Why another article on Fat Burners, Healthy Alternatives to Fast Weight Loss, and Diet? There are sure to be enough! Just take a look at your local book superstore and you will soon be overwhelmed by the number of books that guide, prescribe and sell the latest tips, information, research, ideas, potions, pills and promises related to fat loss.
I find that much of the information on weight loss is contradictory, confusing, overwhelming, and may ultimately do more harm than good. For example, we have the “rice diet” and the “fruit diet”.
Some say that fruit becomes fat, while others will tell you to only eat fruit before noon. Fruit can turn to fat compared to what, donuts? I do not think so! I never saw anyone sit down and eat too much fruit, say, three apples, a pear, and a banana. Yet we all, at some point or another, sit in front of the television and gobble down a whole pizza, a box of cookies, or a pile of ice cream.
Does the fruit make you fat? You are smart, you tell me. For those who prescribe eating fruit only before noon, I say this: “What if you work late and don’t wake up until noon, then what?”
Of course, the low-fat diet, the incredible dietary revelation started by Pritikin, works. Or does it?
The low-fat approach to weight loss calls for reducing dietary fat intake to less than 10% of total calories. The food industry has responded by making almost all food products available with little or no added fat.
Now, we can eat fat free pretzels, fat free fries, fat free ice cream, fat free pizza, fat free tuna sandwiches, fat free crackers and the list goes on. My question is this: with so much to choose from, why are Americans, on average, fatter than ever?
Some books on weight loss blame your laziness. The authors of these books sound like this. “Exercise burns calories, so getting enough exercise will keep a person leaner and promote fat loss for everyone.”
I am sorry. While exercise can help, it is not the whole story, the end of it all.
What you eat, the total number of calories you eat, and the types of food you eat also influence fat storage. Some people can lose a lot of weight with exercise, but others should be more dependent on diet. Plus, there are more gyms, health clubs, resorts, personal trainers, exercise machines, and gadgets than ever before. So what’s the scoop? How come we are fatter than ever?
Sure, there are a lot of amazing and unbelievable bodies around, but overall, the population is pretty run down. I know we are failing the fat test when I constantly see fat children in shopping malls, schools, and churches. Sure, there were some beefy kids when I was young. Every school had their little fat boy who was the object of jokes and picking on him, but now there are so many more!
There are pills, creams, drinks, gurus, prescription pills, appetite suppressants, and fat loss therapies. There are late night infomercials, gadgets, clinics, medical weight loss programs, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, MetRX, and Make Sure. And if that’s not enough, we are bombarded with stars that have always appeared slim, fit, and slim, selling everything from a thigh toner machine to an indoor skating device.
I’m sure you’ve seen those abdominal machines on TV too. I’ll tell you a secret.
First, the models used for abdominal machines probably never used these machines in their lives. Second, infomercials mean that you’ll be able to achieve impressive-looking abs using the abs machine. I highly doubt that will happen.
To get the abs that the model has, you would need to eat the proper diet to remove all the fat covering the abdominal region and allow the abs to shine through. Next, you would have to build your abs with exercise.