The Magical Diet Book | Wisdom from a Sage
By admin on May 1, 2008 in Diet, Featured
How to Lose Weight
There was once a doctor who, when patients said they wished to lose weight, would say “read my book.” The book was nicely bound and, quite thick but, when opened all the pages were blank except for one upon which were written two words “Eat Less”.
There is a good deal of truth behind this simple statement for people put on weight when their food intake exceeds their energy output. Many patients have very little idea about their calorific input or output although this didn’t matter in the days when most people had a way of life which involved a significant amount of exercise.
Walking and cycling has now given way to the motorcar and public transport; manual work has been replaced by sedentary occupations; agricultural work – once the single most common manual occupation in the United Kingdom — has been largely replaced by technology; most food is processed to some extent before it meets the consumer whereas previously energy was spent by individuals in growing, harvesting, preparing, cooking and utilising foods in the kitchen. For example our parents can remember that oats were boiled for up to twelve hours before they were ready to become porridge. Quick porridge oats today take only minutes to prepare.
Central heating cuts down the amount of calories required to keep the body at an acceptable temperature and significant shivering, a potent means of using up calories, is now quite rare. Even the need to wear heavy warm clothing utilised energy but many people will live most of their lives in very lightweight clothing. Central heating and air conditioning is a reality for most.
Of course many patients deny overeating to which the doctor can say always that only plants can synthesize food out of air and water; human beings have to eat it. This brings us back to calories in and calories out. The calculation is simple. If the calories going out in exercise are more than the calories coming in as food the individual will loose weight.
If the calories coming in as food are greater than the calories going out as exercise then the individual will gradually put on weight no matter how small the difference.
If the individual indulges in very heavy exercise or manual labour then it is virtually impossible to eat too much. Labourers can have an intake of 4,000 to 5,000 calories a day and still lose weight. Computer operators, on the other hand, sitting virtually stationary throughout the working day can find 1,000 to 1,500 calories too much to allow them to keep a steady weight. Losing a lot of weight in a short time is rarely the way by which long term weight loss can be achieved. It does however, seem that a combination of a dietary restriction and exercise has a benefit greater than if only one of these procedures is carried out. This can be summed up into “one and one can make three.” Certainly dieting alone rarely seems to achieve the objective. A change in the way of life is what is required and a permanent balance achieved between food intake and exercise.
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