plays a key role in our weight situation. Regularly consuming foods that are high in saturated fats, sugars and preservatives all contribute to our body’s susceptibility to weight gain. It is imperative that your diet be rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, fibre and water to assist the body in maintaining healthy levels of fat within the system.

A lack of exercise is another key ingredient to being overweight. Exercise not only burns calories, it also kick starts the metabolism so that, even when you are not actively exercising, you are still burning calories at a higher rate than an unfit person.

Medication and medical problems are known to cause some cases of obesity. Cortisone is known to lead to water retention and bloating, while hypothyroidism is one of the leading causes for fat retention in women. Hormonal imbalances also negotiate the effectiveness of the body’s ability to burn excess energy and lead to weight gain.

Women expect to gain weight during pregnancy, but it is normal to retain some of that weight long after the birth of their baby. On average, a woman’s weight will increase by 5 pounds (2.2kg) after each pregnancy.

While your particular vulnerability to these factors may not necessarily be in your control, being aware of the dangers they pose is empowering and allows you time to change your lifestyle in whatever ways you can, depending on the reason for your weight gain. Preventing unnecessary weight gain is always far healthier and easier than trying to lose weight once it has settled so comfortably around hips, bums and thighs.

Weight loss and a movement towards sustainable fitness is a continued effort for many of us. It can appear so overwhelming at first that most avoid embarking on this journey until it is absolutely non-negotiable. However, there are 4 aspects to regaining control over your weight and life, and these require a shift in paradigm. Only once these are understood and achieved can we begin to see improvements. These are: 1) The right FOOD, 2) the right TIME, 3) the right AMOUNT and 4) the right EXERCISE.

The Right Food
Get into the habit of knowing what is in your food. Ingredients should be natural, nutritious and not processed. Ensure that your diet contains lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, that your meats are lean (preferably chicken and fish) and that your meals are low in sugar and bad fats. By making sure that you get sufficient proteins, good fats, fibre, minerals and vitamins, your body is able to function at an optimal level (as faster cell renewal is facilitated) and your metabolism is increased. Not only will you feel healthier and more energised, but you will start to shed the kilos that pile on as a result of bad eating habits.

The Right Time
Break the habit of nibbling while you are distracted by the television, work, driving, and so on. Most of us are unlikely to opt for a carrot or stick of celery to munch on, and these snacks are most commonly salty or sweet and of very little nutritional value. Being more aware of a stipulated eating time will reduce the tendency to grab a snack every time you walk past the fridge. An increased awareness is the first step to breaking a bad habit.

Timing also involves frequency of meals. The body is less likely to accumulate fat deposits if smaller meals are eaten more frequently, so replace 3 large meals with 6 small ones. If you do not feel hungry enough to eat this often, just have a protein shake, or even a small fruit or raw carrot. Never negotiate on having breakfast, it is essential to kick-starting your metabolism.

The Right Amount
Many people suffering from being overweight actually do not eat enough and certainly not of the right foods. Depriving the body of food causes a panicked reaction of fat retention by the enzymes, whereas the body is more likely to burn fat if it is confident of being fed on a regular basis. Eating regularly will present slower weigh loss, but it will be steady, consistent and long-lasting. Fasting, on the other hand, will cause rapid weight loss, but all that weight will be gained soon after the fast ends.

Of course, gluttony is on the other end of the scale and is an increasingly critical crisis. Eating huge portions too fast and too often is a major cause of weight gain. If this is the problem you face, eat off a side plate and eat slowly, counting the number of times you chew, if necessary. Consider how hungry you are before you begin dishing up and then eat accordingly. You need to become aware of the signs from your body that you have had enough to eat, and listen to these.

The Right Exercise
Exercise is essential to weight loss and healthy living, there is no getting around it. Both aerobic exercise and weight training are important to lasting weight loss. Aerobic, or cardiac, workouts are especially beneficial at the beginning of a new weight loss initiative. Weight training is then effective for toning, increasing core strength, improving posture and sustaining a high metabolism.

At least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise 3 times per week is required. This is the minimum and should be increased as soon as it is accomplished so that one never becomes accustomed to it – exercise should remain strenuous. This type of exercise includes walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, or playing a fast sport such as rugby, soccer, hockey or tennis. A good cardio workout has been shown to increase the body’s resting metabolism for up to 15 hours afterwards, which means that more calories are burnt while you are resting. Aerobic exercise causes the mitochondrial cells of the muscles to increase in number and size, increasing the metabolising enzymes in those cells. Regularity is more important the intensity.

Exercise actually reverses much of the damage that excess weight causes (heart disease, high blood pressure, etc…). For these manifold reasons, it is no doubt essential that we resolve to take these steps to starting a healthier, fitter and lighter life!

It was around 400 BCE (Before our Common Era) that Hippocrates apparently said “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” Although medical advances have galloped over the past 2000+ years, this statement still holds water. While some foods may not remove the ailment completely, they are certainly key to relieving the symptoms and aiding in recovery.

Whole grains provide as many benefits as fresh fruit and vegetables. In fact, the array of phytonutrients (plant parts that offer benefits to the consumer’s health) rivals that of fruit and vegetables. These healthy nutrients are shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, strokes and diabetes by significant percentages. Foods that qualify as whole grains include bran, oats, whole wheat bread / flour and brown rice. An important feature of these foods is that they are not “enriched”, as this means that all the nutrients were stripped from the food and then some vitamins added to the finished products.
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The c vitamin has got to be the most widely known vitamin these days. It is not surprising because the body needs c vitamin for over 300 functions. In fact, the c vitamin has been proved to help protect against heart disease, cancer and other serious illnesses. Without the c vitamin the body would not be able to heal itself either. This is because the c vitamin is vital for the formation of collagen. Whenever a person has a cut or an injury it is the collagen that helps repair the damage and without sufficient c vitamin this would be almost impossible. Collagen has a multitude of functions in the body, including keeping the organs in place, and it would not be able to do this without sufficient c vitamin.

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The 10 worst diet myths

You’ve all heard them: dieting is easy. Just cut out fats and carbs, eat lots of popcorn and drink lots of fruit juice. Welcome to the Land of Diet Myths!

1. Drink lots of fruit juice, as long as it’s pure
   Fruit juice is concentrated, dissolved fructose (70%) and glucose (30%). The average 200ml pure juice contains approximately six fruits. The human body copes well with small amounts of fructose and glucose from eating single servings of fresh fruit, where the pulp slows down rapid absorption of these simple sugars. Juices place a burden on the body to produce insulin in an effort to cope with large amounts of quickly absorbable sugars. In other words, eat your fruit, don’t drink it.
2. Fat free is the only way to diet
   Health authorities have recommended “low-fat” or “fat-free” diets for almost four decades. The reasoning was that fat contains more kilojoules (38kJ per gram) than either carbohydrates or protein, containing 17kJ per gram.It makes mathematical sense that if you eat equal quantities of these nutrients, fat will be most fattening. But this equation discounts several important facts: fat offers the highest satiety value, and severely restricting it from your diet will lead to incessant hunger, and also make it a lot more difficult to stick to any diet.The second discounted point is the GI-lowering effect of fat with meals, and thirdly, the life-saving anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3 fats. By restricting all fats, we’ve probably increased our exposure to inflammatory conditions such as heart disease, abdominal obesity, hypertension, diabetes and certain cancers. Read more »