Photo by Ernst Moeksis
Did you know that the average American gains 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per year after age 25? Do the math. That’s about 10-15 pounds per decade.
Looks aside, the real problem is the rising risk to your health. Things like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and many more ailments are directly linked to obesity. Even though this may seem like depressing information, it’s really not. All we have to do is flip it on its head to realize the exciting potential in this equation.
If obesity equals disease, then maintaining a normal weight equals good health! That’s something to get excited about and here’s why: You have the power to control your weight! The average weight gain occurs to people who are not paying attention. If you start paying attention and taking small action steps to establish good habits, you will be able to maintain a healthy weight for your entire life! And most likely it will be a healthy long life too!
The Top 5 Weight Gain Traps and How to Avoid Them!
1. Not Moving Your Body Enough. How does this happen? Easy. It’s called desk job, long work hours, no breaks, TV watching, automobiles, and all the other trappings of modern life that keep us from moving our bodies like were designed to do.
The Solution: The simplest and most effective thing you can do is make a commitment to exercise 30 minutes every day, rain or shine (or snow!). Anything that will get your body moving and your heart rate elevated will do the trick. Walking, running, biking, swimming, and even dancing are great examples. Pick something you enjoy. Remember to check with your doctor whenever starting a new exercise regimen.
2. Not Enough Sleep. There have been several studies recently that point to the serious health risks associated with chronic sleep deprivation, including weight gain! We work too many hours, we engage in too many activities, and how do we fit it all in? We just sleep less. If you think you can handle being tired, think again! Your body is paying a greater price than just feeling like a zombie. Not getting enough sleep will cause your body to pack on weight.
The Solution: Just like exercise, make sleep a top priority in your life. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night. If you feel good upon waking that’s the right amount for you. If you are dragging through the day you probably need a little more. Some tactics to help make this work:
- Reduce or eliminate caffeine after 2pm as caffeine remains active in your system for 9 hours.
- Try to cut back on work time. By shaving 30 minutes per day you could be adding that to your sleep time instead.
- Cut out unnecessary obligations. Only attend events and activities that you really enjoy.
- Establish a bedtime ritual. 30-60 minutes before sleep time each night do things that help you wind down such as reading, meditating, listening to music, etc. Avoid TV during this time if you can because TV is a stimulant.
3. A Few Too Many Calories. This is where the pounds creep up on us. You don’t have to be pigging out on a daily basis for this too happen. Suppose you eat 100 extra calories per day than what your body burns. If you do this for 35 days straight, you will have gained one pound. Unfortunately, over eating by 100 calories per day is an easy thing to do. So, are we doomed to counting calories? No!
The Solution: Here are a few strategies that will help you eat right amount of calories on average which is all you need to do to maintain a healthy weight:
- Commit to making healthy food choices as often as possible. Fruit should be your snack of choice 90% of the time. Fruit smoothies are excellent for breakfast. At lunch and dinner be sure to include twice as many veggies as the main course. Learn to love your fruits and veggies. They equal pure life!
- Don’t let yourself get too hungry. When you do, that’s when overeating and poor food choices occur.
- When eating high fat or rich foods, be sure to eat slowly.
- Eat only until you are satisfied, not stuffed. Eating slowly will help ensure that you can hear your body’s satiation signals.
- Drink water or lemon water instead of juices and sodas.
- Don’t underestimate this change. It takes real mental commitment, but you will be amazed at how the more fruits and vegetables you eat, the less you will crave junk food.
4. Chronic Stress. Stress is part of life, but too much stress and poor reactions to stress are what cause problems. Chronic stress causes excess production of a hormone called cortisol. This hormone is designed to boost energy levels during times of need, but when there is too much it causes the body to gain weight. The good news is that you can control your level of stress. Here’s how.
The Solution: To lower stress we need calm rather than panic to be our natural reaction to stress. Here are some great strategies that will produce consistent feelings of well-being!
- Medidate each day for 10-20 minutes. Simply focus on your breathing, a simple word, or gradual muscle relaxation.
- Make conscious choices when stress arrives. Examine your habitual reactions to your most common stressors. Make a plan for reacting in a more calm manner in the future. Practice makes habit. Don’t expect perfection immediately. Be kind to yourself.
- Music. Sing, play, dance or simple enjoy listening to some music every day. It’s natures wonder drug for happiness. Take your daily dose.
