Our modern lifestyle does not help us in our efforts to become healthy or to lose weight. Most jobs do not require much effort, so we do not move around a great deal. We are time poor, so we tend to take the easy option when it comes to our diet. It is much easier to eat out or to pick up takeaways than to prepare meals ourselves. Most jobs are demanding, particularly in a tight labour market, where jobs are easy to fill. We cannot afford to be slack so we tend to spend more time on the job. All this is a recipe for ill-health and for becoming overweight.
Studies have shown that overweight people have these things in common:
- They eat too much. This might seem obvious but it is worth stating. They are the people who load up their plates and go back for seconds. They always have dessert
- They tend to sit around more. They do not move around much, let alone do regular exercise
- They tend to eat for the sake of eating. They eat even when they are not really hungry
- They rarely cook for themselves and eat most of their meals out. This generally means they eat bigger meals and have little or no control over the way their food is prepared
- They miss meals and catch up by eating larger meals
If you find you are doing any of these things, you can start to become healthy and lose weight by changing some of these habits. If you tend to eat too much by backing up for seconds or if you always eat dessert, you can change this. You do not have to give up everything you like but you can start by having smaller portions. You can have a smaller helping of dessert or, better still, only have it every other day.
If you find you are sitting around a lot, you can change this by moving more. Look for opportunities to get up from your desk or to go outside for a walk. Movement uses calories and gets the blood circulating. Studies are emerging that point to health problems caused by long periods of inactivity. It seems being inactive for long periods could be a health risk in itself.
Eating for the sake of eating is an easy trap to get caught in. We all have favourite foods and they are usually freely available. We may be eating more and more of them without even noticing. You can change this by paying attention to your eating habits and eating only when you are hungry.
If you are eating out most of the time, try cooking more meals at home. This can be a nuisance, particularly if you are working long or irregular hours. But it is worth the effort because you are in control of the type and quantity of food you have. You can choose healthy food that will help you lose weight.
Try not to miss meals and then catch up later. Research has found that eating fewer, larger meals helps cause overweight. The sudden surge in blood sugar causes the body to release insulin, which helps store fat.
It makes sense not to follow or to fall into habits that cause you to be overweight. If you find you have developed some of these habits you can start by changing some of them. You may not be able to change all of them at once but you may be able to start by working on some of them, maybe one at a time. It will pay off because you will be healthy and you will lose weight.
Low Thyroid And Belly Fat
The long list of symptoms of low thyroid can be deceptive because you don’t have to have all the symptoms, and they can be very mild, even almost unnoticeable at first until they’re not and they get worse. What’s more is that often doctors do not test for low thyroid and when they do if they do not have a base line it might not be noticed as low enough before mediation is offered.
Take a look at the symptoms:
If you have more than three of these you should get an exam by your physician or by a physician that understands the thyroid. Ask for blood work to be done, and get to know what the numbers mean. Even if your TSH is normal it does not necessarily mean that your thyroid is normal, and this is the test most often used to test for normal vs. abnormal thyroid function. Therefore ask to have your T3 and Serum T4 levels tested.
If you have excess belly fat it is important to remedy a thyroid problem prior to trying to lose weight or work off belly fat. Due to most doctors misunderstanding of T3 levels, it can be difficult to find doctors who recognize this situation so you might want to look around for a “thyroid friendly” doctor, especially if you have many of the above symptoms. Many doctors, even endocrinologists, do not know about the inaccurate readings of TSH levels, so it is important to ask them before going to them for these tests.
Once you deal with your thyroid issue if you’re found to have one, the next step is to eat right and exercise. Eat whole foods that are as close to nature as possible, and exercise every day working up to an hour a day of purposeful movement. If you vary your foods and your movement you won’t get bored and you’ll soon find that the weight is melting off and you’re losing your belly fat. In addition, you’ll have more energy and be healthier than you’ve ever been before.