Obesity is characterized by excessive body fat; you are considered obese if you have a BMI (body mass index) count over 30. Obesity goes much deeper than physical appearance and puts you at risk for several health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and certain types of cancer. Treatments aim to reduce weight, which improves quality of life and lowers your risk of related complications.
Diet
Reducing your caloric intake and eating healthier foods is a vital part of treating obesity. Safe weight loss is around one to two pounds per week and gives you the best shot at keeping it off permanently. You and your health care providers can go over your typical eating habits to get an idea of what needs to be modified. Typically, you will need to cut back to between 1,000 and 1,600 calories daily. Foods with a low , meaning a low amount of calories in a given volume, allow you to eat larger portions but take in fewer calories. Low energy density foods include fruits and vegetables. Stay away from high energy density foods like sweets, candies and processed foods. Aim for more plant based foods and increase your intake of non-meat proteins like beans, lentils and soy. Consume healthy fats like nuts, seeds and olive oil.
To jump start your weight loss, your doctor might recommend a short term low calorie liquid diet. You typically consume only 600 to 800 calories a day. A doctor might recommend this if you are getting ready for weight loss surgery or have serious medical complications. You should not do this on your own; you need medical supervision. You also need to adopt long term weight loss strategies once you are done to keep up the weight loss.
Exercise
Exercise, along with healthy eating, is the foundation of any successful weight loss regimen. You will need to exercise at a moderate to intense level for at least 150 minutes a week to lose a modest amount of weight; you will need at least 250 to 300 minutes for significant loss. Start off slowly and build up your capacity; do not over do it and do not set unrealistic goals for yourself in the beginning. Healthy weight loss can be slow going in the beginning but is the best way to keep it off long-term.
Behavior Modification
Successful weight loss entails dramatic changes in your behavior and attitudes toward diet and exercise. Behavior modification programs help you examine your current situation and beliefs to start implementing lifestyle changes. You can overcome negative beliefs and self-defeating behaviors. Professional counseling can help you get to the deeper psychological roots of your problems with food and help you deal with stress and anxiety, major triggers for overeating. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a popular form of therapy for overcoming obesity.
Medication
Your doctor might prescribe medication as a complement to healthy eating and exercise in certain instances like having a BMI over 27 along with complications like diabetes or high blood pressure or if other methods have not worked.
Meridia alters your brain chemistry, causing you to feel fuller faster and reducing appetite. After one year, you will typically take off five to 10 percent of your starting weight. Xenical keeps your body from digesting and absorbing fat; excess fat is excreted in the stool. You will lose about five to 10 percent of your body weight within one year.
These medications might not work for everyone and some need to remain on them for life. You are likely to regain the weight once you go off them.
Surgery
Bariatric surgery offers the most dramatic weight loss but can be dangerous. This surgery will restrict the amount of food you can eat. You can lose up to 50 percent of your body weight; at five years a little over half have kept the weight off. Optimal results require a long-term commitment to a healthy lifestyle. This surgery is usually reserved for people who are morbidly obese (BMI over 40) or if it is 35 to 39.9 and you have serious weight-related complications.
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