How to Lose Weight Without Dieting Even If You're Working on Your First 10 LBS

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If You're a Little Overweight You May Not Be in Such Bad Shape

In a recent study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association recently, being slightly overweight actually reduces the risk of dying early. The study does show what we have all assumed: that obesity does indeed increase the risk of early death. This does go against the thinking commonly held that risk of death is directly proportional to the amount a person is overweight.

The study was conducted on data from 97 different studies of almost three million people in the US, China, Europe, Australia, Japan, India, Mexico and Brazil. The Body Mass Index, or BMI, which is a measurement of body fat accounting for height and weight, was a major factor that the researchers evaluated. The study specifically found that obese people had an 18% higher risk than people of normal weight, but people who were considered overweight but not obese had a 6% lower risk of death than the normal weight base.

A few of the reasons given for this are:

• Heavier people may feel they are more at risk, so they are more apt to get regular checkups and address health issues promptly.
• Some fat may actually be cardio-protective for many people.
• Some people who are heavier may have greater resiliency and therefore are better able to deal with stress to the system when it occurs.

It is important to note that this study did not find a cause-and-effect relationship between a person's weight and premature death risk. Body weight alone is not a predictor of death risk. Beyond body mass index are such factors as cholesterol, smoking, overall fitness, family history and mental health that also play immense rolls in premature death. We should think of our body mass index as merely a parameter, as the issues surrounding premature death are quite complex.

Furthermore, the study only looks at death, and not chronic medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke and cardiac risk factors, cancer risk, fatty liver and gall bladder disease. Any one of these by themselves may not be killers, at least not in the short-term, but over time could, and probably will cause health complications. This study only accounts for mortality caused directly by being overweight.

So what does this study all mean? First, and most obvious, is that being obese is unquestionably a dangerous health situation. It must be avoided at all costs. Next, perhaps we must look at what overweight really is. If being overweight by our present standards of body mass index does not present a health risk, maybe we should take another look at what we define as normal.

Lastly, as with any study this generalizes about people, and although there are many similarities, everybody is a little different. For one person to carry some excess weight there may never be any health issues at all. But for others, even a little excess weight may trigger problems. Plus of course as we move into different stages of our lives, what was once not an issue suddenly rears its ugly head. We think the best advice is to know your own body, keep informed, and always be proactive to providing the best for your long-term health.

Weight and proper diet is something we talk a lot about on our website http://healtheybalanceddiet.com/. Even though being a little on the heavy side may not be as critical to our health as we sometimes hear, it is very important to watch our weight. Check out an interesting article on how water can help your diet. Rich Carroll is a writer and health enthusiast now living in Chicago.

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If You're Exercising, You Should Lose Weight

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AppId is over the quota

While every legitimate diet plan also includes an exercise plan, there are times when you might notice that your exercise routine is no longer helping you manage your weight. Use the suggestions below to maximize the weight loss benefits of exercise in your daily routine.

Consider whether the fatigue you feel after exercise is impacting your other daily activities. Exercise can be tiring and you might find yourself less in the way of household chores, gardening or other physical activity that is not specifically your exercise routine. Exercise should ideally be an additional physical activity in your life rather than a replacement of other activities.

Sometimes weight loss goals can be frustrated by increased calorie consumption when you exercise. Since exercise burns calories, it can frequently increase your appetite. Keep an eye on your portion sizes and the quality of food you're eating when you incorporate exercise.

If you find yourself experiencing more hunger when you increase your exercise, satisfy your hunger with larger salads or a vegetable or fruit snack in order to prevent losing the benefits of calorie expenditure by overeating after exercise.

Don't stop exercising. By volume, muscle tissue weighs more than a similar amount of fat tissue. This does not mean that muscle weighs more than fat, a pound is a pound, but you might gain a few pounds because for a given volume of muscle versus fat tissue, the muscle tissue weighs more. Another reason not to discontinue exercise based on the increased weight from muscle is that you'll likely notice that you are more toned and that you look and feel better than you did when you had less muscle.

If exercising interferes with your night's sleep, you may eat more and experience slower weight loss or weight gain. Sometimes you'll find a change in your sleep pattern when you institute an exercise regimen that reduces the amount of time you're sleeping each night. Work towards maintaining a healthy sleep schedule.

Determine why you're losing sleep. Common reasons for sleep interruption include resting after exercise during the day because you experience fatigue or the fact that you experience the aches and pains from exercise when you try to sleep at night. Less sleep frequently means that you're snacking while you're awake or snacking to stay awake because you're tired from not having a good night's sleep.

Consider changing your workout times in order to adjust to physical exercise without interfering with your sleep. Incorporate cool-down and warm-up stretches into your exercise routine to reduce soreness after exercise so that aches and pains don't keep you awake at night.

Make sure that you include aerobic exercises as part of your workout routine to optimize your weight-loss efforts. If your exercise emphasizes strength and toning, you should increase the amount of aerobic exercise you're doing in order to increase calorie usage.

Exercising is part of a healthy approach to weight loss but can sometimes result in weight gain. Use the suggestions above to maximize the effectiveness of exercise in helping you achieve weight loss goals.

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