How to Become Obese Level 2

I used to be thin and very active, but now, close to 30, signs of aging are already showing up. Sedentary living is really a bad habit to break. I'm trying to live healthy and active but conflict with my work schedule and Philippine weather is stopping me from doing so. It might be a lame excuse but most of the readers here would agree to that. I don't smoke, seriously I don't. I drink but not that much. I haven't been totally drunk, like in the movie -- Hangover.

When it comes to food, I'll be your perfect guy. I don't have any preferences and I'm not picky as well. As long as it is delicious I'm going to eat it. This is similar to Andrew Zimmern's tagline -- If It Looks Good, Eat It! Basically, I work, eat and sleep. The next morning I go through the same cycle. No wonder my waistline is getting bigger and bigger. When I am feeling stressed I fill up myself with comfort food. This is usually something fried and oily or if not, just cold and sweet. Just like chocolates, comfort food causes the brain to release endorphins, chemicals that make us feel good. Too much stress at work means uncontrollable binge eating. This is bad I know but you can't blame me I'm just human. I even tried slimming pills and different diet programs. I was losing 2-3 pounds a week but when I stopped taking those drugs I gained everything back plus more. Dieting makes me impatient and weak. I am a jolly person naturally, but when I'm on a diet I tend to be serious and irritable. You wouldn't like me when I'm hungry... I mean angry. I tried enrolling at Fitness First. I was really motivated during the first year but it slowly died as it felt like they just are extorting money from me every month. I had to cut my gym membership and end up saving more than 2,000 bucks a month. I'm back to square one and still clueless where to begin. Let me start by enumerating the reasons why I am overweight.

Top 5 reasons why I am overweight:

1. I eat too fast

Studies reveal that it takes at least 12 to 20 minutes for satiety (feeling of fullness) signals to reach the brain. We need to eat slowly so the "I'm full" messages have time to reach the brain. When we eat too fast it is harder for our digestive system to function properly, resulting in poor digestion, including indigestion and heartburn.

2. Lack of motivation to exercise.

I am thinking of waking up early and do some jogging. I do that if time permits and if the weather is good. I don't mind getting sun burns but my girlfriend does =). I love biking and swimming but I hate the scorching sun. Night ride is another option but my work schedule doesn't permit me so often. I do boxing but again, I need to check my work schedule and budget. Doing push-ups is boring. Sit-ups is just the same. Yoga is not my cup of tea. What else can I do? I believe I need motivation and discipline to make this work.

3. Lack of Sleep

According to the Internet: A large, new study, for example, provides the latest in a flurry of evidence suggesting that the nation's obesity epidemic is being driven, at least in part, by a corresponding decrease in the average number of hours that people are sleeping, possibly by disrupting hormones that regulate appetite.

4. Stress

stress is just a part of everyday life, right? Everybody, as in everybody even your pet get stressed. Depressing? Not always. Stress is the body's natural response to external events, both pleasant (a first kiss) and not-so-pleasant (traffic jams). In small doses, stress provides a beneficial prod when we need to step up productivity, and studies indicate that a lack of stress hormones can make us susceptible to autoimmune diseases (such as arthritis).

Our bodies are biologically programmed to put on weight when tension runs high. Here's what happens: a stressful event occurs and it signals an 'alarm' in the brain, which sends us into fight-or-flight mode. As a result, the body releases stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, which trigger carbohydrate cravings, increase blood sugar levels, and encourage the body to store fat as an energy reserve. "In the wild, we'd use those reserves to fight back or run away, but as we're usually stuck behind a desk, in a car, or a supermarket queue when stress appears, we don't utilize the energy and it accumulates — around our waist,"

Source: http://health.ninemsn.com.au/family/womenshealth/695056/how-stress-makes-you-fat

5. Great Appetite/ Craving / Binge Eating

Obviously this is the top most reason why I am overweight. I love to eat... a lot. I'm trying to control it by eating something more healthier yet delicious. Hopefully I can get back into shape as soon as possible. Being fat puts me to greater risk of acquiring diabetes and hypertension. This is not good. I need to change my habit and be health conscious. I don't want to rely on drugs and diet pills. Taking those alternatives can cause damage to our liver. 

If you are also suffering from being overweight, let's get busy and start sweating to health. No more excuses. Just do it. Let's get physical! Let's get it on!

Live life to the fullest by being healthy.