Amongst the two thirds? 'Choose your hard'

It's enough to make a fitness coach cry.

Despite having an arsenal of fitness tools at our finger tips in this country, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that most Americans--more than two thirds--are overweight or obese. This study was conducted by researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who studied data from 2007 to 2012 of a nationally representative group of 15,208 people ages 25 or older.

The results corroborated estimates by the Centers for Disease Control:

• 40% of men were overweight and 35% of men were obese
• 30% of women were overweight and 37% were obese

For the record, being overweight means a person's body mass index is 25-29.9 and they weigh 25-30 pounds over the recommended weight for their height. Being obese means a person's BMI is 30 or greater, and they are at least 30 pounds over the recommended weight for their height.

What difference does it make if you're overweight or obese? "Excessive body weight is associated with a myriad of health risks including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, osteoarthritis, some types of cancer, pregnancy complications, shortened life expectancy, and decreased quality of life," says the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Beyond that, the CDC estimates that yearly medical costs of obesity in the U.S. reached $147 billion in 2008, the latest data available.

But losing weight is hard, you say? Then let me ask you this--is suffering from one of the maladies listed above any easier? I'm reminded of a quote I saw recently: "Losing weight is hard. Being overweight is hard. Choose your hard." I have friends battling cancer, and I assure you, losing weight is a preferable challenge.

If you find yourself in the overweight or obese category--two out of three of us will!--I'd like to suggest some simple actions to get you started on your mission to a healthier weight. Using the 2/3 ratio as inspiration, start with at least one of these tomorrow, then add another one the next day, and so on:

• Reduce your food intake to two thirds of what you normally eat each day. When you make a plate, simply remove 1/3 of the food, particularly that which has little nutrient value and is high in trans fats and white flours.
• Spread your calories throughout your day by eating smaller portions every 2-3 hours.
  
• Replace junk food and processed crap with 2-3 servings of fruit and veggies.
• Walk (at a moderate to intense pace) for at least 20 minutes three times/week.
• Perform a circuit of two 30-second rounds each of jumping jacks, squats, pushups, lunges and run-in-place. Rest up to 3 minutes, then repeat the circuit 2-3 more times. These five minute circuits may also be performed throughout the day. Exercise is cumulative!
• If you like fitness classes, start attending 2-3 each week.
  
• Ask 2-3 friends to hold you accountable and/or join you on your fitness journey.
• If you typically only get 5-7 hours of sleep each night, increase that by 2-3 hours.
  
• If you're a soda drinker, replace 2-3 sodas with bottles of water. Even if you don't drink soda, most people are perpetually dehydrated, so increase your water intake by 2-3 glasses a day until you're consuming half your body weight in ounces.
  

Reference: http://time.com/3929990/americans-overweight-obese/

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