Hello Everybody,
Young people as well as adults want to lose weight. The forums are full of desperate teenagers asking for help. How did this happen? Traditionally young people were slim and they put on weight as they reached middle age. The secret of this was that young people were more active, they did sports, had walking holidays, swam a lot. They got out more. There was less to do in the home and they were not driven everywhere by their parents. Today’s teenagers could live quite happily with no more exercise than a walk from the car park to a fast food outlet. Some do just that.
When left alone young people have always tended to eat badly and irregularly, but with a lot of exercise this did not matter much. Now it does. We have an interesting conflict going on. There is a media which promotes slimness, particularly in women, and manufacturers and suppliers of food which promote and sell junk. It is not easy for you people growing up with all this, plus the lure of computer games to make matters worse.
So if a teenager decides that he or she is overweight, what should they do about it? The first thing is not to go for fast results. Every young person wants action, today, now. They have a holiday in a week, a party in ten days. They want to lose twenty pounds. Don’t try. Don’t even think of trying. Do not take pills or fast weight loss fad diets or colonic cleansing or detoxification. Fast weight loss equals fatigue, dehydration, muscle cramps, possible gall bladder problems and a really bad time. It won’t work long term anyway. There is also the little matter of not doing anything which may compromise your growth pattern.
Natural weight loss is the answer. What is it? Just eating a healthy diet and getting enough exercise. You eat fresh fruit and vegetables, grains, pulses, lean meat and fish. You drink plenty of water. Keep off all junk food, fizzy drinks and snacks. Never skip breakfast - you will just snack during the morning. Now that sort of diet may sound boring, but there are plenty of nice meals with those ingredients. They are the constituents of most Southern European food and Southern Europeans know how to make good food. This should be your diet long term. It is not a religion - don’t worry about the occasional big fattening meal or ice cream. Just eat your new diet most days and you will be fine.
For exercise walk, jog, cycle, swim, go to the gym, play sports, dance, do whatever you enjoy for an hour a day. That’s it. With your new lifestyle you should lose a pound or two a week. That’s natural weight loss and it is all you need to lose each week. Of course, it is your decision what weight loss plan you try. Look at those which offer quick weight loss and decide what to do, but be careful. Whatever you choose have a goal, reach it and stop. The aim should be to reach a suitable weight for your height and age and maintain it, maybe by eating a little more and exercising a little less. Do not go from being over weight to an ideal weight and then under weight. This can become a dangerous illness, never do it. Just take care, keep going, don’t give up and you will see results.
See you soon,
Peter Stockwell
15 August 2010
Photo. Anamano (Flickr)
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