Have you been wondering why some people find it so difficult to gain weight while others spend hours at the gym and still can’t lose a single kilo? Here’s why. The resultant weight gained or lost is determined by the difference between the food (calories) taken in and the level of activity.
What am I trying to say? It’s simple first grade maths. Assuming you eat food worth 10 calories and all your activity for the day only requires 5 calories, you have an excess of 5 calories. With functioning liver and pancreas, this excess is converted, stored and remobilised in case of starvation. But when this excess reaches a certain level, it is converted into fat, which is then deposited at inappropriate sites, like under the skin.
Who cares? Who has the time for calculating calories and caloric needs? Don’t worry. Our Creator, in His infinite mercy, has given us some tools. They are “hunger” and “satiety”. When your calorie level is running lower than your activity level, your brain sends signals to your stomach, and the latter begins to rumble. Amazing! If you don’t eat on time, more signals are sent to more organs of your body. Then you begin to feel restless, sweaty and unable to concentrate unless you eat something.
The problem with many of us is that we either ignore these tools and signals for too long, or we pay too much attention to them. The best approach is to eat only when hungry and stop eating as soon as you’re satisfied. That is how to avoid excesses and deficits. To balance the equation, we should schedule a consistent exercise regimen into our daily activities. A 30-minute brisk walking, 4-5 times per week is a good example. Exercise helps to lose excess weight as well as maintain normal weight. So don’t say you’re too slim to exercise!
Maintaining a healthy weight is not as difficult as we think. All we need to do is to be disciplined, listen to our body signals and stop feeding ourselves with things we do not need.
KT
©2016
AskDoctorKT 