Working to acquire or sustain wealth takes energy. But if you’re less than healthy, you’ll have less energy to devote to the pursuit. The fact is, living a life of true wealth means being healthy enough to enjoy it.
Medical studies say that the number one threat to our health is obesity. Those of us packing a few extra pounds are doing our bodies no favors. The risk of high blood pressure, adult-onset diabetes, even heart failure and stroke rise substantially as we gain weight.
And yet, fully two-thirds of Americans are overweight, and half of those folks — one out of every three American adults — is considered obese. So for many of us, it’s time to formulate a plan to combat the fat.
But how?
Losing weight is completely a matter of reducing the amount of calories we take in, and increasing the amount of calories we expend.
Let’s focus first on reducing our caloric intake.
WEALTH magazine reviewed more than a dozen of the most recent books on losing weight. They offer a myriad of eating solutions — some of them involving counting calories or following a regimented diet plan.
Those strategies work for some people. But if you’re looking for a couple of basic guidelines to help your diet, we offer two:
1. Forego the fat.
2. Fill up on fiber.
Instead of counting calories, focus on knowing how much fat is in the food you regularly consume. But be warned: Once you find out, you may be shocked! For instance, many fast-food hamburgers have 50 grams of fat or more.
Did you know that a Hardees 2/3-pound bacon “Thickburger” has a whopping 96 grams of fat!
That’s too much. Way too much.
Aim for keeping fat grams below a dozen or so per meal.
And as long as you’re looking at fat, it’s important to note the kind of fat you’re eating. Work to eliminate the two worst kinds of fat: saturated fat and trans fat.
Saturated fat comes mainly from meat and full-fat dairy products. Trans fat comes mostly from baked goods and heavily processed food – anything with shortening or margarine. Whenever you see the phrase “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” on a product label, the trans fat warning bells should be going off in your head.
Mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fat, by contrast, is actually good for you, in moderation. But saturated and trans fats will drive up your cholesterol, clogging your arteries and increasing your risk of early death due to heart attack, stroke or diabetes.
So forego the fat!
But losing weight isn’t only about doing without. It’s also about adding the right foods to your diet. And if you want to lose weight, there’s nothing better to add than fiber.
Why? Simply put, fiber fills you up without finding a permanent home around your mid-section. Fiber tends to expand in your body. It sends signals to your brain that say you are full — unlike sugar and simple carbohydrates. And then it leaves — unlike that donut you just scarfed down!
Now just as it’s important to understand the kinds of fat you choose to eat, it’s also important to note the kind of fiber you choose.
There are two kinds: insoluble and soluble. For our purposes, both are good: They make you feel full and are not digested. But soluble fiber is the preferred choice. Why? Because it actually binds to the bad stuff in your blood — cholesterol and other blood fat — and moves it out of your body. That’s right: Soluble fiber is a natural cholesterol fighter. Why not add some to your daily meal plan?
While insoluble fiber is easy to get from fruit and vegetables, soluble fiber is a little more elusive. It can be found in oats — especially oat bran — psyllium, beans, nuts, barley and flaxseed.
If you can’t get enough soluble fiber in your diet, consider adding some over-the-counter laxative, such as Metamucil or its generic equivalent, to your diet. It’s made up of psyllium, which comes from the crushed seeds of the Plantago ovata plant, an herb native to parts of Asia, the Mediterranean and North Africa. It’s an excellent source of soluble fiber.
So, remember these two simple diet principles: Forego the fat, and fill up on fiber.
As we said, working to acquire or sustain wealth takes energy. But if your health is lacking, you’ll have less energy to devote to the pursuit. The fact is, living a life of true wealth means being healthy enough to enjoy it.
Because medical studies say that the No. 1 threat to our health is obesity, we are focusing on the two most important things you can do to combat the fat: reduce the amount of calories we take in, and increase the amount of calories we expend.
Now, let’s turn our focus to burning more calories.
A recent study caused a huge controversy by recommending that women who want to avoid gaining weight as they age must spend a full hour every day in somewhat intense exercise.
At first blush, this does seem extreme. Who has time to spend an hour in the gym every day?
But let’s dig a bit deeper. The Harvard study, published in the American Medical Association, didn’t specify an hour of gym time. Any activity that gets your heart beating faster — walking, dancing, household chores and lawn work included — qualifies.
And researchers found a direct correlation between the time spent exercising and the amount of weight loss.
But if you’re looking to maximize the impact of your exercise, you should make sure to do two kinds: aerobic and anaerobic.
Aerobic exercises are sometimes called “cardio” activities. They work your cardiovascular system, things such as brisk walking, running and biking. These long, repetitive movements literally burn calories, and they improve your endurance. Plan on doing aerobic exercises several times a week.
But don’t stop there. Anaerobic exercises are short-burst movements, like lifting weights, doing lunges and running short, fast sprints. These exercises build your muscle. That’s crucial if you’re over, say, age 35, because starting in your 30s your muscles begin to deteriorate. But if you add simple resistance exercises like lifting hand weights or doing squats and lunges, you can literally reverse such deterioration.
Such exercise does not, in itself, burn as many calories as aerobic exercise does. But, as you gain muscle, your body will burn more calories.
So the best thing for your health is to combine both kinds of exercise.
But how can you possibly work in an hour of exercise a day?
The key is making several small daily decisions:
* Choose the stairs over the elevator.
* Walk to the corner store instead of driving there.
* Have that talk with your child or spouse while walking instead of sitting.
* Carry the groceries yourself, instead of packing them in a cart.
* Dig out those running shoes, and get that old weight set out of the garage.
In short, make exercise a part of your daily routine. Knit it into the fabric of your everyday life, and you’ll reap the benefits of more energy and greater health.
