Diet Study - If the trend continues, we're all going to be fat!
A recently released government-funded study has projected that if the trends of the past three decades continues in the U.S., it's possible that every American adult could be overweight 40 years from now.
"Genetically and physiologically, it should be impossible" for all U.S. adults to become overweight, said Dr. Lan Liang of the federal government's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, one of the researchers on the study. However, she told reporters covering the story, "that is the direction we're going."
Already 66 percent of the adult population is overweight or obese. Certain subgroups fare even worse. For instance, among African-American women, the number approaches 78 percent and white women, in general, are close behind that.
The study suggests that by 2030 86 percent of all American adults will be overweight and at least 51 percent will be obese. By 2048, all adults could be at least mildly overweight.
The healthcare costs to our country due to the incredible poor health of Americans will be staggering. The costs due simply to the problems associated with excess pounds is expected to reach $957 billion in 2030. Much of this will be paid by either the government or insurance plans, which translates to - paid by all of us.
To say that this is a "big" problem is an understatement. It's a catastrophe in the making.
But even if most of the country blows up like balloons, there is still hope for some of us. One of the goals of this website is to educate people to the truths of our existance, both spiritual and physical. As I state on our title, physically we are what we eat and what we do. I'm going to show you a program that can help anyone lose all their excess bodyfat and keep it off forever!
In my earlier postings on Diet Study I presented a systematic program to define the food we eat into its basic components of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. This is the chemical way of constructing a healthy diet. This way works, but it is not the only way to approach the problem. Now I'm going to show you a different, and I believe even better way, to address the issue.
About a month ago I joined a new gym. It was a smaller gym located within four miles of my home, making it easy and inexpensive to get to. The bodybuilding equipment was excellent and it even had a separate room for aerobics with a dance barre and speed and kicking bags, which I like to utilize during my warm-ups.
But what I also really liked about the place was the guy I spoke to at the front desk. He was a competitive bodybuilder and he was preparing to do a show. He was Chinese, originally from Hong Kong, and now living in the U.S. for several years. He had won many shows in his weight class all over the Orient and had won several in this country, as well. I'd seen photos of him around in contests and he looked really good when he competed. But to be honest, as he was telling me that he was preparing for a show, I thought to myself that he had a way to go, because he was very smooth, almost to the extent of being fat. He had plenty of muscle, but it was covered with a thick layer of fat! So I thought to myself, well, let's see what he does. Boy, was I surprised!
Only a month later, there was a dramatic change. I'd seen a gradual change during that time just in his arms and delts when he wore tanktops during his workouts. But the other day he wore a string tanktop and lifted it up to show me his abs and I was blown away! He was ripped to shreds! He could have stepped up on stage just like that and walked away with the trophy. All of this in only a month! And the show was still three weeks out. I was truly amazed. So I talked to him and questioned him about his diet and how he did it all. What he told me really made an impression on me.
He explained to me that during the off season he ate pretty much whatever he wanted and whenever he wanted. He ate pizza and hamburgers whenever and we're talking entire pizzas and triple-meat whoppers. He didn't go crazy and binge out on cupcakes and twinkies. He would eat cookies and chocolate as treats, but he still kept a level head in keeping his overall fat content reasonable at most meals. This was during the off season when he was always training with weights and doing some aerobics, as well.
But when it came time to prepare for a show, his entire diet changed dramatically. During this time he would actually eat almost every hour! But he limited his entire diet to only a few specific foods. By keeping his food choices to these few variables he could carefully and precisely control his diet. These are the foods he ate now - chicken tenders (breasts), egg whites, whey protein, broccoli, sweet potatoes, apples, and oranges. That's it.
Every hour he would eat something from this list. Usually it was a combination of a protein source with a carbohydrate. For example, a chicken tender or two with half an apple, some egg whites with a few pieces of sweet potato and some broccoli or maybe just a scoop of whey protein mixed in a cup of cold water. Sometimes he just might have a half of an orange or a small apple. But basically he never ate to be full and always stayed a little hungry. So his body was constantly being supplied with adequate nutrients to maintain itself while staying in a fat burning mode.
During this time he trained with weights 5 days a week and did cardio for about 30 minutes a day 3-4 days a week. He kept a fairly standard workout program. But within a month on this diet, he looked incredible. After a month or so, he began to space out his meals to every two hours. This was how he would really dial in his condition for the show.
He told me he could never stay on this type of diet for a long time because after awhile he actually got sick of these same foods! In fact, during the off season he rarely ate most of these foods instead replacing them with other sources. Off season he ate mostly fish or beef and sometimes eggs for protein. Whey protein is usually pretty standard for most bodybuilders, however. For carbs he preferred rice (naturally) or fruits with plenty of vegetables. Like I said before, during the off season he would eat almost anything he wanted. But he understood an effective way to get into fantastic shape at anytime.
If you're looking to lose some excess bodyfat, why don't you give this diet a try. Stick to it for at least a week and see what type of results you get. Stay on it a month and you could be amazed how much better you look.
Remember, you must be training with weights, not just cardio, to get the best results. Weight training builds muscle mass and keeps it toned which speeds up your body metabolism to help burn calories even at rest. The reason for this is that in well-toned muscles, a significant percentage of muscle fibers are actually contracting all the time. This is why they feel firmer to the touch than flabby, unconditioned muscles. This constant contraction requires energy. Hence, more calories are required to maintain toned muscle than flabby muscles.
Coming up in future articles I'll be designing some exercise routines that can really get you into possibly the best shape of your life.
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