Obesity is one of the fastest-growing health problems in the western world. A person is called obese if he or she has a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30. The number of adults who are clinically obese has doubled in the past twenty years.

While being excellent news for the weight-loss industry, selling the latest diet fads and miracle exercise machines to the massive masses it’s very bad news for everyone else! Obesity is a serious health problem, associated with a range of diseases including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, osteoarthritis, cancers and death.

As terrible as that sounds, each individual has the power and choice to turn their situation around or even better - lead a healthy life from the start. With proper education, we can overcome the problem, by replacing a focus on weight loss with a focus on weight management.

Would you like another slice of obesity?

Are you one of the many people in today’s society that could stand to lose a few pounds? Well, any supermarket magazine will tell you that to lose weight you need to do just two simple things: eat less, and exercise more. Because the weight we gain is based on calories – units of energy. If we eat more calories than we burn up in our daily activity, we gain weight.  If we expend more calories than we take in, we stay slim.

How much do we have to change our diet and exercise plan in order to make a difference?

The professional literature indicates that fat located in the abdominal region is associated with greater health risk than fat that accumulates in the body’s other regions such as the hips and bum. So, running a tape-measure around your stomach is a good way to estimate your level of body fat, and your corresponding need for change.

Another useful tool for estimating our weight-management requirements is the Body Mass Index, or BMI, a common measure for categorising your body weight. Your BMI is a prescriptive number, determined by taking your weight in kilograms, then dividing it by your height in meters, squared. Although there are some limitations to this system – for example, the BMI tends to overestimate the body fat of highly muscular people – in general, the higher your BMI, the greater change you need to make in your diet and lifestyle in order to stay slim. A healthy body weight is defined as having a BMI of 18.5 to less than 25. Overweight is defined as a BMI of 25 to 30 and obese as a BMI of 30 or more.

Maintaining your weight is at least 5x easier than having to lose weight

“Staying” slim only applies to those lucky individuals who have not already slipped over to the other side of middle-aged spread. Preventing weight gain is much easier than taking off excess weight.

Consider the numbers. For most adults, a daily reduction of 50 to 100 calories can prevent gradual weight gain.  On the other hand, to lose weight, you have to reduce your daily intake by 500 calories or more. So if you don’t relish the thought of dieting, it’s advisable to cut a few calories out of your diet before your weight problem wreaks havoc on your body!

How do you reduce your calorie intake?

The healthiest way to reduce calorie intake is to avoid added sugars, fats, and alcohol, which all provide calories but very little essential nutrients. At the same time, we need to eat more foods that are low in calories for a given measure of food (for example many kinds of vegetables and fruits and some soups).

Proactol reduces your calorie intake by up to 30%, so you don't have to worry as much about the occasional slip up in your diet.

We really need to look at the amounts we eat... Portion sizes have increased significantly over the past twenty years. In 2004, a documentary film called “Supersize Me!” revolved around America’s love affair with over-sized junk food meals, but even in more healthy eateries, portions have gone way out of proportion, contributing massively to the obesity crisis.

Although many commercially packaged food items carry nutritional information on their packaging, it’s important to remember that this data does not refer to the entire contents of the box or bag – but rather to the very small portion the calorie-conscious consumer is expected to eat.

Diet fads and successful strategies

When it comes to body weight control, it is calories that count.  But how do we decide what to eat?

However you decide to balance your diet, it is important that three categories of food are represented – protein, carbohydrates and yes, fats.  To stay healthy, 10% to 35% of our total calorie intake should come from protein, with 45% to 65% of the calories coming from carbohydrates, and 20% to 35% of the calories from fats... Good fats and not the full 35% saturated fat from greasy take-away meals!

Weight loss regimens that do not maintain this basic balance can affect your health for the worse in the long term.

Don’t forget to walk the walk!

Watching your diet is an excellent starting point for a person wishing to lose weight, or to keep pounds from accumulating. But calorie reduction can only go so far. Weight management – and healthy living – depends on combining smart eating with calorie expenditure – meaning the right amount of physical exercise, on a regular basis.

Balancing our calorie intake with our calorie output does require you to live your life “by the numbers.”  But if you do it right, proper weight management pays you back – by adding years to your life.

Altering your body image for the better

If you want to lower your level of body fat, there’s nothing better than physical activity – at least three times a week, for 30 to 45 minutes each time. Regular resistance training with weights increases muscle strength and increases muscle mass. Endurance training – such as long-distance running, cycling or swimming – keeps fat from building up. And in general, aerobic activity burns up calories, and lowers your overall body fat percentage.

Instead of driving to work, why not take public transportation and walk the rest of the distance, or even better - cycle the entire journey. It's better for the environment and will do wonders for your health! Other fun ways to sneak in some exercise to your busy life could include dancing. Taking up a style of dance that you've always wanted to learn is a fantastic way to get fit and even meet new people. There are plenty of dance classes for all levels in just about every city in the world! Seek out something that excites you and try it out today, you never know how much you might love it!

But remember, the ability of physical activity to lower body fat while increasing muscle mass is always greatly improved when the exercise plan is combined with a healthy change in diet. This “dual” approach has been proven to be effective in bringing BMI numbers down, and altering body composition for the better.

Imagine how amazing you will feel when you are gradually becoming the healthier and happier person you've always wanted to be. Kick start your weight loss today with Proactol clinically proven weight loss system.