Why you overeat, Part 2

95 percent of people regain lost weight within two years. What can you do be in the successful 5% who take it off and keep it off?

There are a number of factors ini being overweight that have nothing, or little to do with you personally. Here’s are four key issues you must understand if you are to be successful with weight loss and maintenance. Your environment, your metabolism, proper diet, the need for family involvement.

Environment: Think big picture for a moment. About four percent of people were overweight in the last century, and now over fifty percent in the United States are overweight. Just by those numbers it’s clear that something bigger than ourselves is playing a role in obesity. There are a number of factors in our environment and society that are obviously contributors to the epidemic of obesity.

Life is more complicated and in general we have more daily stress. While the exact association between stress and excess weight is uncertain, it is clear that there is an association between the two. For some the connection is simple, stress builds and we are more likely to eat.

Technology has reduced activity demands. Labor saving technologies have sharply reduced the number of calories burned in normal activities of living. Portable, cordless, remote control, and automatic devices of all kind have replaced physical exertion.

We have many more choices of food. The United States produces 1000 calories/per person/per day extra per capita. Marketing bombards us with the message to consume more. For example, fast food restaurant give you an ‘extra’ large fry for $.25 more. They get $.25 and we get many more calories we don’t need. We, as a society spend millions on convincing ourselves to eat, eat, eat. We are swimming in a sea of food. You can’t blame the fish for eating.

Your metabolism: Our metabolism was made for a different time. Your metabolism is not adapted to our modern environment. Because of this, the most common solution to being overweight, dieting, is often the worst.

Dieting is based on the logic, “I am fat, because I eat too much. If I do not eat so much, I will be thin.” This is wrong. When we reduce calorie intake our bodies accommodate for it. Our bodies go into starvation mode and reduces its need for calories. If we are disciplined we might take off twenty-five to fifty pounds. If after our diet we go back to our previous calorie intake we are now taking in too many. We begin to gain weight.

You must have activity. More than anything else, increasing activity increases the number of calories burned. Forgo modern conveniences, take stairs instead of the elevator, get up to change the channel, don’t take the closest parking space. Exercise is great, but even better is a hobby that requires activity and then you do not have to exercise.

Proper diet: We need fruits, vegetables, lean meats (or other high protein source) and grains. Cultures have always and everywhere eaten these. They just prepare them in different ways. They have usually eaten them in balanced ways in terms of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Each person must take into consideration their budget, and their ethnic and personal likes and dislikes. It is each person’s responsibility to find out what they like among the countless nutritionally sound recipes that are available, and then exercise proper portion control.

Family: You must involve your significant others or you will fail. You must get your children, mate or significant others involved. A common solution of fixing two meals does not work long term. It is too time consuming and expensive. One nutritionally sound, and acceptably tasty meal, with each person supporting proper portions for all is a better solution.

Consider your personal environment. Unhealthy food choices too readily available is a set up for failure. Being shamed for, or encouraged to make poor food choices (nutritionally poor or too much) contributes to failure as well. An encouraging and supportive personal environment is important for success.

Even though these factors have little to do with you, this doesn't mean you can't anything about hem. Rather being aware of these factors gives you additional means of taking control of those factors you can control, namely your own behaviors, and thoughts, and choices you make.