What is a weight reducing diet?

What is a weight reducing diet ?One half of the population is overweight to the point where it will affect their health (obesity). In the last 10 years the number of people who are very overweight has tripled. The UK government has published a report called Health of the Nation . It aimed to reduce obesity in men by a quarter and women by a third by 2005. The slimming industry made an 80 million profit in 1994 on commercial "lean meals", and the figure is rising. Many people are trying to lose weight but the total numbers of overweight people keep increasing. People are becoming less active through fewer manual tasks and mechanization. Over the last few years the advice on slimming may have been confusing at times. However, all experts do agree that the best way to maintain weight loss is to follow a healthy lifestyle.What is a weight reducing diet for ?Weight loss is good for many conditions. Two stones overweight does not sound like much. Think of it as being the same as carrying a 2 year old child around all day, every day. The extra stress on your heart, blood pressure and other organs is obvious. Weight loss is of real benefit in diabetes, high blood pressure, shortness of breath, joint problems and raised cholesterol.How does a weight reducing diet work ?First of all decide how much weight you want to lose, and set yourself a realistic target, ideally with the help of your dietitian or doctor. Remember that the most weight you can lose as fat is 1 to 2 lb a week (0.5 to 1.0 kg). If you lose weight any faster than this you will lose muscle too. This could actually slow down your metabolism and make it even harder to lose weight (this is the reason why crash diets fail). You may like to work out your body mass index (BMI). This is a figure now used by many doctors and dietitians to calculate your "heaviness". Measure your weight in kilograms and your height in metres. BMI is weight divided by height squared (W/h 2 ). A calculator helps! 20 to 25 : Ideal body weight 25 to 30 : Overweight, it would be a good idea to lose some 30 to 40 : Very overweight, you must lose some weight 40+ : Obese, your health at is at serious risk Write down your target weight. Better still, draw a graph and perhaps stick it up on the refrigerator door. Check your weight weekly and ideally in the morning. If you weigh yourself more often than this you may get disappointed. Water builds up in the body on some days, and can give you the wrong impression.