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Kayla Rupp

Professor Hughes

English 1201

19 March 2020

Losing Weight

I have been trying to lose weight for months now and I finally decided that I was going to

go to the grocery store and get a whole pantry and refrigerator/freezer full of healthy food. But

first, I started by cleaning out my refrigerator and pantry in order to take out all of the junk food.

While I was cleaning these out, I realized it made sense why I was having trouble losing weight.

From my pantry I pulled out potato chips, twinkies, candy, and chocolate chip cupcakes. From

my refrigerator/freezer I

got rid of soft pretzels, big

greasy hamburgers, pizza,

chicken strips, and french

fries. Now it is time to go

to the grocery store so I can

begin trying to lose weight

and get on a healthy diet.

When I arrived at the grocery store, I started walking in and grabbed my cart. The first thing I

did was go to the fruits and vegetables. I grabbed blueberries, celery, apples, asparagus, lettuce,

zucchini, and squash. Next, I grabbed some items from the meat department like chicken, steak,
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and fish. Then, I got some other healthy snacks and realized that I am all finished and ready to

check out.

Cashier: “I can help who’s next in line.”

Me: “That is me, I am next in line.”

Cashier: “Go ahead and place all of your items up here.”

Me: “Okay, thank you.”

Cashier: “Hey, I remember you. You just came in last week and got a wide variety of

sweets. Looks like you are trying to do something a little different.”

Me: “Yes I decided to start eating healthier to see if I can lose weight.”

Cashier: “Wow, that is awesome! I wish you the best of luck and hope that all goes well!”

Me: “Thank you so much. That really means a lot.”

Cashier: “Have a great day!”

After leaving the store it made me super excited because I get to try out all of my new

food. This is going to be so much better than what I used to eat. ​ Reducing weight should be an

important task in your life. Physical activity, having a balanced diet, and motivation from others

is what it takes to lose weight.

Getting a scale to weigh one’s self could be a very useful asset and help along the way

when trying to lose weight but it could also go in the opposite direction. Finding what is best for

each individual is important when beginning to lose weight. The main goal of getting on the

scale every day is to see that there is improvement from the day before. But if stepping on the

scale and seeing that their numbers went in the opposite direction, that could be a major problem.
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This could be a problem because it may prevent them from being successful and wanting to step

back on the scale.

The success rate of getting a scale for the food is a very big number. It can help with

multiple different things such as counting calories and weighing your serving sizes. This shows

that having a scale is beneficial. The scale can help with portion sizes and controlling how much

is being eaten. It is a great way to make sure that overeating does not occur. Even overeating

healthy foods is not beneficial. If one continues to overeat at each meal, even if that food is

healthy, they will not be successful in losing weight. Having a scale to measure out portion sizes

is a great way to avoid this issue.

Losing weight is a common issue that occurs around the world that people struggle with.

Multiple different people try going on different diets and exercise but they do not work all the

time. A few different diets that people go on are gluten free, keto, paleo, and mediterranean. The

gluten free diet does not allow humans to eat wheat, rye, barley, or oats. On a keto diet, the goal

is to try and avoid beans, grains, sugars, sweeteners, sugary beverages, etc. The paleo diet

suggests to not eat processed food but eat whole foods. Lastly, the mediterranean diet wants

people to avoid foods with added sugars, processed meats, refined oils, and refined grains. These

diets are just some of the many different diets that humans try to go on while trying to lose

weight.

Dieting is hard for people to do because of the cost between healthy food and unhealthy

food. This is a major

setback for
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people just because of the cost. Some people are poor and are unable to afford the extra money

each year. Which means, if they are unable to afford the extra money it could limit people from

being less obese and losing weight. It would make sense for people to continue eating fast food if

they cannot afford the healthy. From McDonald’s they have one dollar menu items that include

different breakfast, lunch, and dinner food. Whereas at Kroger for a box of strawberries or grilled

chicken breast, the cost is easily over two dollars. This is one type of issue that thousands and

thousands of people encounter while trying to lose weight.

