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:
怎样避免掉入首当其冲的五个增肥陷阱！
图片由Ernst Moeksis 提供
你知道每个美国人在25岁后每年增重1-1 1/2磅吗？按此计算，那么每十年将增重10-15磅。
忽视这一点，真正的问题是你的健康正面临着风险，例如很多疾病如糖尿病、心脏病、癌症，都和肥胖有着直接的联系。尽管这是一些看起来令人沮丧的信息，其实不是这样的。我们能做的是轻弹脑袋去认识在这个等式中令人激动的潜在情况。
如果肥胖等于疾病，那么保持正常的体重等于有一个好身体！这个结果令人非常高兴，这里有它的原因：你有能力控制体重！人们在不知不觉中增加体重。如果你开始关注并对树立良好的习惯采取行动，你就能为你的整个人生保持一个健康的体重！而且在很大程度上你也会健康长寿。
首当其冲五个增肥陷阱以及怎样避免落入这些陷进中！
1. 运动的不够。这是怎样发生的呢？非常简单。案头工作、长时间工作、没有休息、看电视、坐汽车以及其他现代生活中阻止我们身体按设定的要求进行运动的陷阱。
办法：你能做的最简单最有效的事情是每天无论下雨或者天晴（或者下雪！）都进行30分钟的运动。任何能使你的身体动起来并提高你的心跳率的活动都有效果。散步、跑步、骑自行车、游泳，甚至跳舞都是很好的例子，只要挑选你喜欢做的运动就可以了。当你开始新的运动，记得咨询一下你的医生。
2. 睡眠不足。最近若干研究指出严重的健康风险同长期睡眠不足密切相关，包括体重增加！我们的工作时间太长，我们参与了太多的活动，那么我们怎样保持适中呢？我们只能缩短睡眠的时间。如果你认为你能处理疲倦，那么请再好好的想一想！相对感觉自己像行尸走肉，我们的身体则要付出更大的代价。如果得不到充足的睡眠，它会导致你的体重增加。
办法：就像运动一样，把睡眠作为你一生中的首要任务，做到每天晚上睡上7－9个小时。如果你醒来的时候感觉良好，那么这样的睡眠时间刚刚正好。如果白天过得很疲惫，那么你可能需要增加一些睡眠时间了。这里有一些奏效的技巧：
- 下午2点以后减少或者不摄入咖啡因，因为咖啡因能在你的身体中存在9个小时。
- 试图减少工作时间。每天减少30分钟，然后把它加到你的睡眠时间上。
- 减少不必要的任务。只参加你真正喜欢的各种事情和活动。
- 规定就寝时间。在每天睡觉前30—60分钟做一些像阅读、冥想、听音乐等帮助你静下来的事情。避免在这段时间里看电视，因为电视会使你兴奋。
3. 摄入太多的卡路里。这是体重增加的来源。你没有必要为此在每天的基础上大吃特吃。设想相对身体消耗所需要的能量，你每天多吃100卡路里。如果你这样一直持续35天，那么你将增加1磅的重量。不幸的是，每天多吃100卡路里是一件非常容易的事情。这样，我们是不是注定要计算能量摄入？不需要！
办法：这里有一些帮助你合理摄取一定数量卡路里来保持健康体重的策略：
- 尽可能经常选择健康的食物。90％选择水果作为你的零食。早餐绝好的选择是果汁刨冰，中餐和晚餐一定要包含主餐数量两倍的蔬菜。我们要学会喜爱水果和蔬菜。
- 不要让你自己太饿。如果你很饿，就会吃得过量并且摄入垃圾食物。
- 当你在吃高脂肪或者热量很大的食物时，一定要吃得慢些。
- 只吃到你很满足，而不是很塞。慢慢吃可以能让你得到肚子很饱的信号。
- 喝水或柠檬水来代替果汁和苏打水。
- 不要低估这个改变。这需要真正的意志，但是你将感到惊讶是水果和蔬菜吃得越多，你就越不渴望垃圾食物。
4. 长期压力。压力是生活的一部分，但是压力越大而且没有对付压力的措施，那么就会有问题。长期压力会超额产生一种叫皮质醇的荷尔蒙，这种荷尔蒙会在需要的时候激发能量水平，但是当有太多的时候，就会导致体重增加。幸运的是你可以控制你的压力水平。这里有控制压力的方法。
办法：为了降低压力，对待压力的自然反应是拥有平静的心态，而绝非恐慌。这里有一些让你产生良好感觉的伟大策略！
- 每天冥想10－20分钟。你只要简单的注意你的呼吸、冥想一个简单的词语或者逐渐放松肌肉就可以了。
- 压力来临的时候，作出谨慎的选择。相对最普通的压力，检查你的习惯性反应，并为今后拥有一个更平静的心态制定计划。经常练习就可形成习惯。不要希望马上就变得很完美。对自己好一点。
- 听音乐。每天唱唱歌、跳跳舞或者听一点音乐。这是自然带给大家快乐的神奇之药，那么每天你都服上一剂吧。
- 轮番小憩一下。一天中，离开工作轮番休息5分钟。闭上你的眼睛、放松、伸展一下四肢，或者在大楼附近走动一下。这些短暂的休息都能在一天中帮助你放松紧张的神经。
- Listen to positive self-help tapes to remind you to make positive choices when stress arises. 听一些积极的自助带子可以提醒你在压力面前作出正面的选择。
5. 肌肉萎缩。随着年龄的增长，我们的肌肉会逐年萎缩，这将非常容易增重，因为当你的肌肉萎缩时，新陈代谢就降低，这意味着每天需要的卡路里减少了。要是你吃得和去年一样多，那么今年你的体重将会增加。因此，只有采取一定的措施才能防止这一情况的发生。
办法：非常简单。只要增强你的肌肉！这意味着你要成为一名健美运动员吗？不是。但是为了和老化做斗争，你至少每星期做两次肌肉负重练习。这里有一些方法：
- 举重。根据 Jorge Cruise “12秒依次动作”执行家中两个30分钟自我锻炼计划。
- 由Shiva Rea 或Baron Baptise拍摄成视频的活力瑜伽是增强肌肉很好的方法，同时，它也会带给你其他好处，例如平衡性、柔韧度以及宁静感。
- 等重负重练习。这些运动通过练习肌肉和身体的耐力来锻炼肌肉。由John E. Peterson和Wedie Pett共同创作的“奇迹7”是负重练习的典范。
底线
我们可以避免体重增加。如果你想在以后的生活中拥有一个健康的身体，直到年老，那么你要遵循这些方法。我能给你最好的建议是循序渐进，每个星期专注一种方法。树立一个习惯然后在下个星期成功的养成另一个健康习惯。如果有一天你没能完成锻炼，不要责备自己，只要明天再做一次就可以了。把你的健康放在第一位。对你自己好一点并享受这次旅行吧。
