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Getting Healthy vs Weight Loss - The Real Winner
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Many will fall victim to the new brainwashing campaign circling the Diet Village: "Don't worry about losing weight! Instead, aim to get a healthier body by changing the way you eat and play."
Although this temptation is super alluring, it's mined with faults that can lead to poor health, including future weight gain.
To illustrate the importance of counting calories while embracing a healthier daily diet, we'll use two charts created by Diet Bites.
Both charts contain super-healthy food choices. Both charts contain the same number of servings per day within each of the Official Food Groups.
The big difference is the number of calories which in turn can make a big difference in the numbers on the weight scales. And if a number isn't of importance, it should be, because extra weight - whether maintained by healthy or unhealthy food choices impacts overall health in a big way. We'll go into the risks, but first let's look at the charts:
Excess calorie (energy) intake is stored in the fat cells - whether the calories are derived from unhealthy OR healthy food sources.
And boy-oh-boy do those extra pounds have the ability to create health woes - even when the body is feasting on the healthiest foods. Extra pounds puts the body at risk for heart disease, unhealthy blood pressure levels, diabetes, skeletal/bone issues as the body struggles to carry more weight than it was intended to, digestive issues, certain cancers, a higher risk for dental cavities, joint pain as well as many other uncomfortable health issues.
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The excess weight on the body must be compensated by a taxing exertion of the heart, the skeletal system, the digestive system as well as the taxing of the mind which can be connected to unnecessary concerns of self-worth, self-esteem and so forth.
Yes it's unfortunate, but one can eat the healthiest foods available and remain in an unhealthy state. Although nutrients from the healthiest foods are of higher quality than those from unhealthier foods, the body recognizes a gram of fiber from a bowl of oats as well as a gram of fiber from a bowl of sugar-filled cereal.
Another example: Give a diabetic an overage of healthy foods and the pancreas goes into a spin. What happens next has the potential to create scarring effects on future health.
Based on the 'Eat Healthy Foods to Get Healthy' premise, amid our journey to a healthier level, we replace 'unhealthy' foods with 'healthy' choices. While we can fill our body with the healthiest foods on the planet, unless we begin to restrict calorie intake in the process, or greatly increase activity level, a forward movement is more like a small step than a giant leap. And the unfortunate thing about a small step is that disappointment eventually settles in and whatever progress has been made is ditched due to a love affair with our former daily diet which was filled with our favorite foods. The retreat is usually accompanied by weight gain. Simply put, the step that takes place after the 'small step' is typically a cavern that leads one back further than the spot where they began.
The body is a very wise machine and unless we make an effort to cut back on calorie intake, the body will naturally consume the calories it has been accustomed to - whether they are derived from healthy or less healthy foods.
What should you weigh and how many calories does your body require per day? Click here to determine and simply follow the Diet Bites links. Another great link is our chart for "calorie needs based on current weight" which is located here. This page also contains links to common activities and exercises which detail the calorie burn. Although activity and exercise is vital to a healthy body, the key factor in regulating weight is the number of calories going into the body.
For example, if a 200 pound individual consumed a package of 400-calorie unhealthy cupcakes OR 400-calories of healthy fruit & veggies and they need to burn off the calories in order to avoid weight gain (a storage of the excess energy in the fat cells), they would need to sweep the floor for about 2 hours OR play volleyball for about 1 hour. Simply put, the body is capable of burning excess calories but it takes MUCH more time to burn those calories than it does to consume them. And at some point, when the individual consumes a gross-overage of calories, the body is simply not capable of burning all the excess calories and weight gain ensures.
So if you're currently on this road, you can turn things around and achieve the level of health insinuated in those star-filled commercials by not only continuing to eat healthy and exercise moderately - but by also including the necessary element for a higher level of health - cutting calories for weight loss. Again, that number that the stars say isn't important should be in order to achieve a healthier body and to cut risks of future health issues.
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