How Do You Know When The Time Has Come To Diet?

Are you one of the many millions of men and women who look in the mirror each day and say to themselves "I need to lose that excess weight"? Almost all of us have done this at some time and in most cases you really do need to shed some weight. This is not however always the case and so how do you know whether or not you really do need to shed some weight?

A great problem with weight gain is that it has a tendency to creep up on you when you are not paying attention and this is being seen especially in countries like the United States where obesity is now officially said to be an epidemic. Because your weight often rises slowly over a period of time, you usually simply do not notice the increase in terms of changes to your looks and only notice it when you step onto the bathroom scales. Thus, it is a good idea to get yourself into the habit of weighing yourself on a regular basis (approximately once a month is quite sufficient) and if you discover that it has risen noticeably then it is time to go on a diet.

Opinions differ about exactly what constitutes obesity but for our purposes here if your weight has increased by more than about thirty pounds or so then you are probably heading for obesity and a host of associated health problems.

Yet another sure sign that you probably need to lose weight is when a friend tells you that you are putting on weight. Now it is possible that you will take offense if a friend tells you that you ought to lose some weight but do not forget that they probably found it hard to pluck up the courage to tell you and are also more likely than not demonstrating a very real concern for your health and not passing a comment about how you look.

Another sign that you have gained too much weight is when you start having difficulty with simple tasks such as running to catch a bus or climbing a flight of stairs and discover yourself getting short of breath. Of course this will not necessarily be a consequence of being overweight and could be caused by other health problems, however you would be surprised at how many times the cause is indeed weight. If this happens your body is beginning to sound its alarm bells and these should definitely not be ignored.

A last and very simple, but frequently dismissed, sign that you are gaining weight is simply finding that your clothes no longer fit like they used to. A somewhat tight waistband after Christmas is not unusual for many of us but when it continues to get tighter and tighter and you find that you are buying bigger and bigger clothes every time you go shopping then the time has come to diet before your growing waist stretches not only your clothes but also your store card too much.

These are of course just a small number of examples of the many signs that you are overweight to the point at which you need to take steps to correct the situation. Excessive weight tends to creep up on you gradually and it is all too easy to simply not notice it at all. However the key to both looking and feeling good is comparatively simple - know your ideal weight and hop on the bathroom scales every now and again to make sure that you are not getting too heavy.

Obesity in America, and particularly obesity in teens, nowadays is a rising problem and one which has serious medical complications. It is also wise therefore to learn how to calculate your BMI which is the medical indicator for obesity.