Prevention and management of obesity (3)

I just returned to Lagos from the eastern/south-south regions of the country. I had arrived there about 18 hours earlier and I was home bound this morning. As I got to the station of this transport company that brought me to Lagos, the first thing that struck me was the number of obese young ladies around. You did not have to look for them, they were all around the place. The one thing that I began to think about repeatedly, was that obesity had become an epidermic, even in Nigeria. On my journey back to Lagos, thinking about those obese ladies, I became more convinced that it was the right thing to continue to create this awareness concerning this epidermic.

Today we continue with the principles of management and prevention of obesity.

STEP 3 EXERCISE.

When exercising, we accomplish the following: excess glucose that should have been absorbed and stored either as glycogen, fat or protein is burnt up for energy production, the heart beats faster causing an increase in the circulation and increased elimination of acid, breathing increases, delivering more oxygen to the cells which become alkaline. Furthermore, there is an increase in the flow of the lymphatic fluids. The rate of flow of fluid in the lymphatic vessels embedded within the musculature increases during exercise. The lymphatic vessels drain acids, dead cells, dead white blood cells and micro organisms and other wastes from the body and discharge them into blood vessels for onward elimination from the body. Also, in exercising, new blood vessels are developed to supply blood to new cells and muscles that are being formed as energy is made available. All these and more that are accomplished when exercising, lead to a better elimination of acid from the body, better metabolism and a more healthy heart and other organs of the body.

What kind of exercise am I talking about? I usually recommend brisk walking, cycling or swimming. Brisk walking for 30 minutes daily, 4 to 5 times a week will do. This is to ensure that you sweat while your heart is beating faster and you are breathing faster.

STEP 4 DETOXIFICATION

Detoxification is the physiological elimination of acid and toxic wastes from the body. These wastes are generated during the metabolic and catabolic processes that go on in the body on a daily basis. We have concluded that when these acids accumulate in the body, it becomes a sort of disease of which obesity is a symptom. As I write this article, I am reminded that we are in a period when people throw caution to the wind and indulge and spoil themselves eating all kinds of things and drink all sorts. Save to advice people to drink a lot of water along with all else that they would drink, it will be an exercise in futility to ask individuals to avoid what they traditionally eat at Christmas. Having said that, detoxification is what every body should embark upon after the Yuletide, the reason being that a lot of acid forming foods and drinks would have found their way into our systems and should be shown the way out immediately after. Rehydration, diet and exercise that I have already written about, are part and parcel of the detoxification process. Furthermore, in the next one or two weeks, I will be describing a couple of detoxification methods that are life-saving

STEP 5 DEALING WITH TOXIC EMOTIONS

By toxic emotions, I am referring to things like anger, bitterness, hatred, malice and unforgiveness. All these increase the acidity of the body and generation of fats to bind the acid. These kinds of emotions may lead to conditions such as depression that causes some people to over eat and add on excess weight. Have you ever wondered what benefits you have ever derived from these toxic emotions and where they come from? Among the Christians, we understand that these are issues of the flesh that can only rob us of the blessing of GOD and cause one disease or the other through acid accumulation. So forgive yourself and others, do not be bitter toward anyone and get counsel and deliverance from anger.

STEP 6 GOAL SETTING

Be determined to succeed and set goals for yourself. Check your starting BMI and decide where you should be. The BMI refers to the Body Mass Index and is a measurement of the weight in relation to the height. You may also want to measure and record the circumference of your biceps muscles [upper arm], neck, hips in women and your waist line. Do not take these measurements ever so often or else you will be discouraged if the reduction is not as fast as you expected. Let the interval between when you take the measurements be up to four weeks.