10 Benefits of Losing Weight

Losing weight. The goal that so many people put at the top of their New Year’s resolutions list every year. The reason why so many corporations are involved in the fitness industry. The motivation of countless individuals in their quest for a better quality of life.

But in addition to looking healthier and decreasing the chance of developing heart disease, what additional benefits can one derive from losing weight?

It turns out that if you’re overweight or obese, there’s a long list of benefits to losing weight, both for your physical health and your mental health.

PHYSICAL HEALTH BENEFITS

1. Better Cardiovascular Health 

One out of every three deaths in the United States is due to cardiovascular disease. One out of every three. It develops when plaque builds up in the arteries, blocking blood flow and oxygen from reaching the heart. And the top risk factors include eating an unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and obesity. While family history also plays a role in the likelihood of developing heart disease, the rest of the factors can be modified with lifestyle changes, such as eating whole foods.

2. Higher Quality Sleep 

Being overweight or obese often results in sleep problems, such as sleep apnea, snoring, and insomnia. All of these conditions are a consequence of breathing difficulties. Losing weight will improve breathing, which results in healthier lungs and a better night’s sleep.

3. Eliminate Joint Pain

Every pound of extra weight adds four times the amount of stress to the joints. This increases the risk of wearing down cartilage and developing osteoarthritis. To add insult to injury, excess weight and unhealthy foods cause inflammation, which is a leading cause of joint pain.

4. Healthier Skin

When you replace the Standard American Diet, (SAD), especially with foods rich in antioxidants, your body produces more collagen, which promotes skin elasticity and gives your skin a youthful appearance.

5. Reduced Allergies

About 30% of adult-onset asthma cases are triggered by allergies, a factor that is connected to obesity. This is because excess weight places a lot of stress on the adrenal glands and respiratory system.

EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS

In addition to feeling better physically, you’ll find that getting to a healthy weight will do wonders for your overall state of mind:

6. Increased Self-Confidence

This is true if the extra weight is not linked to emotional issues. If that’s the case, one would need to work through the underlying mental health issues before they can truly feel comfortable in their own skin. But successfully losing weight and keeping it off brings a sense of accomplishment that serves as motivation to continue with a healthier lifestyle.

7. Improved Mood

Losing weight can cultivate significant improvements in symptoms associated with depression. Now, this doesn’t mean that losing weight is a cure for people living with clinical depression. However, carrying extra weight has been linked to emotional issues.

8. Mental Clarity

Obesity leads to memory impairment. This is because a high Body Mass Index (BMI) negatively affects brain function. The good news is that this detrimental effect can be reversed by losing weight.

9. Food Tastes Better

Ok, so this one could’ve been listed under physical benefits. But you have to admit how happy it makes you to eat food that tastes delicious. The reasons food tastes better once you lose weight is that obesity dulls the taste buds. This can be blamed on the food industry training our taste buds to crave their flavor chemicals. The good news is that you can retrain your palate to love healthy foods.

10. Enjoying Exercise

There are a lot of aspects of being overweight that make regular exercise feel like a hassle: Getting out of breath quickly, feeling self-conscious at the gym, experiencing joint pain when walking or jogging. As you start losing weight, all of these issues start lessening or completely disappearing. The increased energy and the endorphins released may also make you realize that there are exercises you actually enjoy doing.

IF YOU ARE TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT, LET SLIM4LIFE HELP YOU

No matter how diligent you may be in pursuing your weight-loss goals, we all experience plateaus and frustrations. Let us help you with such hurdles.
Schedule a free consultation to see how you can lose weight and keep it off. We’ll help you develop a nutritionally balanced lifestyle that’s enjoyable and sustainable. You can fill out our online form or call us at 1-833-SLIMTODAY (1-833-754-6863).