Why Am I Fat

Why am I fat? This is a question so many people struggle with. You really cannot understand why you are overweight. It does not feel as if you are eating too much. You are not a couch potato, or at least you do not think you are, yet, you need to get rid of a few extra pound.

When you are asking the question: "Why am I fat?" you can be pretty sure it is our modern lifestyle that is to blame. We are not even aware of all the "sins" we commit, health wise every day. Everything has become second nature and we do not even think about them any more.

Here are the four most important reasons why we are fat:

1. Fast food
2. Food portions
3. Food preparations methods
4. Lack of exercise

Most fast food can also be called junk food. It consists mainly of carbs and fat with very little nutrition. Sure, it tastes very good and it is the ultimate in comfort food. Having a burger once in a while is not the worst, but once you start living of fast food, you are heading for problems.

Try and think of the kinds of fast food you eat on a regular basis. How many times a week or even a day do you eat it? What are the extras you eat with it? What do you drink with it? These questions should make you aware of what you eat and drink.

Many of us tend to forget about all the calories in that soda we order with our meal. Think about the extra sauces and other high calories stuff you add to your meal. It is actually frightening to realize how we stack on the calories without any nutritional value.

So, I think the first thing we need to consider when we are wondering "Why am I fat?" is, how many empty calories do we eat and drink a day. Here you have to think of all the stuff you put into your mouth without thinking. You also have to think about everything you drink. How many sugars do you take in your coffee? How many cups of coffee do you drink in a day? It all adds up!

Once you have taken a look at all the fast food you eat and drink in a day, you have to come up with a plan to reduce it. Here planning is most important. If you do not have the makings at hand when you are hungry and tired, you are going to go pass McDonalds again and there you go.

You also have to come up with a plan to reduce the empty calories you take in with your drinks. Try and drink your coffee without sugar and milk. Or, at least try and take less milk and sugar. Getting into the habit of drinking healthier drinks will also help you a lot. Try some herbal teas, they are tasty and healthy. Especially green tea will really help you with your weight loss efforts.

So, to sum up:

• Become aware of what you eat.
• Take note of what you drink.
• Plan your meals and drinks well in advance so that you are never tempted to fall back on fast food.
• Pack a healthy lunch and have healthy low calorie snacks handy for when you get the munchies.
• Cut down on your coffee drinking.
• Try herbal teas.
• Drink a lot of water.
• If you must, drink diet sodas.
• Watch the salad dressings and the sauces.

If you do only these few things, you should already see some of the fat coming off slowly but surely.

The next part of the answer to: "Why am I fat?" is portion control. We live in a society where portions have become bigger and bigger with time. Most people do not even know what a proper portion size is any more. All the fast food places also always offer you bigger portions as an option and because it is normally a very good deal, most of us take it. This is a very big problem. Try and get yourself into the habit of ordering the smallest portion available. You will be surprised at the difference that will make.

So, teaching yourself what a proper portion is, is a very important part of fighting the fat:

• Vegetables portions may be large, they are good for you.
• A portion of fruit is the size of a normal piece of fruit such as an apple or an orange. With bananas you have to be careful as they are normally too large, about half a banana is normally a portion. Of fruit that needs to be sliced, a smallish slice is normally a portion. Berries and such must be limited to about half a cup except for instance strawberries as they are very low in calories and you can really a huge portion of it.
• A portion of starch is also about half a cup and bread a thin slice is a portion.
• A protein portion is normally a thin slice the size of the palm of your hand. Chicken you can consider, for instance, a drumstick or a thigh as a portion. Eating the white meat is a better option though.
• With cheese you have to be very careful as hard cheese normally contains a lot of fat, so, go slow. A good choice is fat free cottage cheese and fat free yoghurt.
• Fat really has to be limited, keep it to no more than three teaspoons of oil or butter a day. As far as sauces go, you will have to read the labels to make sure how much fat it really contains. Be careful though, sometimes in an effort to cut fat, other ingredients that adds a lot of calories and then it kind of defies the object!
• You really do not need any added sugar if you eat a well balanced diet.

Keep these guidelines in mind and you will have a far better idea of what a normal portion is. This is a very important part of the answer to: "Why am I fat?"

This is another place where you have to be really careful. It is very easy to add unnecessary calories to a meal with the way you prepare it. Always stop to consider if there is not a healthier preparation method instead of the ones you normally use.

When cooking vegetables, try and steam them and use herbs for flavor. If you really crave a sauce, use part of your dairy allowance in the form of yoghurt or cottage cheese to make a sauce.

Eat as many of your veggies raw as possible. Be very careful about salad dressings though, as they can really pile up the calories if you are not careful. In a restaurant always order the salad dressing on the side so you can control the amount you put on your salad.

For meat it is best to grill, try and stay away from frying as it drastically increases the calories of your meal. When eating ground meat, make sure it is very lean. It is easy to see that by the amount of white speckles in it. It is a good Idea to steam fish and chicken and then you can make tasty sauces with yoghurt and herbs.

Fruit is delicious as it is, so eat them raw and enjoy them. A good and very satisfying dessert idea is fresh fruit with fat free yoghurt. As you can eat so many strawberries, you can really have a satisfying dessert of lots of strawberries with a portion of low fat yoghurt. Remember about half a cup of yoghurt is a portion.

If you are really careful with your preparations methods, you have the answer to another part of your: "why am I fat?" question!

Now for exercise! I think all of us do far too little exercise. Our days are full and at night we are too tired to exercise. To overcome this problem, it is best to think of ways you can include more exercise in your daily routine.

Walk whenever possible. Get of the bus or train two stops earlier and briskly walk the rest of the way. If at all possible always take the stairs. If not, get off the elevator two floors too soon and climb the stairs for the rest. You can also climb the stairs for a few of the floors you have to go up, then take the lift or elevator for the rest of the way.

Another way you can increase your activity level is by doing all your chores etc. vigorously. Really put effort into it. You will probably benefit in two ways, you will get some extra exercise and you will probably finish your chores sooner, leaving you time to do some more exercise like kicking a ball with the kids!

The most important thing to remember here is, if you can add exercise to your daily routine and the things you do in any case, chances are far more that you will be able to keep up with it.

You have to realize that a big part of the answer to your question: "Why am I fat?" is exercise. If you follow the tips in this hub you will see slow and gradual weight loss and soon the question: "Why am I fat?" will never cross your mind again!