1) Why is losing excess weight important.?
Being overweight is damaging to your health, quality of life and wellbeing. Excess weight is closely linked to numerous medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, degenerative osteoarthritis and more than 20 other disease conditions. While obesity is a medical disease condition that may not kill you outright it will, in time, maim you. These weight related medical conditions will cause you discomfort, constrict your range of activities and cost you dearly in time and money.
2) How much weight loss is needed to prevent, delay and/or manage those medical conditions caused by excess weight.?
It is not necessary to lose all of one's excess weight before relief starts. If you are overweight, then losing 10% of your present weight can bring significant health benefits and relief from distressing medical problems.
3) Is all fat unhealthy? Fat is a necessary part of a healthy and well balanced diet. However, foods containing saturated fats and trans-fats,such as cheese, ice cream, red meats, deep-fried foods, many fast foods, and commercial baked goods, etc., should be eaten in minimal amounts or avoided. It is healthier to eat foods which contain fats from virgin olive oil, avocados, nuts, salmon, tuna, and small amounts of butter.
4) Does the time that you eat affect your weight gain or weight loss?
No, when you eat does not matter. What matters is what you eat at the time and how much you eat at that time. When people snack after dinner and latter in the evening they tend to eat more, not really because they are hungry but because it is a habit, a diversion, and a calming soothing satisfying behavior that helps people feel better. Eating latter in the evening is one of the most common problems that causes weight gain and makes losing weight so difficult. Think about it, if food is a fuel for the engine does it make any difference when you put gas in your car?
5) Does sleep affect weight loss?
Adequate sleep is an important part of an effective obesity treatment program. For example, research has shown that with two days of sleep deprivation in healthy normal-weight men there was about an 70% increase in the Ghrelin-to-Leptin ratio, which associated with a direct increase in hunger. Clinical research shows that when an individual does not get enough sleep,suggested amounts are from 5-9 hours depending on the individual's situation and make up, they tend to compensate by using food, especially refined sugary foods, as a substitute for sleep. It was also found that the stomach producing hunger hormone Ghrelin is increased with decreased amounts of sleep. Adequate sleep may not directly cause you to lose weight, but it can certainly help prevent you from gaining weight.
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