Have a healthy weight

THE New Year’s issue discussed one of the most difficult resolutions to follow, smoking cessation. Another easier said than done promise, made and proclaimed and declared like a broken record is losing weight. Or at least, come close to maintaining an ideal weight and stay there.

Everyone of us know that being overweight or obese increases our risk having heart attack, stroke, diabetes, gall bladder disease, sleep apnea and certain cancers like breast and prostate, although the last two may be related to high lipids or fats in their blood.

Your waist circumference is an important measurement to help figure out our over-all health risk. If most of your fat is around your waist, then you are more at risk for heart disease and diabetes. Of course, we are now aware of the apple configuration of male obesity, while the female has the pear or orange shape of abdominal obesity. For females, you have high risk if the waist measurement is greater than 35 inches whereas for men, anything greater than 40 inches.

Losing just 5-10% of your current weight over 6 months will significantly lower your risk for heart and other diseases. Losing 1-2 pounds per week is reasonable, a very safe weight loss. maintaining a modest weight loss over a longer period of time s better than losing a lot of weight over a short period of time because the chances of regaining the weight back is higher. That explains why crash dieting is not advisable.

Cutting back on calories is also a party of healthy eating plan to lose weight. Most women lose weight safely with 1000-1200 calories per day, while 1200-1600 calories per day is suitable for men who wish to lose weight gradually. The 1200-1600 calories per day plan is also recommended for females weighing 165 pounds or more.

Some people can reach a stable weight by doing 150-300 minutes (2.5-5 hours) a week of moderate intensity activity. Others might need more than five hours per week to lose more than five percent of body weight and to keep it off. Or you can break up your physical activity into periods of at least 10 minutes and spread it throughout the week. However, before you decide to exercise, consult your doctor for some advice and clearance on how much strenuous activity you can have, to start with and as part of a maintenance routine exercise activity.