What Foods Hold The Most Weight Loss Protection?

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What Foods Hold The Most Weight Loss Protection?

Article Description:

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Obesity is one of the number one health concerns in today's

society. The US Centers for Disease Control estimates that over

60 million Americans, or 30% of the adult population, are obese.

The term obese refers to people who weigh over 30 pounds more

than their ideal weight, or who have a Body Mass Index of 30 or

more.

Additional Article Information:

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1225 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line

Distribution Date and Time: 2007-04-11 10:00:00

Written By: Marcus Stout

Copyright: 2007

Contact Email: mailto:Marcus.Stout@...

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What Foods Hold The Most Weight Loss Protection?

Copyright © 2007 Marcus Stout

Golden Moon Tea

http://www.GoldenMoonTea.com

Obesity is one of the number one health concerns in today " s

society. The US Centers for Disease Control estimates that over

60 million Americans, or 30% of the adult population, are obese.

The term obese refers to people who weigh over 30 pounds more

than their ideal weight, or who have a Body Mass Index of 30 or

more.

One of the national health objectives in the US is to reduce the

incidence of obesity to less than 15% of the adult population by

2010; however, current statistics indicate that the problem is

still on the rise. In addition, the percentage of young people in

America who are overweight has more than tripled since 1980.

Over 9 million children and teens between the ages of 6 and 19

are considered overweight. This equates to 16% of the

population.

There " s no question that losing weight is not easy. And,

it " s also clear that we " ve changed our lifestyles in ways

that are making it easier for us to become obese. Some of the

biggest culprits in the battle of the bulge are the following.

* Busy Schedules " " The average family has a much more demanding

schedule than in years past. Because of this, mealtimes often go

by the wayside, and we choose lots of fast food. Our stress

levels may also lead to emotional eating, where we have no

concept of how many calories we " ve consumed. These factors

combined have made our diets poor and our concept of a normal

meal skewed.

* Sedentary Lifestyles " " Today many people spend lots of time

sitting down between our desk jobs and our love of watching

television and playing computer and video games. For many of us,

regular exercise is simply no longer a part of our daily life.

* Large food portions " " Most restaurant portions are 2-3 times

the size that makes up a reasonable meal. From this we " ve

gained a distorted image of the size portions we should be

eating, and we " re consuming far too many calories in a day.

* Poor nutrition " " Processed foods are a staple in the American

diet. In addition, we eat lots of red meat and products made with

white flour. These overly processed and high fat foods make it

easy to gain weight. They also lead to heart disease and high

cholesterol.

So, what do we do to overcome our weight problems? Well, as with

many things, there are no magic bullets. To lose weight, we have

to expend more calories than we consume. It " s just that

simple.

Losing weight is simple, but it " s not easy, particularly

since much of the food we " re presented with every day is not

conducive to weight loss. So, if you want to lose weight and keep

it off for good, you need to make a commitment to making long

term changes in your life. Starving yourself is not the answer;

making changes you can live with is the way to go.

First, take a look at what you eat. If you " re guilty of

eating lots of processed foods, red meat, sugar and white flour,

make changes in what you eat.

* Substitute chicken and fish for red meat most days of the

week.

* Cook your own meals using fresh ingredients; don " t rely on

processed foods that are loaded with preservatives.

* Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables

* Choose whole grain products over those made with white flour

* Reduce the amount of sugar in your diet.

These changes alone should help you lose weight. However, for

many people it will also be necessary to look at how much you

eat. Portion control is very important, because very large

portions of even healthy food can mean that you " re consuming

too many calories.

The second half of the weight loss equation has to do with

exercise. Not only will exercise help you burn more calories each

day, but it will also help you build muscle. Muscle is important

because even when resting, muscle mass burns more calories than

fat. So, if you have a lot of lean muscle, you " ll burn more

calories in a day, without even trying.

Aim for 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise five times a week.

Walking is a great way to get your cardiovascular exercise, and

it will help build muscle in the lower body, too. Just be sure

that you " re walking at a pace that will make you sweat.

Raising your heart rate during your cardiovascular workout is

important for keeping your heart healthy.

In addition to your cardiovascular workout, get in some strength

training three times a week for about 20 minutes each session.

You don " t need to become a body builder, but adding some lean

muscle will speed up your metabolism and make your body look

thinner and leaner.

Finally, take a look at adding some " functional foods " to your

diet. Functional foods are those that have benefits to the body

above and beyond their basic nutritional qualities. Foods that

would be considered functional foods for weight loss would be

those that make us feel full and satisfied for longer, and those

that have the potential to increase our metabolism. For example,

you may have heard of negative calorie foods. These are foods

that contain fewer calories than your body uses to digest them.

Some examples of negative calorie food include raw carrots,

celery, asparagus, apple, beet, berries, broccoli, cabbage,

cauliflower, chili, cucumber, garlic, lettuce, grapefruit, lemon,

mango, onion, orange, papaya, pineapple, spinach, turnip, and

zucchini.

There are likely other functional foods for weight loss. Foods

that are believed to be functional for weight loss include low

fat milk, nuts and tea. A study reported by the UK Tea Council

discusses certain foods and their potential to be functional

weight loss foods.

Studies have shown that people who drink 24 ounces or more of

milk each day tend to weigh less than people who don " t drink

milk. So, it appears that adding 24 ounces of milk to your diet

each day might be a good way to lose some weight, and help keep

it off.

Nuts have gained a lot of attention because of two important

properties. The first is that nuts are very satisfying. Nuts can

help you feel full for longer, helping to ensure that you eat

fewer calories in a day.

Secondly, nuts are a good source of healthy fats. These are the

fats that help raise your HDL cholesterol level. HDL cholesterol

is what is known as " good cholesterol " because it has the power

to carry molecules of LDL cholesterol " bad cholesterol " to the

liver, where it can be removed from the body.

A final food that is likely functional to weight loss is green

tea. Green tea has been shown to help regulate blood sugar

naturally, which may help us store fewer calories as fat.

Secondly, green tea has been shown to promote thermogenesis; heat

that burns body fat.

Green tea is extremely low in calories, and very healthy overall.

So, if it can also help us lose weight, it may just qualify as a

" super food " . There have been numerous studies linking green tea

with preventing disease and protecting health.

So, if you " re battling the bulge, get some exercise and make

some changes in your diet. And, make sure that one of those

changes is adding some " functional foods " , so that losing weight

can be easier than ever!

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Marcus Stout is President of the Golden Moon

Tea Company. For more information about tea,

(http://www.goldenmoontea.com/greentea)

green tea (http://www.goldenmoontea.com/blacktea)

and black tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com