Weighty Matters
Heavy Topic Introduction
A whale swims all day, only consumes fish and water, and is fat. A rabbit only eats vegetables, runs and hops all day long, and only lives five years. Meanwhile a tortoise doesn’t run, does nothing energetic, yet it lives for 450 years. And you tell me to eat well and exercise?! I don’t think so.
Scary Statistics
It’s fun getting obese and it’s hard staying thin. But here’s the big bottom (har!) line: It’s harder to be obese than it is to be thin. Why? Obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the world with an estimated 4 million deaths occurring yearly. Not to mention the cost of the health problems that come with it.
Obesity Leads to Heart Attacks
One enlightening study showed that obese people have low levels of a heart attack marker circulating in their blood. The more obese people were, the higher the level of the blood marker suggesting ongoing heart damage.
Another study showed that for every 6 pound increase in weight, heart attack risk increased in men by 5% and in women by 7%.
Weight Loss DOES Prevent Heart Attacks
In one study of over 35,000 obese heart attack patients, people who intentionally lost weight by eating better and exercising reduced their chance of having a heart attack in the future. Another study has shown that obese people who get bariatric surgery really do reduce their future heart attack risk.
Even a Little Weight Loss Helps
Even losing 5% of your body weight helps. For example an overweight 200 pound woman could lose only 10 pounds to lower her heart attack risk. If she lost 20 pounds or more, her risk of a heart attack would drop even more.
Break Time Joke
I choked on a carrot this afternoon, and all I could think was, “I bet a donut wouldn’t have done this to me.”
Step 1: Determine Your BMI?
Being overweight or obese is determined by your BMI which you can calculate here*.
You should eat more Twinkies: <18
Normal weight: 18-25
Overweight: 25-30
Obese: 30-35
Morbidly obese: >35
You’ve eaten way too many Twinkies: >40
You are a Twinkie: >45
Might need a crane to get out of your house: >75
Call the Guinness Book of World Records: >204
*If your BMI is above 25 you are among the majority (75%) of Americans who are overweight or obese.
Step 2: Measure Your Biggest Waist Size
However, it’s not BMI that correlates the best with heart attacks. The amount of fat around your intestines, stomach, liver, spleen, etc. correlates the best with your heart attack risk regardless of your BMI. Therefore, the best way for you to measure your risk is to get out a measuring tape and number the inches around the biggest part of your belly (also affectionately known as the paunch, pot belly, spare tire, middle-age spread, beer belly, or personal food storage).
Step 3: Know The Right Waist Numbers For You
Furniture disease is when your chest falls into your drawers. In a study out of the Cooper Clinic in Texas, men with a waist size of <36 inches had the lowest risk of a heart attack. In women, once the waist circumference exceeded 30 inches, heart attack risk also increased.
Step 4: Know Why You’re Overweight (Hint: Too much sugar, not enough moving)
My wife and I have a friend from Finland who told us that when they would have Americans over to their house for dinner, her mother learned to have a bowl of sugar on the table. The Americans had to “sweeten” up the food to eat it. One reason why we’re tipping the scales in our country is our increasing consumption of sugars, aka “bad carbs.” Two particular things that have increased our sugar intake is corn syrup in most processed foods as well as sugar-sweetened beverages like soda and juices.
Eat Less Sugar
It’s estimated that the average US adult consumes about 60 pounds of added sugar a year. That’s 106,500 added calories or the amount of energy needed to walk 1,065 miles. If you eliminated soda, energy drinks, fruit juices and alcohol, you’d get rid of about 50% of your sugar intake. Here’s a graph of where we get most of our sugar from:
Move More, Not Less
The second reason many of us shop at the Big and Tall store in the big-but-not-tall section is that we’re not moving. Compared to a man from 1960, an average man in 2020 burns 142 calories less per day. That’s about 15 more pounds of calories per year. A stay-at-home woman today burns 1700 calories less per week than in 1965 – that’s about 25 pounds worth of calories added per year.
Break Time Joke
I ate salad for dinner! Mostly croutons and tomatoes. Really just one big, round crouton covered with tomato sauce. And cheese. Fine, it was pizza. I ate a pizza.
Dieting Does Not Work
You are more likely to survive metastatic colon cancer than keep the weight off after a diet. I don’t recommend you “diet.” Develop a pattern of eating for life that follows these nine rules of healthy eating found in this prior post.
Keto And Low-Fat Diets Don’t Last
I wrote about the Keto diet here. I also do not recommend the low-fat diet as I wrote here.
Weight Loss Medications Are Not Really Effective
Last Break:
I hate brushing my teeth at night because that signifies that you can’t have any more food. I’m just never ready for that kind of commitment.
Step 5: Do The Five Things That Bring Weight Loss Success
1). Set a realistic goal
- Realistic Goal: Lose 1 pound/week for 3 months.
- Unrealistic goal: Never eat another dessert again so I can get some washboard abs
2). Keep track of what you eat – Utilize one of these apps if you have a smart phone:
3). Watch your portion sizes
- Use a scale, or
- Use your hand – a great guide is found here
4). Have a way to keep yourself accountable
- Lose weight with someone (spouse, friend)
- Start a competition
- Visit with a nutritionist or health care provider
- Weight Watchers
5). Work at it everyday to build life long habits
My Extra SPECIAL Weight Loss Tips (available to only those people who stayed awake this far!)
1). Use the Lose It! app. It is a guilt-free way to lose weight.
2). Stop drinking your calories (soda, juice, milk, alcohol, sugary coffee or tea)
3). Eat out less. The Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo dinner plate contains 1,310 calories – throw in the Tiramisu for dessert at 470 calories and most people have exceeded their daily allotment of calories.
4). Avoid sugar – keep total carbs around 40% of calories. Good carbs are whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, etc.
5). Eat dessert once a week instead of daily.
6). Eat most of your daily calories before dinner as discussed in this prior post.
7). Eat slowly. It takes about 15 minutes for your brain to tell you that you’re satisfied.
8). Stop eating mindlessly. You make 200 eating decisions daily.
9). Drink lots of water. Staying hydrated reduces hunger sensations.
10). Lose with someone else
11). Eat regularly to stave off hunger
12). Eat snack foods with protein like nuts. Here’s some great snack ideas.
13). Cook with low-calorie methods. Avoid frying food, adding sugar, or adding lots of butter
14). Use small plates/bowls for meals
15). Stop eating ultra-processed foods. Learn more in this prior post.
Free Recipe Ideas (Hat tip to the Mayo Clinic):
Summary
It’s all up above…but I’ll leave you with this last thought:
If we’re not meant to have midnight snacks, why is there a light in the fridge?
