Going on” a diet ” is not the answer to losing weight. This is because the weight is soon regained after you “go off” your diet. If diets really worked, there wouldn’t be so many of them! Instead, your usual eating and exercising patterns need to be changed so that your weight stays right for you.
Even though everyone talks about weight, it’s really how much fat you have that matters. Two people can be the same height and weigh the same, but one person may look overweight and the other may look fine. Someone who exercises regularly and has more muscle looks thinner than someone who is inactive and has more fat.
You may think you should weigh less when your weight is already a healthy one. Pictures of models in magazines pressure people into thinking that they should be very thin.
The high prevalence of obesity and overweight problems in our culture means much more emphasis is placed on losing weight rather than gaining weight. It is easy to forget about people who have the problem of being too thin.
Being underweight can result from eating disorders, chronic diseases, and it is also a concern for athletes and naturally thin people who wish to be bigger, stronger, and more muscular. Elderly people may become underweight. The gradual loss of taste and smell, or the inability to prepare healthy meals, results in becoming too thin.
While being overweight or obese is a well-known risk factor for chronic diseases, being too thin may also increase a person’s risk of dying from diseases such as heart failure and cancer. Elderly women who are underweight may become frail, which means they are more likely to suffer from osteoporosis and hip fractures. Being underweight may also increase a man’s chance of erectile dysfunction.
How to gain weight
Weight gain is as difficult as losing it, if you are naturally thin. Gaining weight is a problem for many people. They complain that they can’t put on any weight.
Increasing your intake of junk foods and greasy foods is not a good way to gain weight. Junk foods usually contain unhealthy trans fats or saturated fats. Even though you need to increase your calorie consumption to gain weight, those calories should come from foods that are good for you.
Healthy fats include omega-3 essential fatty acids sources like tuna, salmon, flax, and walnuts. Good sources of protein include lean meats, fish, poultry, nuts, seeds and legumes. Healthy carbohydrate sources include fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
It may be easier to eat five or six smaller balanced meals per day rather than eating three large meals, especially if you are not used to eating much at one sitting.
Protein powders and nutritional supplement drinks such as Ensure (buy direct) can be added as in-between meal snacks if you still need more calories. Some protein powders are flavored and only need added water and some others can be blended with your choice of juice or milk to improve the taste.
It would also be a healthy idea to add a small amount of flax seed oil and some psyllium powder to add some omega-3 essential fatty acids and extra fiber.
Why Men Want To Gain Weight?
1. Men, just like women have to live up to the medias expectations of what an ideal male body looks like. However, many men, especially young men are naturally thin with high metabolisms. So they feel they have some catching up to do to look “ideal”
2. Men feel women like men with larger muscles
3. Being skinny can make you look awkward in your clothes. It might be hard to find shirts that look good on you or pants that complement your body.
4. Men want to be macho. they want to feel strong and powerful.
5. Gaining weight helps men dramatically increase their confidence levels.
Tools to Help You Gain Weight
Use these tips and tools to help gain weight:
* Use a food diary to track your calorie intake to be sure you are getting all of the calories and foods that you need.
* You can also use an online program such as Calorie Count Plus to track your calorie intake, your exercise and your changes in weight. Calorie Count Plus has a large data base of nutrition information for almost any food you like to eat.
* Add healthy calories to breakfast with an extra slice of whole-grain toast and peanut butter.
* Mid-morning and afternoon snacks should be nutritious, not junk. Trail mixes contain healthy nuts, dried fruits and can add healthy calories to your diet.
* Don’t add calories to your meals by choosing unhealthy fried foods such as french fries, chicken nuggets and fish sticks. Choose healthy foods such as baked potatoes, baked chicken and fish, just make your portions a bit bigger.
* Keep your meals balanced. One meal should have a healthy protein source such as fish, low fat meat, chicken or legumes plus two or three servings of vegetables. Green vegetables add lots of vitamins and phytonutrients while starchy potatoes and corn add extra calories.
* Drink healthy beverages such as milk and fruit juices to add calories. Don’t choose sugary sodas, which only add calories and no nutrition.
