10 Habits That Make You Unhealthy
1. Too busy to exercise.
You're not alone! Americans live a more sedentary lifestyle than we have in past generations yet our minds seem to be racing from everything we have to do. Sitting in traffic, clocking hours at our desks, and plopping in front of the TV in exhaustion at day end, exercise often goes by the wayside. Habit 4 Health can fix this! Complete our Contact Us form and ask for information on our next boot camp. Then join us for 8 weeks of serious and fun fitness success!
2. TV Watching
Prolonged TV watching is a strong predictor for obesity. Recent research has proved that people who watch around 2 hours of TV per day are much more likely to be overweight than those who watched only half an hour per day. When you watch TV you are virtually motionless. Your heart rate, blood pressure and metabolic rate decline, resulting in burning 20 to 30 calories less per hour. Multitask! Watch the Biggest Loser on NBC on Tuesday nights at 7:00 pm while running on the treadmill.
3. Task Snacking
Eating while doing other activities increases your odds of becoming overweight or obese. Snack on carrot or celery sticks. Kids love celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins on top (ants on a log) so why shouldn't you?
4. Frequent Fast Food Consumption
One of the big reason we're seeing more obesity in our society is because we are too stressed and busy to make healthy dinners at home, often opting for fast food at the drive-thru. Fast foods compromise the quality of the diet by replacing more healthy foods. Fast foods are known for high content of saturated and trans-fat, low content of fiber, and massive portion sizes, all leading to obesity. Make dinner with your family therefore creating family time and then pack the leftovers for lunch the next day.
5. Eating to Manage Feelings
Experts estimate that 75% of overeating is caused by emotions. How many times have you found yourself scouring the kitchen for a snack, or absently munching on junk food when you're stressed, but not really hungry? Snack on healthy foods such as an apple or broccoli with a bit of ranch dressing or spend some time doing something you love and you'll forget about whatever it is that was leading you towards eating.
6. Your Friends Can Make You Unhealthy
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that obesity may be 'socially contagious.' The study was conducted on more than 12,000 people over 32 years, and concluded that having an overweight friend, sibling, or spouse increased one's risk of obesity by 37 to 57%. Make new friends by walking your neighborhood at night. Before you know it you will have many new walking friends.
7. Lack of Sleep
Sleep deprivation can increase your risk of obesity by boosting ghrelin (an appetite stimulating hormone) and lowering leptin (an appetite suppressor). The study from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom found that, compared to an eight hours of shut-eye, each one hour decrease in sleep duration was linked to almost 3% more body fat. Make sleep a priority!
8. Unaware of Calories and Fat
Being unaware of calories and fat leads to weight gain and unhealthy eating habits because you easily consume twice the normal calories required to maintain your weight, let alone lose weight, if you don't know how many calories you are eating. Become a Habit 4 Health blog follower! We are always blogging nutrition education. Plus we include it in all of our Boot Camp programs!
9. Missing Meals
Research shows that people who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight, and that morning meals seem to help those who've lost weight keep it off. Denise Bruner, MD, obesity specialist and former president of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, says that skipping meals of any kind results in a 'tremendous bout of compensatory hunger.' Plan your meals in advance and prepare them with friends and family.
10. Uncomfortable Clothing
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse found that casual and comfortable clothing workdays promote increased physical activity-study participants took an average of 491 (8%) more steps on Jeans Day than those days in which they wore normal business attire. It's estimated participants burned an average of 35 additional calories on Jeans Day with the extra steps and miles walked. Wearing casual clothing every day for 50 weeks of work translates into burning an additional 125 calories per week and 6,250 calories per year. Promote business casual days at work and share your new comfortable clothing knowledge with friends and family.
Kick start your 2010 resolutions by kicking these bad habits goodbye!
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