How to Lose Weight Safely

Though many Americans are in the diet and weight-loss craze, the population as a whole is still considered overweight (Lemonick). This may be due to many factors, such as lack of nutrition in food and having a slothful lifestyle. Also, as people pursue other interests, such as careers and family life, they ignore keeping themselves healthy and fit. To maintain health and life span, one must exercise, eat moderately, and eat foods that have nutritional value. If one follows this plan, one can successfully lose weight and be healthy.

Exercise and having an active lifestyle is an important component to maintain in order to lose weight. Some people may think that if they skip a few meals a day and cut down on snacks, that they will lose weight without having to exercise. However, this is an incorrect assumption. To lose weight in a way that doesn't damage one's body, one has to make time to exercise. Skipping breakfast and ignoring when your body tells you it needs energy from food is not the way to safely lose weight. When one exercises, he slowly burns off fat, which helps the body function smoothly and effectively. Though, nowadays, people don't have time to go to the gym or take aerobics classes, simply taking the stairs instead of the elevator is a way of keeping oneself active and can make a huge difference in one's health.

People must learn to eat moderately to effectively lose weight. It seems as if as the American population increases, so do our appetites. In the past, a simple, leafy sandwich with a glass of milk was enough to satisfy our hunger. How, however, to fill ourselves up, we eat huge portions, large side entrйes, and a gargantuan carbonated drink. If one walks into some fast food restaurants, one can get their meal enlarged or "Super sized". We must go back to our old ways of limiting our food intake. One should eat until there are full, not comatose. We must not eat too much, but we should eat just enough to maintain our body's need for energy. Overeating has bigger ramifications than most people think. However, Americans became aware of this "overeating epidemic" when they "flocked to see Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock's documentary about what happens when you eat nothing but McDonald's food for a month. Now McDonald's is discontinuing its Super Size option" (Lemonick).

Eating nutritional foods is necessary in order to successfully lose weight. A misconception people have is that they think it is okay to eat a whole box of chocolate chip cookies after enjoying a 5K run in the afternoon. This can be one of the worst things a person can do to his body. Although