Nov
11

How Can You Tell If It Is Time To Diet?

Are you amongst the many millions of people who look in the mirror daily and say to themselves “I need to lose that excess weight”? Just about everyone has done this at some point and in a lot of cases you really do need to lose some weight. However, this is not always the case and so how can you tell whether or not you really ought to go on a diet?

One significant problem with weight gain is that it has a tendency to creep up on you when you are not looking and this is increasingly being witnessed especially in countries such as the United States where obesity is classed as an epidemic. As your weight frequently increases slowly over several months, you often simply are not aware of the increase in terms of changes to your looks and are only conscious of it when you step onto the bathroom scales. As a result, it is good practice to get into the habit of checking your weight on a regular basis (roughly once each month is usually sufficient) and if you notice that it is increasing noticeably then it is time to go on a diet.

Opinions differ about just what amounts to obesity but for our purposes here if your weight has increased by more than about thirty pounds or so then you are almost certainly heading for obesity and a myriad of medical problems which are associated with it.

Yet another sure sign that you probably should to go on a diet is when a friend remarks that you are putting on weight. Now it is possible that you will be offended when a friend tells you that you ought to go on a diet but bear in mind that they most probably found it difficult to find the courage to say something to you and are also practically always demonstrating a very real concern for your health and not passing a comment about how you look.

A further indication that you are putting on too much weight is when you begin to experience difficulty with normally simple tasks like running to catch a bus or climbing a flight of stairs and find that you are getting out of breath all too quickly. This is not necessarily the result of carrying too much weight and could be caused by other health problems, however you will be surprised at just how many times the cause is indeed weight. Your body is starting to ring its alarm bells and these should not be ignored.

One final and very simple, although frequently dismissed, sign of weight gain is simply discovering that your clothes do not fit as they used to. A slightly tight waistband after Christmas is not unusual for many of us but when it continues to get tighter and you find yourself buying larger and larger sizes each time you shop then the time has come to go on a diet before your waist stretches both your clothes and your store card.

These are of course just a few examples of the numerous signs that you are overweight and need to take some corrective action. Excessive weight has a habit of creeping up on you gradually and it is far too easy to simply not notice it at all. However the secret to feeling and looking good is quite simple – know your ideal weight and hop on the scales every now and again to make sure that you are not putting on too much weight.

Obesity, and particularly obesity in teens, these days is a growing problem and one which has serious medical complications. It is also a good idea therefore to learn how to calculate your BMI which is the medical indicator for obesity.

Post comment