About one-third of Americans are extremely over-weight, which may be why crash
dieting is beginning to plague America. It's estimated that Americans alone
spend 80-100 billion dollars on weight loss tactics. People go on these diets to
get quick results but are these results hurting them more than helping? The
answer is Yes! The only way to safely and effectively lose weight is through
old-fashioned exercise and the right diet. You cannot successfully lose weight
by simply cutting food from your diet or taking some pills, it is necessary to
work for your results. Without depriving your body of necessary nutrients
through dieting, you can lose fat and get the body you've always dreamed of, or
at least one you're more comfortable with. The quote "The effects of the
current obsession with dieting can be devastating", said by Mr. Woodworth,
a long time exercise and nutrition expert, summarizes the dangers of dieting.
The many dangerous methods of losing weight: so called "dieting" or
starvation/fad diets, pills and drugs, over-exercising, surgery, and eating
disorders, have taken many casualties. Many people go on "diets", a
word so commonly misused, to get quick results of weight loss. Perhaps the most
common is minor starvation and fad dieting. This method is when people become
over concerned with calorie intake. Many deaths have been associated with low
calorie diets. By trying to shed pounds simply by cutting all fat from the diet
greatly increases the risk of getting cancer, heart disease, and other health
problems. That "low-fat" trap gets people hooked on reduced-fat snacks
or possibly not eating at all. So now the body is being deprived of necessary
nutrients not available in any pill or liquid form. Yes cutting fat and
cholesterol reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes, but nutrient poor
diets have an even larger risk of getting those diseases along with many others.
Of course a large percent of dieters will lose weight but they will feel
depressed afterward and gain back even more than before they started the diet.
The reason why is because they are losing "healthy" weight along with
the fat they were hoping to rid of. In an infomercial with Tony Little, he
showed a graph of what the body loses when someone goes on a diet. By cutting
back on foods, the body becomes deprived of very important nutrients. Then when
it seems you are losing weight, what you are actually losing is fat AND MUSCLE.
Many times, more lean muscle than fat will be lost. And although they may look
slimmer because their size is smaller, they are actually weaker and more
susceptible to injuries due to losing "healthy" weight. Healthy weight
is muscle and bone weight, the things that support your structure and enable you
to perform rigorous activities. A lot of the time "healthy" weight is
misinterpreted, especially in females. Which leads to an amazing fact that 62%
of women and 44% of men that are dieting aren't even overweight! But they are
misled when they step on the bathroom scale and "My God" look what it
says! They are not realizing that muscle outweighs fat over 2:1. Therefor, many
people may think they are fat even though they may be healthy. I myself am an
example of that. On a height and age chart it says my ideal weight for my height
is 155 pounds. I am 168, so does that mean that I am overweight? Not
necessarily. Charts and stuff are made for averages and trends because when
doing a body fat testing I had only 10.8% body fat which is below the average
for people my age and size. So the bathroom scale scares many people into
believing that they need to lose weight when it may not be necessary. On top of
overweight people dieting we also have healthy people dieting, both of which are
extremely dangerous. Thus, the fad diet/starvation method should be completely
avoided because simple "dieting" is just a stepping stone that may
lead to much more serious things that become life changing or life threatening..
What started as a simple "diet" may have progressed into another
dangerous way of losing weight through pills or drugs and eating disorders. How
wonderful it would be if we could all take a couple of pills a day and not worry
what else we may eat all while obtaining that body we yearn for. Unfortunately,
we don't have that pill and probably never will so avoid the dangerous
imitations out there. What is not told about these miracle pills that make you
have the body of your dreams is that they cause fatigue, hyperphagia, insomnia,
mood changes, irritability and if really abused psychosis. While claiming to
boost your metabolism, reduce fat, and suppress your appetite they may become
addicting and your body may eventually depend upon them. Many of these pills
contain untested chemicals and slip by the FDA by claiming that they are food
supplements not drugs. And while each year many deaths are due to these products
they are still being used by seven percent of adolescent girls in the U.S. and
thirty-four percent have at least tried them. Furthering the risk of
complications in life and leading many times to death along with dieting. People
with eating disorders are believed to be the result from the 70 million
Americans who diet each year, lose the weight, regain the weight, and then diet
again. They, instead of going back to dieting once more, become anorexia nervosa
or bulimia nervosa. Anorexia is when an individual is more than 15 percent under
expected weight, fears gaining weight, females have amenorrhea (males lose sex
drive) and abnormal eating habits. They simply restrict food because the
pleasure in eating food is overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety. About 1 in every
100 girls between 12-18 years of age are affected. The complications of anorexia
are dehydration, gastrointestinal bleeding, chest pain, low heart rate, abnormal
temperature, bone growth retardation or osteoporosis, infertility, dry skin and
hair, constipation, epileptic seizures, the list still goes on. An awful lot
just to lose some weight don't you think? Many people who simply use the fad
diet method get the urge to lose more weight and that is when they resort to the
life threatening disorder of anorexia. Approximately one-third of anorexics
become bulimia nervosa's. These are people who binge eat then purge themselves
by vomiting. They become isolated and depressed and have a low self-esteem.
