They called me “Moose” as a youngster. It was probably because I was a good eater and may have also had something to do with me pilfering food off my younger sister’s plate whenever possible. I had a belly that was “distended” a little but was considered cute at that age.
Fortunately, I have been blessed with fast metabolism and as I’ve entered my thirties I’ve maintained a regular exercise regime. This has allowed me to entertain one of my favorite things to do on this planet: eat good food. I’m a self-proclaimed foodie and love few things more than a chef’s tasting menu. Slowly creeping forward is the topic of weight management. Its vice-like grip is approaching and I know changes will need to be made unless I decide to begin running to and from my exquisite dinners.
Today’s statistics show a concerning, upward trend of our belt sizes. There is an onset of busy lifestyles that promulgate the need for quick processed and high caloric foods. That and a decrease in daily physical activity for both young and old is concerning. The good news is that there is plenty of research on weight management giving rise to plenty of solutions.
The bad news is that most of the solutions are short-term. Our beloved dietary supplement industry has a handful of healthy solutions to this commonly mismanaged subject as indicated by the 10+% of the market share that “meal replacements” takes up.
There are ingredients old and new known to cause satiety beginning with (in my 17-year sprint through this industry) Hoodia gordonii and now maturing into extracts from beans that affect metabolism of lipids and block carbohydrate absorption as well as the coming and going and coming back again of probiotics. A new study says you can simply eat 20 percent of your daily calories from Pistachios and not contribute to weight gain.
OK, then.
I realize this subject pulls out the cynic in me, again. I am not a fan of short cuts or quick solutions. Good things take work and I believe you don’t get what you wish for. Rather, you get what you work for. I fall back on a common theme that a healthy regime of diet and exercise will do the trick. Now that I am 35 I am realizing that I need to add adequate sleep to the formula. At some point I will have to give up the pork belly appetizers for sautéed kale.
That’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. Will others? That’s a question I’m overwhelmed to answer.