We’re No. 1!

Four out of ten Americans are obese. That’s a statistic from the Center for Disease Control, which reports that 40-percent of U.S. adults are not merely overweight but obese. Other developed nations have obesity and weight problems as well, but the U.S. seems to lead the pack. A not-to-be-proud-of achievement.

Why is this, anyway? After all, no one wants to be obese.

Here is a true story.

Back in the 1970s, I bought a Welsh terrier puppy we named Toby. I remember taking him to his first physical exam and being told that Toby had a heart murmur. Some heart murmurs can be serious, and some rather insignificant. Of course, I imagined all sorts of bad outcomes for our puppy, that he might be sickly, or die early, and so on.

But the veterinarian told me not to worry. Toby, he said, would have to follow a diet of pet food for dogs with heart abnormalities; but he would otherwise lead a healthy, active life.

How, I asked, could simply eating prescription food make such a difference? I always remember what he answered: ”It’s because dogs can’t cheat. Toby lived 15 very active years.

Therein lies the reason so many overweight or obese people cannot seem to maintain healthy body weight, even if successfully losing weight through exercise and dieting: People can cheat.

There’s really no big secret to losing weight. If you regularly stop eating as much as you have been the weight will come off. With some people it comes off fast, with others it’s a longer road. But it will come off.

Dieters who manage to keep off the fat, once it's gone, are the ones who don’t cheat. One way or another, they resist overeating, permanently.

Almost any popular diet will result in weight loss because you consistently take in fewer calories.

Still, that doesn’t mean it’s healthy to eat anything you want as long as you eat less of it. It’s possible to lose weight and harm yourself at the same time if basic principles of good nutrition are ignored. Not all popular weight loss programs are properly balanced.

Years ago, I led cardio-kickboxing classes, and I handed out dietary recommendations. Some of the overweight people who regularly came to class lost weight and got really fit. Years later a couple of them I kept track of were still trim and fit.

Here’s a tip that improves the odds of maintaining a healthy body weight once it’s achieved. When regular exercise becomes part of your life, there is a much greater chance of maintaining a healthy body weight permanently.

Another big advantage in getting regular exercise while dieting is how your body will look at a lower weight. Without regular exercise, it’s possible to be trim but flabby. Resistance exercise, in particular, is the antidote to flabbiness.

Find a free beginner’s exercise plan here.

Discover sound nutrition information here.

Stay healthy. Stay fit.

Logan

Senior Exercise Central

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Sincerely,

Logan Franklin
The Gray Iron Fitness Newsletter
www.senior-exercise-central.com