Fat to fit: Mega guide for losing weight the right way

Fat to fit: Mega guide for losing weight the right way

October 26 is World Obesity Day.

Today, lifestyle diseases are on the rise due to sedentary behaviour and obesity is without a doubt a global pandemic. It is a condition when a person weighs too much more than the standard weight according to his age and height. Usually, a person with a Body Mass Index (BMI) higher than 30 falls under the obese category. Obesity is not just restricted to developed nations. Though the cases of malnutrition maybe more in rural India, there is an alarming number of obesity cases in urban India with children too joining the ranks of being obese.

This problem needs to be addressed at the earliest as obesity can lead to a plethora of other serious conditions including heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and even cancer. Obesity is on a rise globally and here are some facts that prove it.

According to a survey conducted by Fitho – an online weight loss diet plan service company – almost half (46%) of urban Indians are obese with the risk age ranging between 28-38 years.Globally, an estimated 10% of schoolchildren, between 5 and 17 years of age, are overweight or obese.Studies show that in India, nearly 15 to 20% of children are overweight and 30% are in the risk of falling in this category.Research shows that obesity kills around 2.8 million people every year.

The rise of obesity

Reasons for obesity

The prime reason is eating unhealthy foods which add more calories and provide less or no nutrition at all to our bodies. A regular intake of such foods plays havoc with our system depositing excess fat which adds weight and pushes us towards being obese. 

Another factor is the lack of physical activity. Due to changes in lifestyle, people are plonked in front of their TVs or laptops for hours on end without getting any exercise which leads to weight gain and other health problems. Over time, this combined with unhealthy eating leads to obesity.

What obesity does to your body

Being obese leads to various serious ailments which make it more difficult to go about one's daily tasks. Some of these are:

Tips to lose weight

In order to beat obesity, one needs to follow a balanced diet and make lifestyle changes. What you eat plays a major role in controlling your weight and also providing nutrition to your body. Also, engaging in physical activity is important to keep oneself fit. Here's help:

Diet
Weight loss diet by expert dietician5 diseases you can prevent with weight lossFad is bad: Say no to diets which promise speedy weight loss6 diet tips to lose belly fatWeight gain due to long working hours. What should I do?Revealed- 10 secrets of people who lose weight easilyTasty recipes for weight lossWhat is the right way to lose weight?Tips to lose weight before your weddingLook younger and lose weight naturallyAlmond s- How they can help you lose weight

Exercise

Fun ways to exercise and lose weightLose belly fat with exercises by Hrithik's trainer Kris GethinCan weight training help you lose weight?Walking for weight lossGet fit at your workplace with these expert recommended exercises and tipsDance away the weight with ZumbaWhy is high intensity interval training better (HIIT) for weight loss?4 sexy and unusual ways to lose weight

Also along with diet and exercise, for people whose obesity has become morbid, they can opt for procedures like bariatric (weight loss surgery), though we should assure that all the quick-fix weight loss products you see ads for every day are mostly shams. 

Bariatric surgery: Does it help you lose weight? (Expert Speak)Bariatric surgery: Nothing cosmetic about itOpting for a weight loss surgery? Check these guidelines!Do weight loss pills actually work?

Childhood obesity

Children too aren't spared these days and many are tuning obese right from a young age. The confines of the city which do not have enough open spaces for them to indulge in recreational activities leaves them no option but to be at home and play on the mobile or laptop. But it can cause serious harm to their health:

Get inspired

While everything may seem bleak when you are obese, there is no need to lose hope. Look around and take inspiration. Here are some stories:

Five easy tips to lose weight by an ex-obese!

Five easy tips to lose weight by an ex-obese!

I have been obese for the better part of the last two decades. Fatness was a part of my personality, it defined who I was. It didn't matter how smart, intelligent or funny I was, being fat overshadowed all those qualities. Then things got worse when I took a tumble down a hole, alas instead of Alice's Wonderland, I received a butterfly fracture in my right ankle which left me bed-ridden for six months and with a souvenir metal plate to support my ankle.

 The doctors told me that it was the fracture was exacerbated by my excess weight but even that didn't change my view on obesity. My general sense of rebellion allowed me to view my girth as sign of well-being and felt the world in general had no say it. It didn't occur to me that being fat was making me prone to heart diseases, high cholesterol and diabetes.

But then fate played a card and my father (an equally obstinate man), forced me to join a gym. I hated it in the beginning but after a few sessions, it started to feel really good. I was dropping kilos like hot bricks! In nine months, I lost almost 40 kg and that's when I decided to become a health and fitness journalist because losing weight is extremely simple and I felt the need to share that with the world. So here are five simple tips that will help you lose weight:

Tip 1: Accept your problem

It's not just about looking good, obesity will kill you. It will give you heart disease, type 2 diabetes or joint problems. If you're a guy, the excess cholesterol build-up will give you erectile dysfunction and is also likely to increase infertility in both sexes. That's not how we were meant to live our lives. So stop listening to what others say about obesity and accept you've a problem. And obesity is not a sign of prosperity; it just means you are a glutton.

Tip 2: Stop believing in fad diets

I lost 40 kg in 9 months and I did it without any crash dieting. I didn't take weight loss pills, nor did I follow a fad diet. All I did was exercise and eat healthy. There are thousands of crash diets out there which will help you lose say 5-10 kg in a week but then the weight will come back when you stop following that diet.  I've seen scores of people who lose a lot of weight but then gain it all back once they stop dieting. (Read: )

Tip 3: Up the ante gradually

I was extremely lucky to have a trainer who knew that you can't push fat people too much or you'll end up disheartening them. When I went to the gym, my trainer Anil Bailu (a former Mr Maharashtra) started me off slow, not making me do more exercise than my body could handle. Every week, I would do weight training thrice a week and cardio for six days. In the beginning, that would only consist of 15-20 minutes sessions of mild walking, because he knew that my obese body couldn't take more. Gradually, as I lost weight, he upped the ante, increased the cardio time and I started lifting heavier weights as well. So don't overdo it and have patience, the results will come.

Tip 4: Weight loss products don't work

If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Simply put, all weight loss products are shams. Most weight loss pills are caffeine-loaded pills which just allow you to exercise longer. Some of them make you really edgy and angry as well. And some of them like DNP are downright dangerous and can be fatal. (Read: ) 

The sauna belts and meal replacement shakes too are useless, they just do not work. They are just shams to scam vulnerable people, like penis enlargement pills. The only way to lose weight is to eat a healthy diet and exercise. There are no two ways about it.

Tip 5: Believe

The most important thing I can tell you is believe in yourself. You are obese because you've eating unhealthy for years. In the same way, you can lose weight by making the right choices. There might be some genetic predisposition that still doesn't inhibit your ability to control your own actions.

If I could do it with a metal plate in my leg so can you. So stop complaining, get off your butt and just eat right (you will get plenty of ideas on our healthy recipes section) and exercise. It's that simple. (Read: )

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