fixing essay

Abdullaziz Alkharas

Professor David

English 101

8 April 2014

No Pain No Gain

Obesity is currently one of the health problems facing the United States of America. One of the main causes of this problem is inactive lifestyle and eating unhealthy food such as French-Fries and processed food. Obesity or overweight contributes to negative health effects such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, low self-esteem, limited productivity and increases healthcare costs. This makes losing weight necessary in order to reduce overweight, lower obesity rates and lead to healthier lives. There are many ways of losing weight, and this includes diets, exercising and surgery. All these programs have their advantages and disadvantages for example dieting provide gradual and long-term results, while surgery provides immediate but short-term results. Additionally, some weight loss programs such as dieting is safe and relatively cheaper compared to surgery, which is expensive and may lead health problems. Diet is the best method for losing and maintaining.

Cordain Loren asserts that, “Losing body weight through diet involves choosing food that has little calories and also rich in low fat. This strategy is the best and most ideal because it is natural and does not involve using of pills or medication that could have side effects to one’s body”. Therefore, a person only needs to follow a specific type food diet and ensure that they abstain or keep off from substances that have high calories and fat as well. In order for the body to use stored fat, on must reduce the amount of calories they take and increase their involvement in physical activities. This is the main reason why health experts talk of losing weight in terms of exercise and diet. A simple diet regime may include introducing changes slowly, lowering calorie intake, increasing exercise levels, following a written plan and being patient.

Dieting has many health benefits. For example, it improves the health of the heart because eating healthy food that is low in fat, sodium and cholesterol reduces the risk of contracting of heart diseases. Many types of fat that is found in unhealthy food increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. These include Trans and saturated fat that is found in fried foods, packaged snack foods, meats, margarines and coconut oils. A healthy diet is reach in vegetables and fruits, low-fat dairy products and whole grains. Moreover, diet promotes brain health because it increases blood flow to the brain. This prevents aging of brain cells and lowers the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease among the elderly. To ensure a healthy brain, one must avoid fried food and eat steamed or baked foods. A healthy diet also comprises of dark vegetables and fruits, and nuts that a good sources of vitamin. These foods provide vitamins the help brain health prevent development of Alzheimer’s disease.

In addition, dieting promotes teeth and bone strength. A healthy diet contains enough amounts of calcium, which help to maintain health bone and teeth and prevent bone loss due to osteoporosis. Examples of foods that are rich in calcium include low-fat dairy products, fortified foods, dark green vegetables, cereals and fruit juices. Additionally, dieting will help individuals consume food rich in vitamin D, which help in the absorption of calcium. Fifth, dieting helps in weight control. Prevention of weight gain involves eating calories that are required for daily activities and not more. Dieting entails consumption of healthy food that comprises fruits and vegetables, which have limited calories. Losing weight through consumption of such food lowers the risk of type-2 diabetes, thyroid dysfunction and clogged arteries. Lastly, dieting helps in learning self-control. By being able to control food intake, one is able to control the mind, which has many benefits.

Counter arguments hold that losing weight by dieting is not ideal because it is short lived. This to some extent is justified because based on my personal experiences, two years ago I weighed 280 pounds and my objective was to lose 80 pounds. Losing such an amount of body weight required that I consume limited amounts of food, exercised daily for two hours, and avoided food that contained calories. However, after a short period, I lost track of sticking to the appropriate diet and later ended up gaining weight once again, and I started developing the side effects of dieting. I experienced prolonged hunger, dehydration and depression. Fortunately, I realized that I was not following expert advice and I was overdoing it. The outcome of these practices is uncontrolled weight loss. The disadvantages of dieting can be controlled by following expert advice and they are not hard to follow.

In other instances, some people argue that following a given diet is difficult because the attractions and cravings for fast foods are always difficult to contain. The issue of short-term is what prompts the critics to recommend other measures for example surgery because the latter is long-term and one does not need to follow any fixed schedule. Critics also argue that dieting is not an easy behavior because of compliance among people. On the other hand, there are those who argue that they are allergic to some foods and in that case do not find the method appropriate to them. In this case such individuals hold that their bodies react with some plant diets hence cannot be advised to such individuals. These arguments are brought forward to dissuade the case of trusting on diet for weight loss.

From the counter arguments, it should be noted that some of the justifications are true to some extent. However, according to the latest studies there is flexibility involved in the recommended diets and this is not the case being argued against by critics who hold that the diet is always fixed and difficult to follow. On the other hand, a diet can also be customized to a person’s physiological and physical states hence eliminating cases of inconvenience. Therefore, some arguments against diet with regards to convenience have no basis.

Weight loss surgery involves limiting food intake or disrupting the digestive process. This is a serious undertaking and one must understand the advantages and disadvantages of the procedure. Weight loss surgery is often seen as the option of last resort because after the operation one can longer eat the same way again. For instance, this technique is that it is effective in managing excessive obesity when other techniques such as diets and exercise have failed. Furthermore, surgery is a long-term weight loss technique that significantly reduces the chances of developing cardiovascular diseases. Considering that this technique permanently changes the way one eats, it is long-term nature. According to Wing & Phelan, “Weight loss surgery also helps in ending the vicious cycle of weight gain and help in realization of long-term weight loss that enhances the overall quality of life. Quality of life measure that ate enhanced by surgery includes increased self-esteem, social interactions, mobility and sexual function”. Additionally, surgery lowers anxiety and depression, which affect the quality of life. Another significant advantage is that it produces instant results compared to other techniques.

On other hands, I think losing weight by surgery has many disadvantages comparing to diet, and one of the notable disadvantages of weight loss surgery is malnourishment or anemia since it affects the way food is diegted, and how calories are absorbed. There is also the possibility of developing kidney stones due the rapid weight loss. This requires individuals to supplement their diets with vitamins and minerals. Another disadvantage of surgery is the possible risks associated with surgery. These include the risk of blood clots, infections and the failure of the operation to reduce weight. Otherwise, dieting does not require a complete change in dietary intake compared to surgery and the disadvantages are short-term in nature, as the body will adjust to the new dieting process. I also recommend diets over surgery because surgery involves more risk that may be life threatening.

Weight loss is the only way of reducing the rising cases of obesity. Although there are many weight loss programs that are available, diets and surgery are the most common techniques used. Diet is the most appropriate method compared to surgery because it is natural and enhances the overall health of the individual without posing any health risk. The disadvantages of dieting are mild and can be corrected by following expert advice, which is different from surgery, which alters they way food is digested and absorbed in the intestines. Additionally, diets are not expensive compared to surgeries.

Work cited

Wing, Rena and Phelan, Suzzanne. Long-term weight loss maintenance. The American Journal

of Clinical Nutrition. 2005. 82 (1): 2225-2255

Cordain Loren. The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.