Healthy Weight Loss Is Your Responsibility

Statistics show us that almost sixty percent of Americans are overweight. In July 2007 America's population was estimated to be three hundred million meaning that at least eighteen hundred million of Americans are overweight. It appears that the odds are stacked against the average American when it comes to healthy weight loss. It is almost as though there is a conspiracy whose aim it is to keep us fat, stopping us from losing those unwanted pounds once and for all. In fact, in one of my recommended weight loss products, Dr Suzanne Gudakunst, maintains that there is such a conspiracy.

I'm certainly not in a position to know whether or not a conspiracy to keep us overweight exists, but I do know that there are too many junk food commercials that actively encourage us to eat things that are not healthy. The commercials are extremely successful, if the various fast food outlets scattering our highways are any indication. It seems there is much money to be made tempting us with burgers high in saturated fats and selling cheap sodas full of sugar.

In addition, many of us purchase the wrong types of food when doing grocery shopping. If we insist on purchasing things like sugary snacks and convenient TV dinners healthy weight loss is virtually impossible. There are almost always healthier options available for us to purchase. We need to take notice of the nutritional information printed on labels so that we are making informed choices.

It is easy to blame large corporations with their huge advertising budgets for our inability to maintain healthy weight loss. But remember, they only advertise and supply these products because we buy them. Can we really expect them to be advertising healthy options if we don't buy them.

So, in effect we need to change the way we eat. If, most of the time, we ate fruit, vegetables, lean meat and fish, flavoured with fresh herbs and spices the occasional TV dinners and sugary snacks would not be a big deal.

If you are overweight I recommend that you start replacing your unhealthy food choices with healthy ones. But, replace things gradually. If, for arguments sake, you drink five cans of coke a day, cut it down to four and replace the fifth one with water. Do this for a while and then cut down to four cokes and two waters. Keep cutting down until you are only having a coke a couple of times a week. This same technique will work for any of your unhealthy food choices.

Forget sheer willpower. It doesn't work, mainly because it is highly likely you are actually addicted to some of those unhealthy foods. You will have much more success by weaning yourself gradually.

By the same token never give up on your goal of healthy weight. I have heard many stories of people giving up simply because they happened to break their diet on one occasion. If you do break your diet, just forgive yourself and start over. Do not use it as excuse to give up.