It’s hard to say to what extent genes or behavior affects our weight, but we do know both can influence our body size and shape. While giving a nod to the family history, we need to work past that as an excuse and work towards our ultimate goals for weight loss.
Family History and Weight Loss
Family history, or genetics, certainly plays a role in our appearance. We attribute hair and skin color, height, body shape, health and weight to genetics. But many people debate whether being overweight is a genetic of behavior condition. And really, it’s hard to say. If one or both parents are overweight, their child could be overweight due to genes or to the home environment and learned behavior. There’s really no way to say.
Weight and Metabolism
It does happen however, that genetic makeup affects our metabolism, appetite and satiety as well as our basic body weight range and amount of body fat. Our metabolism can change due to the amount of energy our bodies need regularly. This means the things we do can affect our overall metabolism. Regular exercise can boost metabolism, making it more efficient, while very low calorie diets actually make it much less efficient.
What Else Affects My Weight
The only other factors that affect weight are diet and exercise. The average person consumes far too many calories and burns much less than they can consume. The only way to lose weight is to use more calories than you consume. You can do this through extreme dieting, extreme exercise, or through moderate dieting and moderate exercise. While many people fall into the trap of severe dieting to lose weight, the healthiest option is to combine a sensible, lower calorie diet with regular exercise.
Dieting
We tend to think of dieting as a period of restriction and hunger. We assume that dieting means we can’t eat very much food, and have to live off of carrots and lettuce. This is one of those myths that surround the idea of dieting. Most nutritionists today are working to change what we think when we hear the word diet. Today, dieting means eating balanced, healthy foods are as good for our bodies as they are for our taste buds. Diet is more about lifestyle and food habits than deprivation.
Exercise
The same goes for exercise. You don’t need to sweat it out in a gym for three hours every day; you only need to increase the amount of regular physical in your life. So, if you’se been a couch potato for a while, make some small changes. Start by going for short walks in your neighborhood, or taking the stairs at work. Build up to cardiovascular exercise at your own pace, and do activities that you enjoy. Get the kids or your spouse involved in a game of tag or Frisbee. The goal is just to get moving.
Regardless of family history, you can lose weight. All you need is some motivation, determination and a new attitude towards diet and exercise.
Get a jump start on your personal weight loss program today.
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/tc/healthy-weight-what-affects-your-weight
http://www.thirdage.com/news/articles/ALT02/05/12/15/ALT02051215-01b.html
