In 2013 a study went around in The Journal of the American Medical Association claiming that people overweight by up to 30 pounds were less likely to die earlier than those at a “normal” weight. This quickly came back to disproven, it was not a well conducted study, but it made people think. Decades of good science work has shown us that obesity certainly leads to serious health issues in life pretty much across the board. Those extra pounds can make you more prone to cancers, dementia, high blood pressure, diabetes, and any number of heart issues. What’s even scarier than all of that is the fact that over one third of American’s are considered obese at this point. It’s so important that you take care of your body, it’s the only one you’ll get and it works like a car, if you never work on it or take it into the shop, it’s going to fall apart much sooner than if you did take good care of it pretty much always. Weight loss is something a lot of people try and fail at, mostly due to lack of effort or commitment. But losing weight is not particularly easy, you have to just find what works best for you and also not lose too much every week.
Losing Weight
It isn’t the actual weight itself that’s the issue, it’s how that weight is distributed. If you weigh a lot but have hardly and fat and mostly muscle, you aren’t unhealthy. If you weigh a lot and hardly have muscle and are mostly fat, then you are unhealthy and you have a problem. It’s all on a case by case basis with this, everyone is made up differently. Everyone has different reasons for pursuing weight loss, some are tired of feeling how they do, others are worried about their future health and are trying to take steps now to preserve it. Obesity brings with it on average thousands of extra dollars a year in healthcare costs. Even more so for an obese child who is obese their whole life. Being overweight even cuts down on your energy and productivity at work, so you may find it harder to find and keep jobs. Employers may be wary of hiring someone that they don’t think can work to their full potential. Most people want to lose weight to better their own personal health, which weight has caused issues on. As long as you stay committed, once you get that weight off you should be able to keep it off with regular exercise and healthy eating habits.
Right off the bat, most people want to shed as many pounds as quickly as they can. The faster you’re rid of it the better, right? Wrong! A lot of evidence backs up the fact that those who lose weight more gradually at 1-2 pounds per week are healthier and better at keeping that weight gone in the long-term. It’s not as simple as not drinking as much soda anymore or walking once a week, it takes serious commitment! Even seemingly modest weight loss, like 5-10% of your total body weight is a great goal and starting point for anyone. That much weight loss can improve blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure right off the bat. So even your ultimate goal seems forever away, you’re on a long term journey to better yourself. You’ll learn new eating and physical activity habits that will help you live a healthier lifestyle for the rest of your life. It’s even been found that those who go through significant weight loss report better physical and mental health afterwards, so the changes are not all on the outside and make you feel better in all aspects of your health.
Healthy Lifestyle
Not everyone is built the same, thus not everyone is going to gain or lose weight the same way. Some people can eat whatever they want and never gain weight, others can lose weight just by watching what they eat, but some have to sweat it out in the gym for hours to see results. Just because you didn’t win the gene lottery doesn’t mean you can’t look and feel your absolute best, it just means you’re going to have to work hard for it. All you really need to do is fit an exercise routine into your day and eat healthy, and you should start seeing improvement. If you need more help, be sure to check out weight loss Cary.