OVERWEIGHT

The first type leads to breathing disorders (sleep apnea also), heart diseases and venous varices. The second may lead to heart attacks, diabetes, cerebral stroke, spine degeneracy and hypertension. Any kind of overweight excessively burdens the joints and this leads to injuries. Sometimes it can transform into obesity – a very serious condition that prevents the organism from normal functioning.

Unfortunately, not all people have equal chances for being fit.

Our tendency for getting overweight is frequently conditioned by genes as we inherit a type of figure and a metabolic type. Yeah, I know – it’s not fair. I’ve heard it many times: ‘Anna, I’m sick of seeing how my friend from work eats sauages with two kasier rolls for second breakfast and ice cream for desert and she’s still skinny as a young boy! While I’m getting fat just by looking at her meals!’ Well, you can be jealous of her metabolism, but certainly not her common sense. ‘Skinny’ doesn’t mean ‘healthy’. Eating like this may result in serious diseases in the future.

Diseases that interfere with metabolism make it hard to keep fit thus they may be another reason for being overweight. Some drugs also make it very easy to get overweight. Although, I personally know people that have, for example, thyroid disorders and that thanks to an appropriate diet and trainings have excellent results in fighting their weight. A common excuse for not exercising is back and joints pain. And these are usually cause by overweight. It’s a vicious circle: too many kilos – back hurts. Back hurts – I can’t exercise.

One of the comments on my blog: Hi – I wanted to comment on back pain – I suffer from scoliosis, kyphosis and discopathy. Before I was diagnosed properly I had been getting more and more overweight as I was banned from exercesising which the most stupid thing on Earth. It’s been a year now – I train 6 times a week, I did the Insanity training and last Sunday I took part in a race (for a good cause – a charity supporting people with cancer), I ran 10 km in less than an hour, I overcame my weaknesses and I can’t stop smiling ever since. There are no excuses for me anymore. I suggest you all do the same – think positively, pull yourself together and don’t give up, because everything’s possible. Viola

I’m far from persuading people who have serious back or joints problems to exercise as it can worsen their condition. But I think it’s worth to ask your doctor if for example swimming is also out of the picture or cardio marches or at least walks. Will they really make you feel worse? You can also take up barre au sol – it’s a whole body training but it doesn’t burden the joints. Yoga and pilates conducted by an experienced instructor also helped many people heal their backs and take up other physical activities.

Sometimes, overweight is caused by neurological and psychological problems. People suffering from depression, which frequently is called ‘paralysis of will’, are often inside a vicious circle – they guttle, then they gain weight and being overweight only makes them feel depressed again. In this case, fixed therapy is essential obviously.

But well… let’s be honest. Many overweight people only have themselves to blame. Working in an office, watching TV and playing computer games instead of exercising, eating whatever, eating in between meals and opening the fridge at night – this is the routine for many people. Adults that function this way – it’s nobody’s business. There are loads of information on health and you really need to make and effort not to know how to take care of yourself. But what’s really scary is that those adults share their ‘philosophy’ with their children, teaching them that chips and sweets are awsome and meat is the most important part of the meal so ‘you can leave the carrot’. Such parents also tend to let their children skip PE – this I can’t understand at all. According to research, active parents raise active children. I just hope this group grows, because we’re in danger of an obesity epidemic. That’s right – not overweight, but obesity. Human organism doesn’t have a stop sign when it comes to storing glucose in the form of fat – so any overweight may become obesity in no time.

• I urge everyone who’s overweight to lose those unnecessary kilos. Mostly for your health. Overweight doesn’t only look bad, it’s also a cause for many diseases.
• I urge everyone who’s really overweight to diet under careful medical supervision and with the help of a nutritionist. Also – if it’s possible – with the help of a personal trainer. An overweight organism doesn’t function normally. Losing this many kilos, slowly and without any harm, is only possible when you cooperate with experts
• Both miracle and effective diets don’t exist
• Diets that make us give up some of the ingredients we actually need are very harmful (for example fat or protein diets)
• I strongly object to using any kinds of supplements that are supposed to make you thin (it’s alright if it’s a doctor’s order). The harm is usually bigger than the satisfaction of having a fit body
• Be patient. The only healthy way to lose kilograms is slow
• If you eat healthily and reasonably and you’re still overweight you should consult it with a doctor. You may be suffering from thyroid disorder for example, which slows down the metabolism and maybe the cause for overweight
• I recommend it to all of you (if you haven’t done it yet) – change your lifestyle to a healthy one. A correct diet and physical activity should result in a fit figure. It may not happen overnight – we need to give organism a while to adjust. Some of you may start to gain weight at first and get scared – it’s normal. A body that was used to excessive amounts of carbs or fats that doesn’t get as much of them anymore starts to store them. But it doesn’t last long and it doesn’t happen to everyone, but when it does – you just need to survive and don’t give up.
• I don’t have the perfect diet for people who want to lose weight. And that’s because we’re all different. We have different genes, figures, sex, metabolism, food intolerances. We’re in different ages, we work in different places. That’s why we all have different energy requirements. Being on a diet means giving less calories to the organism than you actually burn. But you can’t eat less than the minimum requirement. Remember that we burn a lot of calories just by BM – basal metabolism. It involves all the processes that hapen within a human body – starting from cell divisions to breathing. You can check your BMR (basal metabolism rate) online, just by giving your sex, age, body weight and height. When we train we need to eat more so the organism can handle the training. Low-calorie diet is a mistake. Physical activity is much more effective.

• There are many ways to supply our organisms with calories. A slice of bread has equal amount of calories as a fine portion of groats (groats soak water during boiling). Eating groats will make you feel full earlier, your brain will get the signal earlier. After a finished meal you won’t feel unsatisfied. The size of the stomach is also really important, especially for people who ‘worked hard’ to make it big. When you need to eat a lot – eat low-calorie foods. Such as vegetables obviously – they are low in calories, but will make you feel full.

• If a balanced diet and regular trainings aren’t effective – try to cut back on calories a bit and pay attention to the glycemic index of the products

• If you find it hard to eat healthily, you can’t give up sweets, you eat at nights, you eat compulsively and often lose and gain weight – I recommend a therapy with a psychiatrist or a psychologist. Eating disorder is a serious condition and it’s better to cure it before it becomes serious.
• Don’t treat diet as the most important part of your daily routine. Don’t give up on your hobbies, on the contrary – develope them. Don’t think obsessively about overweight as it may resuslt in anorexia or other similar disorders.
• Don’t look at the weight – look at the measures. While you’re on a diet and you exercise, your body undergoes major changes. Those changes result in great looks and health but not necessarily in weight loss. Also, don’t compare your weight to others. Your peers, although they may look similar to you, may have different body weights, because they have different bone structure and metabolic types. Your goal is to be healthy and look good – not to weigh less.
• Don’t treat diet as a way of solving your personal problems. If you put aside important things to the moment in time when you’re slim – you’re making a mistake. You may need a psychological adivce.
• Don’t think of diet as a torture you just need to handle. Treat it as a challenge that you’ll be happy to accept. In times of trouble – think how awsome you’ll feel without those unnecessary kilos and in clothes that are smaller :).

• Fingers crossed!