Obesity has taken the form of an epidemic in modern society. The facts are a clear indicator that we are not learning or improving at all. In the year 1962, on average 13.4% of people were found to be obese in the US. The percentage of people suffering from extreme obesity was very low standing at 0.9%. However, over the years, the increase in this percentage is staggering. In the year, 2016, 39.6% of people suffered from Obesity, and out of these over 9% were extremely obese.
More than 70% of adults in the US are either overweight or obese. It means that more than 2 out of three US adults suffer from weight issues. This doesn't paint a very pretty picture. The escalating rate of increase in obesity is another cause of concern. In 1997, only 39.4% of people were overweight in the US. This saw a rise of 5% in 2004, and again increased by 12% in the next three years until 2007. A decade later the total percentage of overweight people in the US has gone past 70%.
The rate of obesity in women is even scarier. Data shows that the rate of obesity among women has risen steeply in the past four decades in comparison to men.
The number of preventable deaths in the US is 900,000 every year. Out of these, more than 400,000 people die due to obesity-related disorders. Restraining this menace of obesity would have prevented most of these losses .
However we may brood about the situation of obesity in the country, the fact stands that third parties have no significant role to play in it. Our wrong choices have led to this epidemic of obesity. The only way out is to improve those choices. Aggressive marketing by food companies, fast-paced lifestyles, stress, and anxiety may take the blame, but still, the bulk of the problem has been on our end.
When it is the time to take responsibility, we try to find an easy target. Food is the easy scapegoat. It is the natural suspect. People easily blame food and eating habits of the victim to obesity. Although it cannot be denied that food is among the chief reasons for causing obesity, however, it is not the lone wolf.
There can be reasons for obesity in which victims do not have much control. Hormonal imbalance, genetic issues, and other such medical problems can lead to abnormal and uncontrolled weight gain. However, many times, it is just our carelessness that leads to excessive weight gain.
Major factors other than food that lead to obesity
Stressful Life
The stressful life of the modern world is a significant contributor to weight gain. Stress leads to an urge to relax. Certain kinds of products like artificial sweeteners, processed foods, chocolates, alcohol, and nicotine, are used in an effort to reduce stress and relax. However, most of these items, as well as stress, are bad for health. We may blame the obesity on these items, but ultimately, stress it what leads to these indulgences. You become lethargic and stop venturing out. You shirk all physical activities. The extra calories in these products start piling up. Your brain gets slow, and you accumulate weight.
Lack of Time
The hectic life is another reason for dangerous weight accumulation. We are running so fast and so mindlessly that we have lost focus. The need for speed stops us from focusing on even the basic requirements of life, (i.e. healthy food). We start jumping on fast foods to save time. It is cheap and fast—both things nature never wanted food to be. When you start getting such a vital thing so quickly, and effortlessly, you stop thinking about it. Fast foods are full of empty calories and lack most critical nutrients. They are fattening, carcinogenic, inflammatory and lead to craving. This mindless eating leads to excessive weight gain.
Lack of Physical Activity
Lack of physical activity is another big problem. Earlier, we had to fight and put our lives at stake to earn food, but that's a thing of fables now. Money can buy food today, and you need to sweat separately to burn that food. This isn't easy for many. Some don't have that kind of time and luxury; others lack the motivation for it. The little time that's left with them is again spent on eating.
We see that most of these factors are a result of something else. The food is at the bottom of it, but it is not the only reason weight gain begins.
However, it is also a notable fact that there has been a shift towards the kind of food items we eat these days. The healthy unprocessed food items have been replaced by ready to eat foods. They taste great but are mostly garbage for your body. They fill you with empty calories, lead to weight gain and cause inflammation. We are well aware of them, yet we choose to ignore them.
A big reason for such attraction towards wrong food items is the excessive marketing by the food producing companies. These companies are earning billions by selling you such food products. You feel good by eating them, and therefore you believe everything they say without thinking twice. This leads to the obesity epidemic. They are hammering you night and day with a single motive. They want you to buy their product. They are simply telling you that you can lose weight by eating their products.
Take a deep breath here. Does this not sound ridiculous? You can lose weight by eating things. Really?
Let's do simple math. Food means calories. There is nothing that doesn't add weight except water. The low-calorie foods fill you with artificial sweeteners, harmful fats, and other more dangerous things. They cause weight gain and a lot of it. The label only serves to mislead you.
Therefore, when you eat anything, you are adding calories. However, you are not doing anything out of the ordinary to burn those calories. There is no way that your weight will go down by eating them. On the contrary, those extra calories, fat, and sweeteners will cause more damage.
If someone expects that weight loss will occur without any sacrifice, then he or she are in a delusion and need to wake up.
If someone thinks that starting a rigorous diet routine will lead to weight loss, then 9 out of 10 times, the end is sad, as people are not able to retain the rigorous diets for long. The day they start eating their normal diet, they begin binge eating. They try to compensate for the loss of all the time they couldn't eat on their wish.
If someone expects that he or she'll get “fat to fit” by pumping iron in the gym for a month and flaunt the Adonis-like body, then he or she should stop living in a fairytale. It's not going to work out. First, it is not easy for most, especially for obese people for obvious reasons. Second, the day they get back to their regular routine, the gym starts looking tough. The lost weight comes back much faster.
The weight loss industry is thriving on this. In the U.S. alone, the weight loss industry generated a profit of $66 billion in 2017, yet the percentage of people suffering from obesity has increased this year.
The reason is plain and simple. It isn't working sustainably. There is no problem with the weight loss measures. You can temporarily lose weight through every method. You either go on a diet, do yoga, dance, exercise, or pump iron in the gym. You will burn calories. When the number of calories burnt in a day exceeds the amount of calories consumed in that day, you will lose some weight.
The real problem is with sustainability. You are not able to carry on most of these activities for long. As soon as you get back to your usual routine, the weight starts piling on.
Intermittent fasting and especially the OMAD technique are here to help you with this specific problem. It is the sustainable way to lose weight. You are not required to do things out of the ordinary. You can and will follow your regular schedule. You do not need to cut out your working hours for hitting the gym. You do not need to restrict your diet extensively. You can eat pretty much anything as long as it is healthy. You merely need to regulate the timing of when you eat.
The timing is of the essence in intermittent fasting. It gives your body the chance to focus on the fat stores in your body. It also ensures that you do not pile up your body with extra calories as you get a very short window to eat. Although you can eat pretty much anything in that window, biology takes over in that period. Your appetite comes into control, and your eating pattern is regulated.
The next few chapters will explain in detail the behavior of your hunger hormones and satiety. You’ll learn that the craving you always had for food is not because of the urge to eat but due to the imbalance in your body that can be corrected. You will also learn that regulating your food intake is an easy and straightforward task. You’ll even get to know the impact of insulin on your body and the wonders that controlling your blood sugar can do.
Intermittent fasting is not just a weight control measure but a way of life. You can get the benefits of a healthy life and body by making some simple changes to the way you eat and you can lose much weight very quickly. The OMAD routine is the key to quick weight loss, and it is a natural and sustainable measure.