- Take breaks. During the day take multiple 5 minute breaks to walk away from what you are working on. Close your eyes, relax, stretch, or take a walk around the block. These little breaks will keep tension from building up during the day.
- Listen to positive self-help tapes to remind you to make positive choices when stress arises.
5. Loss of Muscle Mass. As we age, we gradually lose muscle mass over the years. This makes weight gain easier because when you lose muscle mass, your metabolism declines, meaning you need less calories per day. So eating the same as last year will cause weight gain this year. That is unless you do something about it.
The Solution: It’s simple. Build up your muscles! Does this mean you have to become a body builder? No. But in order to fight the effects of aging, you should do muscle bearing workouts at least 2 times per week. Here are a few ideas:
- Weight Lifting. Check out “The 12 Second Sequence” by Jorge Cruise for a do-it-yourself at-home workout schedule that can fit into two 30-minute workouts.
- Yoga. Strenuous yoga as featured in videos by Shiva Rea or Baron Baptise are a great way to build muscle while also gaining many other benefits such as balance, flexibility, and sense of calm.
- Isometric weight bearing exercises. These exercises build muscles using only the resistance of your own muscles and body weight. A classic in this genre is “The Miracle 7” by John E. Peterson and Wedie Pett.
The Bottom Line
Weight gain is not inevitable. If you want a healthy body for the rest of your life, well into your golden years, follow these steps. The best advice I can give you is to go slow. Work on one step each week. Establish the habit and then build on that success with another healthy habit the next week. If you have a day where you fall off the program, don’t beat yourself up. Just start again tomorrow. Make your health your #1 priority. Be kind to yourself and enjoy the journey!
译文:
如何避免陷入增加体重的五大陷阱
Photo by Ernst Moeksis
你知道吗，普通美国人的体重在25岁之后都会以每年1~6.5磅的趋势增加？计算一下，也就是每十年增加10~15磅。
从另一方面来看，你的健康正以上升趋势受到威胁，这才是真正的问题。糖尿病、心脏病、癌症及许多其他的疾病都与肥胖有着直接联系。尽管这看似是个令人担忧的消息，但其实不然。我们应该拂开这个问题意识到等式中令人兴奋的潜势。
如果说肥胖等于疾病，那么保持一个正常的体重就等于拥有健康的身体！这就是那令人感到兴奋的潜势，原因如下：你可以控制自己的体重！一般体重的增加发生在那些不注意控制的人的身上。如果你开始注意控制并逐步采取小行动来培养好习惯，你将能够终身保持一个健康的体重，并且健康长寿！
五大增加体重的陷阱及避免陷入其中的方法！
1.身体的运动量不足。为什么会这样？很简单，所谓的白领工作——不停歇的长时间工作，长时间看电视，开车及其他一切现代生活方式制造的陷阱让我们的身体的不到应有的运动量。
解决方法：你能做到的最简单有效的事就是保证每天锻炼30天，无论雨天晴天还是下雪！任何能让你的身体活动起来，心率加快的运动都会奏效。走路、跑步、踦自行车，游泳，甚至是跳舞都是很不错的方法。选择你喜欢的方式锻炼。当你要开始实施一种新的养生法时，请记得与你的医生商量一下。
