The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released its latest findings on the levels of obesity in America and women, as a group, have topped 40%! Men aren’t far behind at 35.7%. Now…this is based on being above 30% fat on a body mass index (BMI) chart, which is the age-old, and in many cases terribly inaccurate, height to weight chart utilized in the insurance and medical industry when and where taking a more accurate indicator…a body fat assessment done correctly…is not in the cards. A man weighing 210 pounds and 5’10” tall would be considered obese, even if he had a 32” waist and was a solid piece of muscle. The chart can’t quite figure out the difference between muscle and fat, as a pair of body fat calipers can. Having said all that, truly there are too many overweight, underactive people in this country. The National Institute of Health makes the following statement:
Causes of Overweight and Obesity
Overweight and
obesity result from an energy imbalance. The body needs a certain amount of
energy (calories) from food to keep up basic life functions. Body weight tends
to remain the same when the number of calories eaten equals the number of
calories the body uses or “burns.” Over time, when people eat and drink more
calories than they burn, the energy balance tips toward weight gain,
overweight, and obesity.
Too true. I have, and
will continue to, preach activity.
Trying to monitor caloric intake and balance it against how many you
burn in a day is almost impossible.
Rather you should do something every day to increase the amount of
calories you burn AND follow a routine that has you increasing the amount of
muscle on your body, which is metabolically more active and will burn calories
for you even while you sleep. Yes…weight
resistance of some kind is critical though, as you know if you follow this
blog, can be done without a gym or weights such as I do when I do the Survival
Workout. Muscle tone, exercise that
emphasizes muscular endurance, will suffice.
Diet…what we eat…is important and again, some version of the ‘Paleo
Diet’ where an emphasis is placed on reducing foods with a high glycemic index
(the wrong sugars) will always work.
Lean meats, fruits and vegetables for 80% of your intake and then a
routine of exercise and poof…no more obesity.
Get the discipline. Give it a
try.
I had an off-day from exercise again, but burnt tons of calories
walking over 10,000 steps, digging a hole for two hours and painting for three. It did nothing to prepare me for a walk in
the Adirondacks though, but I just ran out of time.
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