The presence of fat in your body helps your body store fat, adds insulation for heat, and adds a layer of shock absorption. Your percentage of body fat, which you should have to be healthy, should consist of 25%-39% for a male and for a woman it should be 18%-23%. If you are a male and have a body index factor above 30 or a woman with a factor 25 then you are considered obese.
Your obesity can be measured with the help of the Basal Metabolic Index, or BMI for short. This is calculated by dividing the weight of your body by your total height. If the BMI averages to be over 30 you are considered to be suffering from obesity.
You need to be aware though before you begin that you are not the only one suffering from this sometimes fatal disease. This dreaded disease has reached an epidemic level in our nation today. That means that at least 1 out of 3 people are obese in our society. Here are some tips that have been proposed by the Department of Human Services as well as the Department of Agriculture which falls into the regular dietary guidelines for all Americans.
1. Fruits – This can be fruits of any kind including fresh or canned. Although fresh is better due to the natural sugars that it contains
2. Vegetables – These include dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and kale among others. Also you should consider adding orange vegetables as well. This includes such things as sweet potato, carrots, and pumpkin among others.
3. Calcium-Drink lots of low fat and fat free milk, but these should be taken in balanced proportion.
4. Cereals and Pasta-You need to go for the whole grain pasta and cereals as these are better for your health as well as weight loss
5. Protein-These include such things as lean meat, poultry, and fish among others.
6. Unsaturated fat-Fish, nuts, and vegetables are all good for this category among others.
7. Salt-You need to limit your total daily intake of salt. Do not consume more than 2300 grams of salt in a given day. This equals to one teaspoon.
Besides having a balanced diet you need to also be sure to schedule plenty of exercise as well. Such things as a short brisk walk or running are usually pretty useful in helping you lose weight. You can also try some free hand exercises that can be prescribed by your personal trainer if you happen to have one. Also if you drink plenty of water it will help you detoxify your body from any toxins that may enter the body.
Being obese can be a problem for you but if you follow the proper dietary guidelines you will be able to become an ideal weight again.