Proper weight management

In today’s culture most Americans are looking for a way to improve their physical appearance and health. Many industries have noticed this desire to look good and have developed quick fixes to satisfy the people. Most of these fixes however, are unhealthy and very harmful. The majority of Americans choose to follow these quick fixes to weight management and end up hurting their bodies or being let down. Healthy weight management is key to looking and feeling good. Unhealthy weight management is a big problem in our culture. The media and celebrity’s examples of how to manage your weight too easily influence many people. A major factor in gaining weight unhealthily is the use of anabolic steroids. This problem is found mostly among professional athletes and bodybuilders but use is becoming common among high school and college males. Anabolic steroids are synthetic drugs similar to testosterone that increase muscular growth in a short amount of time (American Heritage 1). While these drugs do allow you to gain muscle weight faster, they also have many negative side effects. Liver damage, coronary heart disease, and aggressive behavior are just a few of the many negative side effects of steroids (Children’s Health 1). What most people don’t realize is they can get almost the same results from hard work and planning. There are two steps to gaining muscle weight healthily without hurting your body: lifting weights and eating properly. When trying to gain weight it is important to lift weights regularly (4-5 days a week) for 45 minutes to an hour each session. It is also necessary to lift heavier weight with lower repetitions in order to increase muscle mass and strength. The second step in gaining muscle weight is to eat a healthy, balanced diet and include extra foods that are high in protein. It is important to make sure the number of calories taken in is higher than the number of calories burned in the workout. Although this process may take longer and be a little more complex, it is much safer and produces almost the same results as unhealthy weight gain processes. When trying to gain weight, it is imperative to do it in a healthy manner. Just like unhealthy weight gain, unhealthy weight loss is also very harmful to the body. Many celebrities can be seen advertising the newest diet pill or fad diet that supposedly worked for them. Both of these methods of losing weight can be dangerous and have many negative side effects. Most diet pills advertise that a person can lose a large amount of weight in a short amount of time, which is usually not true. The diet pills do, however, cause high blood pressure, insomnia, increased chance of heart attack, and other minor side effects (Watson 1). Fad diets, which seem to be the most popular form of weight loss, can also have negative effects. Fad diets are diets that usually consist of eating a large amount of one product and not eating a balanced diet. This is supposed to result in weight loss within a week or two. The weight is usually lost, but the body suffers from nutritional deficiency. After the diet is stopped, the body usually gains the weight that was lost during the diet program. This drastic change in eating habits and quick weight loss and weight gain is not healthy for the body. In order to lose weight in a healthy manner, it is important to have a well balanced diet. Along with eating properly, one must also exercise at least 3 days a week for 15 to 30 minutes (time depends on physical ability). To lose weight it is important to make sure the number of calories consumed each day is less than the number burned during exercise. Losing weight healthily will increase life expectancy and provide many benefits to the person. Many people fall victim to these unhealthy ways of managing their weight. Steroids, diet pills, and fad diets are just a few of the many harmful ways to manage weight, but all should be avoided. When trying to gain or lose weight it is very important make healthy decisions that will not harm the body. With a little hard work and understanding, weight can be properly managed to achieve good physical appearance and fitness.