* Design a weight training program with help from About.com’s exercise site and our weight training site.
How to Lose Weight
Weight loss is a tricky topic. Lots of people are unhappy with their present weight, but most aren’t sure how to change it — and many would be better off staying where they are. You may want to look like the models or actors in magazines and on TV, but those goals might not be healthy or realistic for you. Besides, no magical diet or pill will make you look like someone else.
Despite what you may think, losing weight isn’t a mysterious process. In fact, weight loss doesn’t even have to involve strange diets, special exercises or even the ‘magic’ of pills or fitness gadgets. Want the secret to weight loss? Make small changes each and every day and you’ll slowly (but surely) lose those extra pounds.
To lose one pound, you must burn approximately 3500 calories over and above what you already burn doing daily activities.
Skipping meals is not helpful for a healthy diet,though skipping meals may work for a while, it backfires in the long run. This is because you get hungry and frustrated, and then eat too much at once.
You may be so used to skipping meals that you don’t feel hungry at normal mealtimes. For example, you may not be hungry in the morning. But after about a month of eating a normal breakfast and lunch and a light dinner, your body will readjust.
The best way to lose weight is to work on the things that have contributed to your being overweight. A new diet plan may help you lose weight for a little while. But the weight often comes back unless you find new ways to deal with the things that have contributed to your being overweight. This may include learning new ways to deal with your stress, finding ways to feel less lonely or talking with a counselor about how you’re feeling.
A few general tips may help you.
1. A regular exercise program. Few people lose weight and keep it off without exercise. Your doctor can help you plan an exercise program that will be right for you.
2. A regular eating pattern. For most people, this will be three meals a day. The three meals should be about equal in size, and the foods eaten should be low in fat.
3. Support. Support from family or friends is very important for long-term success in losing weight.
Exercise has so many benefits for people who want to lose weight. Regular exercise helps you burn calories faster, even when you’re sitting still. Exercise does this by raising your metabolism. It also helps you burn fat and build muscle. So, even if you don’t lose pounds, you may lose inches.
Exercise also tends to curb your appetite. It’s a healthy alternative to eating for entertainment. It can help reduce stress. Exercise is good for the health of your heart and bones too.
The best kind of exercise is exercise that you’ll keep doing throughout your life. Aerobic exercise raises your heart rate and helps burn calories. The longer you exercise, the more your body will burn fat. Working out for even as little as 10 minutes at a time will help you get some benefit from aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercises include swimming, walking fast, jogging and bicycling. Try to work up to 20 to 30 minutes at leas three times a week.
Walking, even at a slow rate, can be very helpful. If you choose this as your exercise, work up to walking for one hour, five times a week.
The main thing to remember is that any sort of exercise is better than none at all.
To be helpful in the long run, the exercise you choose can’t be a drudge or a chore. Choose an exercise you enjoy. Exercising with a friend may help. It may be hard for you to keep at something if you do it alone all of the time.
Tips on achieving a healthy weight
1. Eat only until you feel satisfied.
2. Begin meals with clear soups, broth or something light.
3. Eat vegetables, grain foods or other starchy foods and protein foods at each meal.
4. Eat slowly so your body has time to know when it’s full.
5. Drink 8 glasses of water a day.
6. Exercise.
7. Stock your desk or home cupboards with low-fat snacks.
8. Don’t keep high-fat foods in the house.
9. Avoid alcohol.
10. Let yourself indulge now and then. This helps you not feel deprived, which may
cause you to eat too much later.
Being healthy is really about being at a weight that is right for you. The best way to find out if you are at a healthy weight or if you need to lose or gain weight is to talk to a doctor or dietitian, who can compare your weight with healthy norms to help you set realistic goals. If it turns out that you can benefit from weight loss, then you can follow a few of the simple suggestions listed below to get started.
Weight management is about long-term success. People who lose weight quickly by crash dieting or other extreme measures usually gain back all (and often more) of the pounds they lost because they haven’t permanently changed their habits.
