The #1 Cause of Obesity Revealed.
What is really causing the obesity epidemic?
Obesity is no picnic. Obesity is directly linked to a host of severe health conditions like type 2 diabetes, cancer, stroke and the #1 killer of Americans, heart disease.
With ⅔ of Americans either overweight or obese, evidence of obesity is everywhere. The next time that you are at a public gathering of any sort, be that a concert, waiting for a flight at the airport, at a sporting event or even on a protest march to try and save your country from descending into a totalitarian dictatorship, just take a look around you. Everyone has gotten larger. How did we get to the point where almost everyone in our society is now at risk?
We did some digging into the leading causes of obesity and rank ordered them from 1-4. The good news is that every single cause of obesity is preventable. We can choose a different path forward. Here are the top 4 causes of obesity, and a solution for each challenge.
Sedentary lifestyle is the #4 cause of obesity. A sedentary lifestyle is one of the leading causes of disease, disability and the ‘gateway’ to health conditions caused by obesity. Sedentary means that you are not moving your body enough to support its proper function. It’s choosing to circle the parking lot multiple times to get the parking spot closest to the entrance. It’s taking the escalator over the stairs. It’s every time you make the decision to limit your physical movement, across a dozen tiny decisions every single day. When it comes to our bodies (and our minds for that matter), it’s use it or lose it - but the good news is that you don’t have to ‘use it’ that much to start to make major changes and improvements in your health. Studies have shown that just 10 minutes of a workout like our Beginner Bootcamp is enough to burn excess body fat, tone and strengthen muscle, and reverse damage caused by a sedentary lifestyle. 10 minutes of this type of workout is more effective than a 45 minute long jog. If it’s been years or even decades since you last purposefully exercised, giving us just 10 minutes a day can change your life.
Stress is the #3 cause of obesity. Chronic levels of long term stress is directly related to higher levels of obesity. The body fat that is triggered to accumulate from the stress hormone cortisol accumulates around the waist and belly, which in turn ups the risk factor for heart disease, diabetes and premature death. Stress can feel inescapable and lead to feelings of anxiety and depression. Studies have repeatedly shown that exercise and movement are extremely effective at reducing stress levels. Just 10 minutes of our Beginner Bootcamp a day can make a huge difference in the amount of stress that you are feeling.
Poor sleep is the #2 cause of of obesity. When you don’t get enough sleep, it impacts the part of our brain that controls and regulates our appetite. If you are not sleeping enough, you will likely be overeating and over consuming calories. Just one night of poor sleep made women over 50% less likely to exercise in one study from the UK, and another group of researchers found that sleeping for just an extra 1.2 hours per night caused people to eat up to 500 fewer calories the next day. Sleep is critical to weight loss. People that exercise regularly report better sleep, and better and more restful sleep can help reduce stress. It all fits together.
A poor diet is the #1 cause of obesity in the United States. Processed foods, processed carbohydrates and added sugar have created a ‘fat trap’ of foods that have very little in the way of nutritional value. Stripping out fiber and most nutrients from our food by engineering them in labs has created ‘food products’ that are addictive but never fill us up. Any ‘food product’ that comes in packaging - boxes, cans, plastics has been processed. ‘Whole’ foods like veggies, legumes, nuts, fruits, and lean protein sources like fish, chicken, beef are the types of ‘real’ foods that make up a healthy diet.
The BodyRock Meal Plan Bundle.
The truth is, that most of us aren’t mechanics, and don’t know how to fix a stalled car engine. We go to a reputable mechanic to get us back on the road, just like we go to a dentist to get our teeth fixed. Why am I bringing up mechanics and dentists? Because most of us aren’t dieticians or nutritionists either, and yet despite not knowing how to program or organize a healthy diet, we continue to pretend that we know what we are doing when it comes to the food we eat. The bottom line is that if we knew how to eat well, we wouldn’t be in a situation where just under 80% of us are overweight or obese. A meal plan is not a diet - it’s a lifestyle. Our meal plans take a common sense approach to food - there are grocery lists, and our meals, snacks and deserts are all easy to prep and family (kid) approved. We have a plan for meat eaters, another plan for vegans and vegitarians, and even a plan for intermittent fasting where there are zero food restrictions (yes you read that right - you can eat whatever you want on this plan). A meal plan is a map - it will keep you on track when it comes to your diet - you will have the knowledge and support to make better decisions, and give yourself and your family a fighting chance to avoid being a statistic.
All of these challenges are fully preventable. Our Beginner Bootcamp will solve or reduce the impact of all of these - helping to reduce the damage and get you moving towards weight loss, and toning up your body in an achievable, realistic way, building your confidence a day at a time. Adding a meal plan and starting to take control of your diet is the other way to improve every aspect of your life and support fat loss while you start to exercise. You’ve got this, and we are here to help. We’ve helped tens of thousands of women (and men) to get into the best shape of their lives overt the last 14 years, and if you like our vibe here at BodyRock, we’d love to have you train with us. For a limited time, we are offering a full year of unlimited access to our Beginner Bootcamp workout series on our fitness streaming service BodyRockPlus.com (think our version of Disney+ but for workouts) for just $69 with code NY22. There are tones of other workout programs you can also try, but our Beginner Bootcamp is the perfect 10 minute workout that will get you up and moving again.
Best,
Freddy