Dr. Joseph Mercola’s 10 Weight Management Tips

The obesity epidemic in America is becoming worse.

According to F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2011, a report from the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF):

• Adult obesity rates increased in 16 states in 2010 and did not decline in any state
• Twelve states now have obesity rates above 30 percent (four years ago, only one state was above 30 percent)
• Thirty-eight states now have obesity rates of over 25 percent
• Only one state has a rate lower than 20 percent

The TFAH report examined how the obesity epidemic has grown over the past two decades. (Link)

“Today, the state with the lowest obesity rate would have had the highest rate in 1995. There was a clear tipping point in our national weight gain over the last 20 years, and we can’t afford to ignore the impact obesity has on our health and corresponding health care spending,” said TFAH executive director Dr. Jeff Levi.

Natural health expert Dr. Joseph Mercola blames the obesity epidemic on the fact that America has “become a nation that for the most part made the choice to trade convenience for its health.”

Fortunately, it’s not too late to take control of your health – and your weight. Dr. Mercola believes that it’s possible to shed the excess pounds with a little planning and a lot of discipline.

Here are 10 simple weight management tips from Dr. Mercola:

1. Eliminate fructose from your diet.
   Choosing the right type of food to eat is three times more important in controlling your weight than exercise. Drinking beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is the easiest way to ruin your diet and exercise program. HFCS is one of the major dietary contributors to the obesity epidemic.
2. Practice meal planning.
   If you don’t plan your meals, you’re basically eating according to your emotions or whatever whim may come over you when it’s time to eat. This can result in added calories, poor nutritional choices, and a growing waistline, Dr. Mercola points out. Write down specific meals on paper, shop for the ingredients, and stick to your planned meal schedule. Try bringing food to work so you can avoid eating fast food meals.
3. Quit your soda habit.
   Regular soda is sweetened by HFCS; diet soda contains artificial sweeteners. Sugar causes your insulin to rise, which leads to weight gain and contributes to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and other diseases. Artificial sweeteners – particularly aspartame – have been linked to weight gain because they actually increase your sugar cravings.
4. Consume plenty of organic vegetables.
   Locally-grown, organic vegetables are a nutritional powerhouse. Vegetable juicingis one of the easiest and most powerful ways to boost your energy, manage your weight, and fight the signs of aging.
5. Perform Peak 8 exercises once or twice a week.
   Peak 8 exercises are interval training workouts that stimulate your super-fast muscle fibers to produce human growth hormone (HGH), which helps effectively burn excess fat and promote muscle growth.
6. Avoid drinking fruit juice.
   Drinking fruit juice is similar to drinking soda because both beverages deliver massive doses of sugar to your body that are not regulated by any of the slow-releasing mechanisms provided by nature, Dr. Mercola warns.
7. Avoid eating out too often.
   Restaurant food is highly deceptive because you don’t know exactly what goes into your meal, and because the servings are larger than the normal portions.  A restaurant meal contains an average of 1,000 to 1,500 calories. Many people are unaware that restaurants use a lot of processed food, which likely contains HFCS, MSG, preservatives, and other unhealthy ingredients.
8. Drink alcohol moderately if you can’t avoid it.
   Alcohol equals body fat because the former is converted into simple sugar. The mechanism that your body uses to break down alcohol is the same mechanism used to metabolize HFCS.
9. Avoid fast food and processed food.
   These two types of food often use meat from feedlot animals and contain high levels of sodium and sugar. Feedlot animals are raised in unsanitary conditions, given antibiotics, and fed with genetically modified crops. Too much salt has been linked to hypertension, while sugar contributes to weight gain.
10. Avoid sources of empty calories.
    Not putting condiments like mayonnaise on your sandwich, Parmesan cheese on your spaghetti , and sour cream on your baked potato will save you about 150 calories a day. Veering away from these will translate to thousands of calories avoided per year.

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Tags: Dr. Joseph Mercola, Dr. Mercola, hfcs, high fructose corn syrup, obesity, obesity epidemic, weight management