14 Habits That Make You Fat

1. TV Watching

Prolonged TV watching is a strong predictor for obesity1.
Recent research2 has proved that people who watch around two 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. Research by Harvard University4 has shown that there is a link between the amount children eat and the amount of television they watch.

2. Eating Too Fast

It is a habit of most people living in a fast paced society. Eating fast lets you eat too much before you are fully aware of it. It takes the brain about 15-20 minutes to start signaling feelings of fullness. Scientists suppose that fast eating is a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome3, a combination of the symptoms such as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance.

3. Task Snacking

Task snacking refers to eating while doing other activities. if you often eat meals or snacks while working by yourself in front of your computer, while driving, watching TV, or standing at the kitchen counter, shopping with a friend, or talking on the phone, it’s likely that the “task snacking” eating style is increasing your odds of becoming overweight or obese.

4. Frequent Fast Food Consumption

One of the big reasons we’re seeing more obesity in our society these days is that we are too stressed and busy to make healthy dinners at home, often opting to get fast food at the nearest drive-thru instead. Fast foods compromise the quality of the diet by replacing more healthy foods. Fast foods are known for having high content of saturated and trans-fat, low content of fiber and massive portion sizes, which leads to obesity.

5. Eating To Manage Feelings

Emotional eating is the practice of consuming large quantities of food (usually “comfort” or junk foods) in response to feelings (such as depression, anxiety, or loneliness) instead of hunger.

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?

6. Too Busy To Exercise

With all the demands on your schedule, exercise may be one of the last things on your to-do list. If so, 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. Unfortunately, from sitting in traffic, clocking hours at our desks, and plopping in front of the TV in exhaustion at the end of the day, exercise often goes by the wayside.

7. Your Friends Can Make You
Fat

If you’re putting on weight, you might want to take a look at who you’re hanging around with. A study7 published in the July 26, 2007 edition of 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 percent.

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Keeping Things in Perspective

Mountains have always captured our imaginations, calling us to scale their heights, to circle and worship at their feet, and to pay homage to their greatness. Mountains can be seen from thousands of miles away, and if we are lucky enough to be on top of one, we can see great stretches of the surrounding earth. As a result, mountains symbolize vision, the ability to rise above the adjacent lowlands and see beyond our immediate vicinity. From the top of the mountain, we are able to witness life from a new perspective—cities and towns that seem so large when we are in them look tiny. We can take the whole thing in with a single glance, regaining our composure and our sense of proportion as we realize how much bigger this world is than we sometimes remember it to be.

Mountains are almost always considered holy and spiritual places, and the energy at the top of a mountain is undeniably unique. When we are on top of a mountain, it is as if we have ascended to an alternate realm, one in which the air is purer and the energy lighter. Many a human being has climbed to the top of a mountain in order to connect with a higher source of understanding, and many have come back down feeling stronger and wiser. Whenever we are feeling trapped or limited in our vision, a trip to our nearest mountain may be just the cure we need.
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Finding the Technique for Perfect Breathing

by Travis Wright

Back in 1995, I noticed that I was breathing incorrectly. The more I noticed it, the more that, it seemed, it got worse. Little did I know, the Law of Attraction was in full effect. Energy flows where attention goes. My breathing got worse. Then stress began to prevail in my neck and throat, and for the last 12 years, I have been inflicted by this stressful inconvenience.

As a result of my poor breathing, I put on about 60 pounds. Obviously, without as much oxygen in the system to help with burning of calories, weight gain will take place. Exercise would become more of a chore, because when you are breathing incorrectly, it puts more strain on everything.

The more you notice something like this, more it takes over your thinking. I began to think that the stress in my throat and poor breathing might end my life prematurely. This is a scary thought. The more focus I put on it, the worse it got.

According to many sources, they say that 40-60% of people breathe incorrectly. So, I’m not alone, I thought. Factor in that most people nowadays, spend numerous hours sitting incorrectly at a PC, and that makes everything worse. In fact, most people who breathe incorrectly, do so by having the ‘Goose Neck’ effect, which is a posture of extending the head forward.

So, I had the opportunity to listen to the Vocal Coach audio series, and they had a visual exercise that really helped me out:

HOW TO CORRECT POOR BREATHING
Imagine a string on the back of the top of your head, and imagine two strings on each side of your collarbone. These strings are then pulled tight to the ceiling, and you stand upright, like a marionette. This lifts up your head and chest and allows for proper diaphragm breathing, as opposed to shallow chest breathing. DO NOT hold your stomach in, let it flow in and out, expanding and contracting. Instead enjoy the feeling of your tummy. Ahhhh.
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Why Stress Can Make You Fat And Ruin Your Looks

By: Jean Richards

We are all likely to suffer from high stress levels at some point in our lives, and in today’s crowded, busy, fast paced world stress is definitely on the increase. But if left unchecked, high levels of long term stress can wreak havoc with your looks and increase your waistline for a number of reasons.

Part of our physical reaction to stress means our bodies go into a sort of primitive ‘survival mode’ – several hormones including cortisol and adrenalin are released which cause our blood pressure and heart rate to rise, our digestive activity to be suspended and blood to be diverted to our muscles and skin. Our body is preparing us for fight or flight!
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