For many people they do not know whether the food is actually good or bad for one's

body. Multiple people shopping at the grocery store just throw all kinds of different items in their

cart. But, what they actually do not know is how much protein is in something, or how much

sugar is in the food item. One example is, “​Granola​ sounds like a healthy breakfast option, but

it’s high in calories, and some brands contain a lot of sugar.” (Brown 1) An example of what a

lot of people think is a healthy food item but it actually is not is diet drinks. In this case, if one

does not know the healthy food options then researching the food or looking at the bag will help

decide whether the item is healthy enough for one's diet.

Motivation from friends, family, grandmas/grandpas, and aunts/uncles can make a huge

impact when someone is trying to lose weight. Knowing that someone believes in them makes

them want to push themselves harder and harder each day. The success of many women and men

are from being pushed from their peers. Without this vital support, weight loss would be even

more difficult.

The article written by Marianne Eg about Lifestyle Changes Affect Adolescents’ has a

study that is being conducted that is focusing on how family interactions control young adults
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ability to lose weight after being enrolled in a weight loss program. She believes that in order to

benefit from losing weight the family must be supportive. The whole family must be supportive

if one is trying to go through weight loss no matter what is going on and the issues that they are

coming across. Without a support system, it is difficult for individuals to reach their weight loss

or dieting goals. Constant reassurance from family and friends is key to helping someone

become healthier and stick to their diet and exercise. Some people may not choose to diet and

exercise, but whatever plan they have in place to improve their overall wellness still includes the

constant support from loved ones. This shows that family and friend’s support is so important

and can affect how well one does with losing weight and keeping the weight off.

Next, there is a nutrition journal that elaborates on how supporting humans helps them

for the better. Many people when attempting weight loss do not get the proper help and training

needed. Doing research is something that may be able to help guide individuals through their

weight loss journey. It is so important to not only know what to do in order to lose weight, but to

also understand how these techniques and dieting cause weight loss to happen in the first place.

Having support makes people want to continue what they are performing and helps them try

more. Also, if someone has determination this will help lead them on a path to success. It is

nearly impossible for anyone to achieve their goals without any motivation. It is important for

individuals to keep themselves motivated every day. This article shows that the support and

guidance will make a huge difference in the end in how it will affect one with their weight loss.

Physical activity is a huge part of losing weight. The goal in physical activity is to try and

burn off as many calories as possible. Being physically active daily is important for good health

but it is very important if weight loss and maintaining that loss are the goals.. There are so many
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things that can be done to stay physically active. For example: taking your dog for a walk,

walking around the neighborhood, doing yard work, playing sports, swimming laps, etc. These

are just a few of the countless number of things humans can do. Being physically active helps to,

“maintain weight, reduce high blood pressure, reduce risk for type 2 diabetes, heart attack,

stroke, and several forms of cancer, reduce arthritis pain and associated disability, reduce risk for

osteoporosis and falls, reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.”(“Physical Activity for a

Healthy Weight” 1) Just by being active daily multiple different bad things that can happen to

one's body can be prevented.

Furthermore, the study “10 Proven Strategies to Help Patients Maintain Weight Loss:

Patients’ Chances of Keeping off Weight Long-Term Improve with Evidence-Based

Interventions, Such as a Sound Diet, More Exercise, and Attention to More Thoughtful Eating

Habits.” (Hynes 1) Talks about multiple different strategies in how weight loss can be

maintained. One strategy is to encourage patients to spend more time exercising. Exercising is

not only helpful for someone physically, but it is also good for people mentally. It is great for

relieving stress as well as helping to keep a healthy body. This strategy is helpful because being

able to maintain a high level of activity is crucial.

Pathos is described as connecting to someone’s emotions. Losing weight is most

definitely a key point in the appeal of pathos. Dieting makes everyone feel different. The main

goal is to make a change to your body and help yourself feel better about your appearance. An

example is a person taking a before and after picture of themself and seeing the result of the diet

they tried. The people show individuals this because they want to try and make everyone come

and try their diet. If they try and appeal to the emotions of the people they are trying to sell
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things to, then people are more likely to make a personal connection with the product at hand.

