Why Lose Weight?

Do you look in the mirror and you just don't like what you see? An inflatable tube has taken up residence on your waist, and your butt seems to have dropped a couple of inches. You take a look at your face and you start to see the development of a little bit of waddle underneath the chin.

What do you do? Why is this happening? Better yet, what is happening to my body when I gain weight? These are all fantastic questions that are going to be answered on how to lose weight, and keep it off.

Many people ogle the beautiful bodies on the beach - men and women alike. Nice, tight round bottoms, flat stomachs and well toned bodies.

I'll be honest, there are some who don't need to do a darn thing and they stay in relatively good shape, but for the vast majority of people need to take notice of what they eat, how much they eat, and how much daily exercise they are getting.

Why does our weight matter so much to us? Probably for two reasons - physical appearance and health.

Physical appearance

No one really wants to be fat - plain and simple. For many people physical appearance is linked directly to their self-esteem. If they believe their body is undesirable to others, they can become depressed, or stressed and it causes serious emotional problems. Worse yet, in some people, it can trigger the impulse to eat even more, making the problem even worse. The emotional side of being obese is only just being charted in the medical world. It is already understood that a person's self-worth and self-confidence can be shattered if they gain excess weight...But the emotional toll it can take over an extended period of time might be considerably more damaging.

Health Concerns

You have no doubt heard the numerous health-related problems that come from being overweight. Even being 20 lbs overweight can start to cause hidden health problems.

Instead of that lower back pain being from yesterday's squash game, it's because your body isn't used to carrying an extra 20 lbs on the front end. Imagine, right now, if you were to strap a 20 lb weight to your belly and walk around with it all day long. An extremely increased weight can put considerable stress on your joints, especially if you aren't set up (height) to handle that sort of weight.

Then, we get to the biggies - heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. Oh, and don't forget diabetes. These are pretty serious players in the health world. In fact, they are the largest killers of human beings in the world.

Medical Fact:

In a study of 5881 people over a 14-year period, doctors revealed that someone who is merely 'overweight' has a 34% greater chance of heart failure. A person who is considered obese has a 104% increase in risk of heart failure over someone who is in their target weight range.

Stop Binge Eating | Weight Loss

If you are eating because you are bored, stressed, or depressed you are binge eating. Why should I stop binge eating? Well it can and will lead to weight gain overtime. A binge can last for as little as a few hours to days, even weeks at a time. If you maintain your current weight, you need to stop. This article will address several ways on how to stop binge eating.

The first step you should take is stop unhealthy binge eating. Eliminate unhealthy junk foods from your home. Fill your home with healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. If you must binge, eat healthy foods only to help avoid weight gain.

You should keep all foods in the kitchen and out of site. The more you see food, the more likely you are to want food. Many people binge because they are not paying attention to if they are really hungry or not. You could be watching a television program with a bag of chips in your lap. Before you know it, the whole bag is gone. Your mind was occupied by the television program. This is why it is very important to keep all your foods in the kitchen and only eat at the dinner table..

You can help stop binge eating by drinking more water throughout the day. You should drink 8-12 glasses of water each day. Drinking water will fill your stomach up and reduce hunger. Drink plenty of water between means and plenty of water before a meal. Do not think you can go drinking soda or unhealthy drinks. Drink water only.

Boredom can lead to heavy eating. If you are not doing anything and you feel the sudden urge to eat, find something to occupy your time before you actually go and eat anything. You could do exercises or play a game. I would suggest going for a walk. If you were not really hungry, the urge to eat would have disappeared.

If you are in a stressed or emotional state, find something other than eating to ease your pain. You may have to work with a counselor to identify what is actually wrong and help you cope. If you binge every time your stressed or emotional your forming a habit. Many people consciously know they are overeating but tell themselves, I'll just stop when I am no longer stressed or emotional. This is not the right mindset to have.

People who binge often lack any self control. It is you alone that tells yourself to eat, and it is you alone who can just as easily tell yourself not to eat. You must strengthen your will power to stop binge eating. Before you eat anything ask yourself, do I really need this? Am I really hungry? Can I go without having this? Feel your body out and answer these questions. If you feel like you are going to go crazy if you do not eat something, grab an apple instead junk food. Also as long as you are chewing your mind thinks your eating. You can try chewing sugar free gum and trick your mind.

If you want to stop binge eating you probably want to lose weight also. The only problem is you will fail most diets because you are always wanting something to eat.