Though some forms of obesity have been proven to be genetic and uncontrollable, most types of obesity are directly related to habit. Curing obesity, however, is not as easy as simply changing these habits. Obesity has a variety of causes that work together to make someone obese, and not all of these can be changed with extreme ease. For one thing, the habits that have caused this obesity are deeply ingrained (enough to have cause the obesity). Similarly, extreme exercise usually cannot be taken up immediately since the obese person’s body can often not tolerate the stress of such difficult exercise. The most important is not to see these new changes as a “diet”, but as parts of the obese person’s lifestyle that will have to be changed, not merely adopted temporarily.
1. Learn to cook (well!)
Often an obese person begins weight gain with poor eating habits, whether it be over consumption of food or consumption of food that has poor nutritional value. This is often a result of the obese person either never having been taught good eating habits, or of having little inclination or time to cook healthier food. Many obese people are under the idea that healthy food tastes “healthy” and, thus, is not particularly good, or that it takes a great deal of time to cook. In fact, healthy, delicious food can be exquisitely simple to make, and incredibly fulfilling. If you are obese and are looking for a way to eat better, do a little research to discover how to make better food. Get a subscription to a healthy magazine with simple recipes, or take a cooking class that teaches better cooking. For someone who is obese and eats out frequently, eating out less frequently can greatly help reduce obesity by reducing caloric intake.
2. Take up exercise gradually
If you are obese, you know that exercise can be sometimes be so difficult as to seem almost impossible. However, know that you can incorporate exercise into your daily life so as to ease into it gradually. Look at your daily life. Are there places that you could add exercise without disrupting your life? Do you often take the elevator instead of the stairs, or e-mail coworkers when you could just as easily walk over to them? Even adding in these small amounts of exercise can help you reduce obesity if they are added in where you didn’t normally have exercise.
3. Take up activities with multiple people
If you’re trying to reduce obesity and you have a little extra time, try joining into an active activity in your community. If you become involved with a group of walkers, not only will you get exercise and be motivated to keep it up, but you’ll have a support group and perhaps even have fun in the process of reducing obesity.
4. Don’t be ashamed of your fight to reduce obesity
Don’t be embarrassed by the fact that you’re obese and, more importantly, that you’re trying to get healthy. If you’re serious about it, share your small victories with your family and friends. If they can see that you’re serious about reducing your obesity, you might be surprised with the small ways that they can offer support and help