Exactly!! We are marching to war! Are you with me?

Hehehe. Don’t worry. We aren’t sending you to a physical war. But taking action against obesity is pretty much like a war in this day and age, especially with the current widespread prevalence among the youth and even young children.

We have covered who classifies as obese and it’s attendant complications (nuclear & extended family members) in our last two posts. Please check them out if you haven’t read up. That way, you understand the flow of this post.

Today, we hand you your freshly smithed, specially crafted and lacquered tools of war:

 

(If you don’t know Voltron, The Defender Of The Universe….🙆)

 

Your Helmet – Medical Check Up

In our last posts, we talked about how obesity in some individuals has organic origins. There are disease conditions that cause obesity. If you deal with the disease, the obesity concomitantly fizzles away.

Your Night Goggles – Mental Focus

The mind can be a fearsome thing, trust me. More than half of your actions are influenced directly by your subconscious mind. The funniest part of it is that you have no idea why you are doing what you are doing.

Point here? Make up your mind what you want to do. What’s your target? Write it down. Paste it on your bedroom wall. Put reminders around you – office desk, bedside table, dining table, kitchen etc

Your Body Armor – Get A Dietician (Or Nutritionist)

Let’s be frank here. Only a very small percentage of the world has any idea at all what kind of food type and quantity is congruous with their body type. What is appropriate for one isn’t necessarily applicable to another. A dietician would assess your age, body type, metabolism speed and medical needs before crafting a proper meal plan for you AND It isn’t as expensive as you may think.

Your Pistol – Eat Early

Please have your evening meals on time, preferably by 7:30pm. I know it might be asking a lot, especially given the kind of challenges one may have getting home by that time. In a city like Lagos, it can be tedious. However, you must find a way. If you have to make special arrangements around it, then just do so. Healthy living is not a passive activity. You work at it. So, eat early and eat light.

Your Shotgun – Eat Smaller But More Frequent Meals

I know so many people who eat one or two huge meals a day and feel satisfied. This is the same advice we give diabetic patients. Eat smaller and better balanced meals more frequently. That way, your system is not suddenly overloaded with food nutrients it may not need at the time. With smaller but more frequent meals, you keep your baseline metabolism going steadily all through the day and reduce those frustrating cravings for snacks that are more likely to add an extra “love handle” (complete extra tyre 😂) to your waist.

Your Sword – Eat Fruits, Vegetables & Whole Grain

At this juncture, I choose not to sound like a broken record about the importance of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. If as of yet, you have not heard anything about these………..I would be seriously worried…..Unless you’re aged 5 or below……..or you just might be from another planet. 🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃

Your Grenade – Drink Loads Of Water

We’ve discussed this at length in our last posts. Need I say more? Water is another way to stave off cravings plus it is absolutely important for the smooth running of your body system. Water constitutes 72% of your body. Kindly make it available in correct quantities. Check your weight and calculate. 1L per 25kg

Your Bazooka – Exercise

This is basic. When you burn more than you eat, you lose weight. In an upcoming post, we will dwell properly on exercise as a stand-alone topic.

Your Shield – Sleep

Does it seem strange that sleep is appearing on this list? Believe me, it is not. When you sleep, your brain does reconnaissance to determine what your body needs, conduct repairs, get rid of toxins and secrete hormones. Sleep is an absolute necessity for optimal metabolism.

For the war strategy specialists out there who would like to take up my choice of equipment 😀😀, kindly note that it is almost impossible to include all the battle attack and defensive tools that exist today, so I have just picked a few. Please tell us in the comments section about any additional equipment and obesity tackling strategies not included in this post. We need all the knowledge we can get. 😉

In summary, the truth to all this is that DISCIPLINE is the watch word. Without focus and discipline, you can wish to slim down all you want but nothing is going to happen.

Remember our anthem? The ball is in your court. CHOOSE, CHOOSE, CHOOSE!!!

See ya!

If you have any comments or contributions on today’s topic, be quick to comment or send me a mail at feedback@healthcare-ng.com I will be glad to read from you and answer all your questions.

Author: Dr. Lola Odubitan, MBBS

 

<<< Read Previous Article                                                                         Read Next Article >>>