The
statistics are alarming! According to the the Center for Disease Control, more
than half of Americans over 18--63% of men and 55% of women are overweight and,
therefore, at risk for the big three-heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer
and the complications associated with them. Poor lifestyle choices guarantee
that it is not a question of if you will
have a stroke, a heart attack or become
an insulin dependant diabetic, the only questions are which will strike you
first and when.
Obesity
is on the rise, despite the fact that people are dieting more. Let’s see, there
is the Sugar Busters Diet…Dr. Adkins Protein Power Diet….The Carbohydrate
Addicts Diet cabbage…all fruit…all
vegetable…liquid protein…all meat…no
carbs…..There is even Weigh Down, a Christian based approach that focuses on
prayer without consideration given to exercise and food. What do these diets
have in common? No balance! They are unhealthy, low calorie, short term
focused, failures! Albert Einsten said that “Insanity is doing the same thing
over and over again…but expecting different results.”
This
column is designed to provide you with a roadmap to making a lifestyle change
and attaining different results, permanent results “The Healthy Weigh”!
So
what is the “Healthy Weigh”? Simple strategies that you follow each day that
you can live with. No rocket science, cutting edge breakthroughs, just proven,
sound fundamentals that you already know about. Specifically:
À Make the Choice to Change! Pastor Tim preaches on
Desire, Action and Delight. We all desire to have more energy, look good, feel
good, but few are willing to put into action the steps needed to get to
delight.
You
must make a commitment to you.
Á Know Your Numbers! Every adult should have an annual
physical and at minimum know the following: blood pressure, triglycerides,
cholesterol and glucose. These numbers are all indicators of your health
status
and may indicate a need for medical intervention.
 Get moving. The national guideline for health is a minimum
of 30 minutes of
accumulated
exercise on most days of the week. That means that 10-minute time
increments
are acceptable. The simplest way to get moving is to invest in a good pair of
walking or running shoes and hit the park. Start at a pace that enables you to
easily walk 30 minutes.
à Pump some iron. No you are not too old and its not
just for men. After the age of 25, women lose ¼ of a pound of muscle each year,
men lose too, but slower. This translates into a slower metabolism (the rate at
which your body burns calories). This means that even if you are eating less,
you are still going to gain weight. Increased muscle means a higher metabolism.
Ä Eat whole foods frequently.
A. Start with a
high fiber cereal for breakfast (8 grams of fiber or higher).
B. Eat every three-four hours. Most people do
this anyway, just not the right “stuff”. Eating frequently will maintain blood
sugar, discourage bingeing because you are starving and increase the
metabolism.
C. Eat 5-7
vegetables and fruit daily. Eat beans, whole grain, rice and skinless chicken
and fish.
Avoid
fad diets like the plague. Hebrews 13:9 says do not be carried away by all
kinds of strange teachings. Run from anyone preaching extremism. There is no
one forbidden food, only problem food in problem quantities.
Å Drink eight, 8 ounce glasses
of water daily. Water gives you a feeling of fullness aids in digestion and
metabolism.
Æ Be consistent. Rome was
not built in a day and you did not gain weight over night. Just like brushing
your teeth, find time for exercise daily.
Ç Give yourself a break.
Take a day off and eat what you want.
ÈAppreciate
yourself for where you are right now. We are all GOD’s children and of different
sizes, shapes and heights. Be thankful where you are now, someone else is
trying to get there.
In closing, forget about your old health habits and start anew. Nobody gets to live backwards, look ahead, that’s where the future lies!