Natural Weight Loss Diet

If only I knew the answer to this one! The quest for the Holy Grail is as nothing compared to the search for the best way to lose weight. Open any newspaper or magazine and you can’t escape the dozens of weight loss ideas within.

Most weight loss ideas centre round two principles – diet and exercise – or a combination of the two. Exercise regimes commonly involve long hours at the gym – surely the most boring place on earth? – on treadmills, rowing machines and the like. Frankly, the thought of going anywhere near a gym fills me with horror, so I intend to stick to diet plans to lose weight here.

These weight loss diet programmes tend to concentrate on banning certain foods: red meat, fats, sugar, carbohydrates etc. Many such programmes also involve calorie counting, which can become extremely complicated since it is often difficult to measure the calorie content of some foods. Are such methods successful? I dare say that every weight management programme will be successful for someone, but it is unlikley that any one weight loss diet programme can suit everyone.

Some other weight loss programmes specify various pills and supplements that are meant to speed up weight loss, sometimes without any change of diet at all. As a person who only takes Paracetamol with great reluctance I find the idea of ingesting artificial weight loss products unappetizing to say the least.

Which leads me on to the natural weight loss products, of which there are several on the market. A natural weight loss plan does not involve tablets, pills or supplements, and seeks to amend an individual’s diet to cut out foods which contribute to weight gain while increasing the intake of foods which assist weight loss. Such a natural weight loss product will be discussed shortly – watch this space!

There is really no simple answer to this question, since so many variables affect different people. However, the method commonly used to determine if weight loss is required is by calculating an individual’s Body Mass Index, or BMI.

The traditional method of computation for BMI is the individual’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in metres. For non-metric folk like us Brits there is a method using imperial measurements, as follows: (weight in pounds x 703) divided by (height in inches) squared. So, if we assume a person of 5’9″ height (or 69 inches) and 12 stones (or 168 pounds) in weight, their BMI is (168 x 703 = 118104) divided by (69 x 69 =4761), or 24.8. And that’s all there is to it! Piece of cake! (no thanks, I’m on a diet!).

So, having calculated your BMI, how should you interpret it? Well, it can place you into one of several categories, as follows:

So our mythical individual with a BMI of 24.8 is just within the range defined as normal.

Of course, just because someone has a BMI of over 25 does not necessarily mean that that person should lose weight. For one thing, it should always be remembered that muscle is heavier than fat, so a person with a well-muscled body is likely to have a BMI that is too high. Also, BMI also does not account for body frame size; an individual may have a small frame and be carrying too much excess fat, but according to their BMI they might be classed as “healthy”. Conversely, a large framed individual may be quite healthy with a fairly low body fat percentage, but be classified as “overweight” by BMI. BMI also takes no account of height loss through ageing, so that an older person will see their BMI increase as the years go by even if their body fat does not increase.

BMI, then, is a blunt instrument, but it’s the only easily calculated indicator that we have. In any event, anyone with a BMI of 30 or over (Obese) should try to lose weight, and for anyone with a BMI of over 40 (severely obese) weight loss is essential!

The Greeks were the first to recognize obesity as a medical disorder. Hippocrates (he of the famous oath) wrote that “Corpulence is not only a disease itself, but the harbinger of others”.

During most of history, however, mankind has struggled with food shortages of varied severity, so overweight has often been seen as a sign of wealth. For example, in the painting of The Tuscan General (right), which dates from about 1645, not only is the General’s corpulence not disguised, it is positively emphasised as a sign of his wealth and status.

Nowadays, overweight or obesity is regarded as something to be avoided. Advertising and publicity in general emphasises slimness as the ideal; it would be extremely unusual to see a picture like that of the obese man (left) in any fashionable publication!

The World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts that overweight and obesity may soon replace traditional health concerns such as under-nutrition and infectious diseases as the main cause of ill health, especially in the developed world. Overweight is now generally accepted as a contributory factor in a large range of diseases, but most especially diabetes, heart disease, cancer and osteoarthritis.

Of course, this does not mean that an overweight person will inevitably suffer from one of the diseases listed above, but it appears indisputable that excess weight greatly increases the likelihood of an individual contracting such diseases. So it is clearly important for a healthy lifestyle that weight should be regarded as a factor. Hence the proliferation of weight loss products that can be seen advertised in any newspaper today.

Information on Natural Weight Loss Diets coming soon!!!!