This helps dieting companies make more money as well.

Ethos is the way a writer indicates that they are ethical. This is usually done by sharing

their credentials and by acknowledging the weaknesses of their argument. When looking for

different ways to lose weight looking for a reliable source is crucial. Using the .org website is

better than using the .com because the -org website includes factual information instead of the

.com where the source would not be as credible. Http websites mean that it is protected and

secured. When looking for good sources it is very important to make sure there is good

information for the topic of weight loss. Looking into the author’s information is important as

well. For example looking more into doctors, nutritionists, health people, etc would be a good fit

for more reliable information.

Logos appeal to logic and reason is often used in writing and shown by facts or statistics.

Logically losing weight should be easy if humans follow a diet plan, eat healthier and do some

physical activity. The best way to find out if a diet is meant for them is to learn more about the

diet and research it. An example that humans could also look into is meal prepping a healthy

meal. Meal prepping is prepping he/she’s meals on a day for a certain period of time. Doing this

will help prevent stopping and getting fast food or making a big greasy dinner because a healthy

meal is already made.

Bullying’s definition is seeking to harm. At school multiple overweight teenagers are

being bullied. Targeting the obese kids is an easy mark because society mocks obesity. ​Most

people who are being bullied have thoughts of doing self harm to themselves. Bullying and

obesity can have a huge relationship and can be very dangerous when the two are put together.
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Overall, bullying could be a major setback for one that is going through the process of losing

weight.

Getting enough rest contributes to losing weight. ​A sleep schedule that has a bigger

connection with obesity is 6 hours of sleep or less, whereas a set sleep schedule from 10pm to

6am is not. The right amount of rest can improve one's ability to have a well balanced weight.

Humans' physical and mental health are affected by the amount of sleep they get. One’s physical

and mental health is important to be great when going through the weight loss process. If there is

a really bad health problem then it could be much harder to lose weight. For example heart

disease, respiratory disease, bulimia and anorexia could be an issue that comes across for humans

mental and physical health issues. All in all, getting enough sleep is a key point in the weight

loss process.

There is a major difference between losing weight and losing healthy weight. Most

people think the goal is to lose as much weight as possible in the shortest amount of time, which

is the goal but they have to maintain the weight loss. Studies say that people are more successful

when losing around one to two pounds per week and keeping the weight off. Healthy weight is

not just following a certain diet or certain exercise plan for a period of time it is a long term

commitment. BMI stands for body mass index. The equation for BMI is kilograms divided by

meters squared. There are different ranges of BMI that one can be in. Some examples are

underweight, overweight, dangerously overweight, etc. Having a BMI between twenty and

twenty two is considered a healthy weight and having a BMI of forty and above is considered

dangerously overweight. Bringing the BMI below twenty five will help benefit one's health in

the way they look and how they feel.

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Genetics plays a role in the ability for one to lose weight. Some people can just eat and

they never gain any weight. While others eat and they continue to gain weight. Sometimes that is

why some are obese and others are not. This can be determined by parents being obese, other

relatives being obese, how much one loves food, the amount of exercise that one does and

multiple other ways. A study shows, “​Genes contribute to the causes of obesity in many ways, by

affecting appetite, satiety (the sense of fullness), metabolism, food cravings, body-fat

distribution, and the tendency to use eating as a way to cope with ​stress​.” (Harvard Health

Publishing 1) This piece of textual evidence indicates that your genes have the ability to

influence the way a human can lose their body mass in multiple ways.

There is a question that is often asked about who loses weight faster, men or women.

Studies show that females have more trouble with weight loss than men. Men usually carry a

greater amount of weight around their gut while women carry more around their thighs and hips.

Men have a higher metabolism than women and they naturally produce more lean muscle.

Studies have shown, “Men tend to have more lean muscle tissue, which burns more calories than

body fat, even during rest. And when men and women cut the same number of calories, men

usually do lose more weight.” (Barnett,1) This example achieves greatness because it shows why

women do not lose weight as quickly as men.

