Reading fitness journals it seems that there is a slight conflict of the trend with the general population. On one side the percentage of overweight and obese people has been increasing with obesity being the majority of heavy people. Then you have the fitness industry that has been getting publicity with more people signing up to belong to a gym or buying fitness equipment to improve health and appearance. It seems the general population is heading in two different directions.
For the overweight and obese individuals there are three directions to follow. One is to accept being heavier than the health charts recommend and be comfortable with the image you portray. Another is to take some pills that will cause you to lose weight and hope the side effects are safe. Then the third method is to try eating a healthy diet designed to help lose those extra pounds and follow a program of exercise to help burn off those fat cells. Of the three methods the diet and exercise program is the better program to follow as the person generally will lose weight and increase their fitness at the same time. It is also the hardest to follow versus not doing anything and remaining overweight or taking a pill that may have some serious side effects.
When you talk about fitness the person has to ask themselves, “What do they want to be fit for?” Is it health, appearance, gaining strength, or being able to run a marathon? The problem with the diet and exercise choice is that there are so many options available to them. It seems there are way too many diet books to choose from. It seems learning to substitute lower calorie foods versus high calorie foods is the easiest to follow since the person still gets to eat a good meal that has fewer calories than previous choices. Lean meats, fish, and chicken versus the fatty end of a steak is an example.