What's worse though is that physically these people seem healthy but if you look
close they develop finger calluses or lesions, puffy cheeks , and erosion of
enamel on their teeth due to the stomach acids so frequently eating away at it.
It is in everyone's best interest to avoid dieting and the other methods of
losing weight that come with it because there is a major difference between
dieting and having a healthy diet (food choice). To overcome these weight
problems and lead a healthier life you need look no further than a couple isles
over from where you usually shop in the market and a little bit of good old
exercise. First off there is one important thing you must know abut trying to
lose weight the correct way, it's just like trying to become a millionaire, it
takes some work and some time. Losing weight the correct way will take longer
than a crash diet but it is a much safer method not to mention more permanent.
This may be the tricky part for most people, laying of the junk food. It is ok
to have junk food occasionally but making it an everyday thing will really
lengthen the weight loss process especially if you are older. The main entrée
needs to be starchy foods. It has been said that breads are fatty but they
contain no more calories per gram than lean meat. These foods tends to expand
once in your stomach making you feel a little more full and giving you less of
an urge to eat and really stuff yourself. When you stuff yourself your stomach
grows just like when you exercise a muscle, the next time you will need more
food to satisfy it. Avoid the breads made with lots of oil or butter and ones
you need to put spreads on for flavor. It is wise to include a variety of fresh
fruits and vegetables into your diet. Greener foods tend to help metabolism (the
chemical that helps you break down food) better and are recommended. Although
McDonalds has Americas favorite fries, you better avoid that and any other type
of fried potato including potato chips. Even though they are vegetables they
have been doused with fatty oils. Dairy products are necessary foods so opt for
the skim milk, nonfat yogurt, and low-fat cheese. You'll acquire a taste for
them and appreciate it in the long run. Protein is another necessary food that
you must watch carefully. Trim all visible fat off before steaming, grilling,
baking or poaching. Notice I did not say frying! Frying requires oil and oil is
a main ingredient you want to avoid. Cutting down on fats is the best approach
when you are attempting to make an appropriate diet. You do not want to
eliminate all fats but minimizing them helps. Calories are too often worried
about. It's like saying, don't fill up the car past ¾ of a tank because it
might not run as well. Calories are energy and energy is necessary. Now that
doesn't mean fill up the car so much it starts spilling out on the ground and
flooding the parking lot. With the exercise you plan to incorporate in this
weight loss program you will use all of those calories and burn the existing
"fat" calories stuck on you body. By adapting this plan into your meal
plan you are very unlikely to put on any more weight unless all you do is sit on
your couch all day watching TV (it burns calories just not enough). Fat calories
are the calories you want to avoid. Any snacks that are high in saturated fat
and have a lot of total calories from fat. Now, to rid of your existing excess
weight there is one and only one way, by continuous aerobic exercise. In order
for the body to begin burning fat calories, which have a different make up of
carbohydrate and protein calories, the body must believe it needs to use the
larger amount of calories. For most activities in life your body uses calories
from carbohydrates or proteins for quick energy. Once you have been performing
an activity using your legs, i.e. jogging, biking continuous swimming, etc., for
12 minutes your body begins to use the fat calories to conserve on
carbohydrates. Thus, after 12 minutes of aerobic exercise (which is defined as
having your heart rate between 80-110 b.p.s) you begin to burn fat from your
body and sweat it through your skin cells. So recommended duration for exercise
is 20 minutes for beneficial results. Performing this activity once a day would
probably show results more rapidly but it is recommended you do it 3-5 times a
week especially if you don't regularly exercise. There is a note of caution for
people who are extremely over weight to not try and over do it. Over exercising
can cause heart attacks so you should ease your way into exercising. Maybe start
just by walking, then a combination of walking and jogging, don't try and over
do it hoping to get results instantly. All good things take time. So with
determination and persistency you can be on your way to a healthier lifestyle by
incorporating a healthy and plentiful diet with essential exercise. Without
dieting, you're capable of sculpting a body more desirable for yourself and
staying in good health. Without buying pills and drugs and little gimmicks you
can make it much cheaper to take of that unwanted fat. Take yourself out of that
statistic that one-third of Americans are extremely over-weight driving them
into crash dieting. Through daily exercise and the right diet gradually lose the
weight which doesn't put you at such great risks. The truth is dieting destines
you for death, while dedication destines you for doggedness.

Bibliography
WSOC Health Team 9 (1998, Editors) "Dangerous Dieting" 1998 The
Associated Press on the web Retrieved 12-10-99 from World Wide Web http://www.gocarolinas.com/living/health/nutrition/_dieting.html
Lane, Theresa (1996) Foods That Harm Foods That Heal The Readers Digest
Association Limited, London Berg, Francis M. (1995) Health Risks of Weight Loss
Hettinger, ND : Healthy Weight Journal Little, Tony (Producer) (1997, May 24)
"Healthy Living w/ Tony Little" Infomercial on CBS Woodworth, M. (1998
Sept) [Speech by Mr. Woodworth] At Walled Lake Central High School