There are multiple misconceptions with weight loss. This includes having to go out of

your way to do something that you would like to achieve because it will not just come to you

nine times out of ten. More often than not eating smaller portions of the food that one is craving

is better than avoiding it so that the craving for the food goes away. Another misconception is

with the food groups that should or should not be consumed and the diets that humans should or
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should not go on. For example most say that eating carbs previous to a work out give the body

more fuel because they are filled with energy.

Humans assume physical activity, dieting, and motivation from others doesn’t assist

someone with weight loss. This is mentioned because it can be expensive and a hassle. Also

people think that eating a lower amount of calories only does so much and they do not get to

continue eating the food they love. When it comes to physical activity people think that it might

not help due to the injuries that could potentially happen and what that could look like for them

in the long run. Another aspect of what people think about the negative part of dieting is missing

out on the nutrition one's body actually needs because one is trying to follow a specific diet.

Many people do not have the mindset of losing weight if they enjoy their food that much.

Furthermore, others say remaining on track with the amount of calories consumed can be helpful

for one trying to lose weight. This will help keep one in their boundaries. The more prosperous

ones pay closer attention to each step they take throughout their journey.

If the cashier did not believe in me like she did, then my success rate would not be as

good. Physical activity, having a balanced diet, and having motivations from others most

definitely improves one's weight loss goal. The balance of having good adequate sleep, exercise

and a good diet makes a big effect on a person's life. Getting enough rest keeps the mental and

physical health of humans better and helps them get through the day with achieving their weight

loss goals. Getting good exercise helps burn as many calories as possible and keep individuals

stress levels down. All in all, if anyone is trying to achieve weight loss start with physical

activity, having a balanced diet, and getting motivation from others.

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Work Cited

alexrader7. “The Cost of Eating Healthy.” ​Food Deserts in America,​ 13 Mar. 2017,

alexrader7.tumblr.com/post/158327671359/the-cost-of-eating-healthy. Accessed 24

March, 2020.

Barnett, Bob. “Weight Loss and Gender: Do Men Lose Weight Faster?” ​WebMD​, WebMD,

www.webmd.com/diet/features/do-men-lose-weight-faster-than-women#1​. Accessed 24

March, 2020.

Brown, Jessica. “10 Foods You Think Are Healthy but Aren't.” ​indy100​, indy100, 30 Sept. 2017,

www.indy100.com/article/foods-you-think-are-healthy-actually-unhealthy-sugars-fats-die

t-7975811​. Accessed on 24 March, 2020.

Eg, Marianne, et al. “How Family Interactions about Lifestyle Changes Affect Adolescents’

Possibilities for Maintaining Weight Loss after a Weight-Loss Intervention: A

Longitudinal Qualitative Interview Study.” ​Journal of Advanced Nursing (John Wiley &

Sons, Inc.),​ vol. 73, no. 8, Aug. 2017, pp. 1924–1936. ​EBSCOhost,​

doi:10.1111/jan.13269. Accessed on March 17, 2020.

Harvard Health Publishing. “Why People Become Overweight.” ​Harvard Health,​

www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/why-people-become-overweight.Accessed on

24 March, 2020.

Hynes, Marijane. “10 Proven Strategies to Help Patients Maintain Weight Loss: Patients’

Chances of Keeping off Weight Long-Term Improve with Evidence-Based Interventions,

Such as a Sound Diet, More Exercise, and Attention to More Thoughtful Eating Habits.”

Journal of Family Practice,​ vol. 69, no. 1, Jan. 2020, pp. 20–25. ​EBSCOhost​,
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search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=141746704&site=eds-live.

Accessed on March 17, 2020.

Natalie. “Junk Food vs. Healthy Food: Which Fuels Your Body Better? .” ​UrbanNaturale,​ 10

Nov. 2017, ​www.urbannaturale.com/junk-food-vs-healthy-food-fuels-body-better/​.

Accessed on April 7, 2020.

“Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight.” ​Centers for Disease Control and Prevention​, Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 May 2015,

www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html​. Accessed on 24 March, 2020.