Your Health: Diets not as effective as regular exercise

Want to lose weight? It is better to lose it all at once, right?
Wrong.

The human body is far too concerned about survival to allow us
to lose weight too quickly. So as soon as we reduce our calorie
intake, our metabolism slows down to conserve energy.

Not only is it more difficult, but losing weight too quickly can
suppress the immune system and put strain on the liver and
kidneys.

As with most fast-acting diets, those pounds just don’t
seem to stay off. That’s because fast weight loss is almost
always followed by fast weight gain. This is called rebound weight
gain.

When you’re on a diet, your body thinks it’s
starving and about to fall apart so it holds on for dear life to
any calories you do eat. So after a diet, you gain even more weight
than you lost because our bodies are much better at gaining weight
than losing it.

One of the unsightly results of gaining or losing weight so
quickly are the dreaded stretch marks. For those lucky ones who
haven’t had the pleasure, stretch marks occur in the dermis
““ the elastic, resilient middle layer that allows skin to
retain its shape.

When the dermis is constantly stretched over time as in
pregnancy, obesity, weight lifting, a growth spurt during
adolescence and especially during fast weight gain, the skin
becomes less elastic and the connective fibers break. The result
are the markings we know as stretch marks.

Fortunately, stretch marks usually become less noticeable over
time, although never completely disappear. They are thin and pink
initially, but with further development they usually enlarge both
in length and width and acquire a vivid reddish-purple
appearance.

What’s a boy or girl to do? How about: Don’t get
them in the first place. That means, we lose weight over time, and
avoid gaining it too quickly. The trick to eating well is to avoid
cutting down on the food we love, and instead cut down on the food
we can live without.

This means, instead of using that creamy dressing on salads, go
for the ones you can see through. This cuts down on the greatest
culprit: saturated fat. Here’s a rule of thumb: If it’s
solid at room temperature, it’s high in saturated fat and
your arteries won’t forgive you. So, try some olive oil
instead.

Servings of fiber also helps lower your fat and cholesterol. So
instead of Cap’n Crunch, go for Frosted Mini-Wheats, or
something with 5 or more grams of fiber per serving. In general we
recommend at least 25 grams per day.

Don’t assume the problem is solved if you go for the
salad. That iceberg lettuce is just water. No fiber, no vitamins,
no minerals. It’s just a reservoir for your dressing (we hope
you chose the fat free one). Instead, use anything dark green and
leafy, like romaine, spinach or arugula.

Often even more important than diet, is exercise. Ninety percent
of what burns energy and gets rid of our fat in our bodies is
muscle. Studies have proven that exercise improves memory,
longevity, and elevates mood naturally (by the same mechanism that
illicit drugs do). Most importantly, a regular exercise regimen is
best. Otherwise our bodies get confused as to what to do with its
fat stores.

OK, so what should our goal be? Exercise regularly, eat less fat
and more fiber, and loose that weight gradually.