Weight Loss or I Die

Every weight loss plan needs to be considered carefully. People in desperation have gone to ridiculous lengths in order to appear "socially acceptable" though the results most often have been "personally unacceptable" to their health. Many not wanting to go through the rigours and heartaches of a strict dietary plan, have surrendered to all types of surgeries from liposuction to gastric bypass whether or not they deem themselves to be suitable candidates for such. Others have embraced very strict liquid diets, while others wanting to more closely align themselves with the "perfect image" of their favourite celebrities have turned to skipping meals and other sometimes downright funny tactics for losing those extra pounds.

What's the fuss anyway? I shed those extra pounds, regain my celebrity physique and my self esteem improves dramatically. Nobody knows what I suffer privately and no one else is harmed. Wait a minute? Let's get our facts straight.

Last year alone, one source reports about 4000 deaths from cosmetic surgery related cases. Statistics show a higher casualty percentage for persons above 40 years of age. The reasons for those are self evident. Our cardio-vascular system becomes progressively weake with age and our body's ability to recover from hard knocks received during surgery is severely reduced. Furthermore, of those that live after the anxieties of the surgery have passed, about 40% go on to complain about several types of heart, respiratory and emotional problems. complaints about fatigue, lowered heart rate, hypertension and the like are not uncommon among these ex-patients.

So when next you are tempted to turn to surgery ask yourself, "have I tried other natural weight loss methods", "Am I ready to deal with the medical consequences of surgery", "Is my health critically in danger", or "am I trying to be more socially comfortable", then you can decide to carry on with this line of action.

Liquid diets were once the rave in the 70's and 80's After all, you were not outrightly abstaining from food, you were just taking a better substitute. Well a closer look revealed a lot of things not so hidden. Most liquied diets tend to be high in protein and very low on fat and carbohydrates. This at first glance, seems the ideal combination for weight loss enthusiasts but then we notice something else.

After weeks of faithfully following this liquid diet plan, you begin to notice some things. Yes you have shed some pounds but then you observe that at certain times your heart beats frightenly irregularly, you have a much decreased metablolic rate, are more prone to fatigue and have grown very irritable, what happened? Here's the explanation. Our bodies require a certain percentage of calories for its normal metablolic function.

These calories are derived mainly from carbohydrates and fats. When this certain percentage is exceeded, fat cells convert the excess calories in our body into fat and given enough time, consuming above this threshold we become overweight or obese. "Isn't that what we all want to avoid". The problem with most liquid diet manufacturers is this.They think since there is so much pressure from society for a trim shape, why not drastically reduce the carb and fat content, so that rapid results can be attained in record time and people patronise us more. So what do we have, very poor fat and carb liquid diets and a host of metablolic and heart related conditions, most notably ventricular arriththmia.

But the most common weight loss misconception today is that abstinence from food, will in enough time guarantee freedom from being overweight. Teenager's routinely skip their meals and for some, anytime they feel they've overfed, privately induce vomitting, all in the name of remaining in shape.

One thing should be stated clearly here. Abstinence from food for considerable periods of time is the prime cause of gastric, duodenal and most type of ulcers. And in case you don't know it ulcers are the 10th highest killer disease in the world today. More than that, prolonged dieting has been known to shed body fat rqpidly, but when such diet conditions are removed in a moderate amount of cases, certain hormones sometimes become so active, that those lost pounds return in full force and with extra to share. The reason is pretty simple.

Dieting and abstinence from food, put the body in a sort of emergency situation. Fat cells will not normally be used for metabolic activities except when the net ntake of calories is much lower than what the body needs for its normal activities. It is in this "emergency stituation" fat cells come into play. The body converts them into a form that can be readily converted to energy needed for life support. Once this emergency situation is removed, the body resumes its normal process of accumulating a support system in times of emergency. And this means more fat, and sometimes much more unwanted fat, due to over stimulation of fat receptors, leading to obesity.

What would help in this fight against fat? Many answers abound. Eat sensibly, watch your caloritic intake, Exercise regularly and all that. But whatever you do to win this society wide battle, carefully consider the health implications , so you might live long enough to enjoy whatever benefits you reap from your battle lan.