2.睡眠不足。近来，许多的研究表明严重的健康问题与长期的睡眠剥夺有关，包括体重的增加！我们工作太长的时间，参加太多的活动，那么我们如何能把这些事情安排得当呢？只能减少睡眠时间。如果你想疲惫不堪地处理这些，那么请再三考虑！你正在透支的身体像是行尸走肉。睡眠不足会让你的体重增加。
解决方法：如同锻炼一样，要把睡觉看做生活中头等重要的事。按计划每晚要有7~9小时的睡眠。如果你醒来时的感觉良好，就说明你的睡眠量充足。如果你白天感觉疲沓，那么可能你需要多一点的睡眠。一些策略能帮助你保证充足的睡眠：
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下午两点之后，要减少或避免咖啡因的摄入，因为咖啡因会让你生理系统的兴奋状态维持长达九个小时。
· 试图减少工作时间。每天削减30分钟的工作时间用来睡觉。
· 放弃不必要负的责任。只参于到那些你真正感兴趣的事情和活动中。
· 养成一个规律的休息习惯。每晚睡前的30~60分钟做一些能够让你逐渐平静下来的事，如阅读、沉思、听音乐等。请不要在此时间段内看电视，因为看电视会让你兴奋起来。
3.摄入过多的卡路里。这就是我们会不知不觉长胖的原因。你并不是一天就吃成大胖子的。假设你每天多摄入超出你身体消耗量的100卡路里，持续35天，你的体重就会增加一傍。不幸的是，我们很容易每天多摄入100的卡路里。因此，我们一定要计算卡路里吗？不是的！
解决办法：这里有一些计划将会帮助你每天平均摄入适量的卡路里，这是你能维持一个健康体重所必需的。
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保证每次都选择健康的食物。绝大时候(90%)，你应该选择水果做为零食。早餐喝果汁是绝棒的。午餐和晚餐时，应保证摄入比主菜多两倍的素食。学会爱上水果和蔬菜吧。它们等于纯净的生活方式。
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不要让自己太过饥饿。当你过度饥饿时，就会摄入过量食物和低质量的食品。
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在吃高热量或油腻的食物时，要细嚼慢咽。
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吃到有满足感即止，不要太饱。细嚼慢咽能让你注意到身体所发出的饱感信号。
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用纯水或柠檬水来代替果汁和苏打水。
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· 不要低估变化。改变需要有意志力作保证，但是你会惊讶发现吃越多的水果和蔬菜，你对垃圾食品的欲望就会越少。
4.长期的压力。压力是生活的一部分，但是压力过大和对压力的不良反应都会导致问题的产生。长期的压力会导致一种被称为皮质醇的荷尔蒙过度分泌。这种荷尔蒙在需要的时候会激发能量，但是这种荷尔蒙的过度分泌会导致体重的增加。可喜的是你可以控制压力对自己的影响程度。方法如下。
解决方法：要减轻压力，你不能慌乱而要自然地以平和的心态面对压力。这里有一些很好的策略将会让你一直都保持健康！
每天冥想10~20分钟。仅仅把精神集中于呼吸，一个简单词，或是逐渐地放松肌肉。 -
当压力降至，有意识的做出选择。检查你对最普通的紧张性刺激的惯常反应。为将来对压力能有平静的反应做出计划。习惯成自然。不要期望一蹴而就。善待自己。
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音乐。唱歌、演出、跳舞或只是每天欣赏一些音乐。对药物能让人产生快乐感好奇是很自然的。每天服用一点。
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休息。在白天，时不时放下手头的工作，休息五分钟。闭上眼睛，放松，伸展，在街区散会儿步。稍作歇息将会让你在白天里走出紧张的状态。
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听一些积极自助的磁带，以此来提醒你在压力增大时做出积极的选择。
5.肌肉量减少。随着我们年龄的增长，我们的肌肉量会随着岁月逐渐流逝。因此体重很容易就增加，因为当你的肌肉量减少时，你的新陈代谢功能就会减弱，这就意味着你每天的卡路里摄入量需要被减少。所以保持去年的食量会导致你今年的体重增加。除非你采取一些应对措施。
解决办法：很简单，锻炼你的肌肉！这意味着你要成为一个健美者吗？不是的，但是为了与年龄增长带来的影响作斗争，每星期你应该至少进行两次肌肉锻炼。这里有一些建议：
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举重。查阅乔治·克鲁伊斯的《连续十二秒》一书中为自己在家训练所制定的安排表，那可用于每星期两次30分钟的训练。
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瑜珈。由Shiva Rea或Baron Baptise在视频中指导的费力瑜珈是一种塑造肌肉的上好办法，同时还能从中获地其他好处，如锻炼平衡感、灵活性及培养平和的心态。
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等积负重练习。这些练习只是通过利用你自己的肌肉和体重的抵抗力来锻炼肌肉。在这种类型中，由John E. Peterson和Wedie Pett编著的《七大奇迹》堪称经典。
要旨
体重的增加是可以避免的。如果你想在余生有个健康身体，在黄金岁月里有良好的状态，请遵照以下步骤。我给你的最好建议就是放慢脚步。每星期进行一个步骤。培养习惯随后以此为基础在下个星期中培养另一个良好习惯。如果你哪天没有实现计划，不要责怪自己。明天重新开始就好。将身体健康放在首位。善待自己，享受每一步路程！