These days, when you look around you, whilst out at the shops, or out for a leisurely stroll through the park perhaps, generally speaking, the majority of people that we see will be overweight and out of shape. It may sound harsh, but unfortunately it’s a fact as there are currently more obese and morbidly obese individuals living on this planet than at any other point in previous history. Our waistlines are expanding, we’re finding ourselves becoming more and more unfit and unhealthy, and people are simply not living as long as they should be. If you were to ask pretty much anybody, to name two things they should do in order to lose weight, get fitter, and get in better shape, and other than giving generic and vague answers such as “eat healthy” or “exercise”, they truthfully wouldn’t have much of an idea. We know very roughly what we should be doing in order to get in shape, so why are so many of us unfit and out of shape? Here are a few of the more common reasons.
They’re unwilling to change
Being unhealthy and out of shape is not genetic, you aren’t born overweight and you aren’t born unfit. We become this way due to poor dietary and lifestyle choices but the good news is that as we aren’t born this way, we can do things to change. If a person is truly unhappy with how they look and their current bill of health, they will make the changes necessary to get fitter and healthier. If a person is unwilling to make these changes, the simple fact is that they simply do not want to change badly enough. One of the main reasons why so many people are classed as obese, or morbidly obese, is the fact that they’re unwilling to change and do something about it. It may sound harsh, and it does require a great deal of will power and determination, but in order to get in shape, a person simply must be willing to change their habits, and indeed their lifestyles as well.
They’re ill-informed
Another common reason why so many people are out of shape all over the world is that they’re ill-informed when it comes to their diets and exercise regimes. The problem with the internet is that pretty much anybody can post their opinion and pass it off as fact, which other people will then believe. There are a number of common myths and a great deal of confusion in the health and fitness community, regarding diets and training regimes. For example, some people will tell you to avoid carbs at all costs when trying to lose weight, whilst others will tell you to eat as many as possible. The same goes for fat, some will say all fat is bad, whilst others will encourage fat consumption. There is so much information out there regarding diet and exercise regimes that knowing what we should and should not be doing can indeed prove confusing. One of the main reasons people don’t see any results when it comes to health kicks and weight loss routines is simply the fact that they’re eating the wrong foods at the wrong times, whilst doing the wrong exercises, because somebody else wrongly told them that that is what they should be doing.
They aren’t tracking their calories
Though it is pretty complex, and very confusing, when you scratch away at the surface, weight loss really does boil down to calories in versus calories out. Simply put, if you require 2300 calories per day just to maintain your body in its current state, but you consume just 2000 calories per day, creating a deficit of 300 calories a day, you will lose weight. At the same time, if you consume 2600 calories per day, those additional 300 calories will cause you to gain weight. A great way of losing weight is to log your calories and track absolutely everything that you consume. Many people don’t do this and simply guess how many they’re consuming, which often leaves them consuming far more than they realised, which in turn causes them to gain weight, or at the very least, not lose weight. Use calorie tracking tools or apps available online, and be sure to log absolutely everything you consume, even if it is a small handful of grapes.
They think they’re being healthy when they’re not
When people are trying to eat healthier and lose weight, they may eat foods such as a chicken salad for example. Now, on paper, a chicken salad is pretty healthy. You have chicken, which is a lean meat high in protein. You also have various green salad leaves and vegetables, low in fat and calories, and rich in vitamins and minerals. The problem however, is that not all of these foods are that straightforward. They may indeed order a salad, and then go ahead and sprinkle fried bread croutons, bacon, and creamy oil-based dressings all over the salad. What was once a healthy, balanced, low fat meal will now be rich in fat and calories thanks to fatty and salty bacon, fried bread croutons, and the creamy dressing packed full of oil and calories. The same goes with “diet” cokes and similar beverages, and we use the term ‘diet’ lightly. These are low in calories, but they contain harmful chemicals that damage our health and slow the metabolism which makes it harder to lose weight and easier to gain it. It isn’t just food and drink that can be unhealthy, but also how they’re cooked and what they’re served with that can make them unhealthy. If a food is fried rather than grilled for example, it will absorb the oil/fat it was cooked in, increasing the saturated fat content as well as the calorie content as well.
