Aside from looking better, what are the benefits of losing weight?

• What are the main benefits of losing weight?
• What happens when you lose weight?
• Losing weight makes you feel better
• Losing weight improves your metabolism
• Losing weight improves your skin
• Losing weight makes you more attractive
• Losing weight reduces your risk of health problems
• Losing weight helps you live longer

As a woman, it’s quite likely you’ve dieted at some point in your life – perhaps it’s even a weekly, monthly or yearly routine for you. Most people diet for reasons of vanity, giving little thought to the many other benefits of losing weight. This article may just change that mindset, and give you that extra incentive you need to lose weight and maintain that loss long-term.

What are the main benefits of losing weight?

There are multiple health benefits of weight loss, and those benefits are only amplified the more weight you have to lose.

If you’ve been carrying around a lot of extra pounds for most or all of your adult life, the benefits you’re going to see are going to be pretty life changing. From improved health to better fitting clothes and even just having the ability to climb a flight of stairs or play soccer with the kids without getting out of breath, the advantages are vast.

Check out these other benefits of weight loss:

• Better self-esteem
• Better fitting clothes
• Improved mobility
• Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer
• Better overall health
• Brighter skin
• Increased lifespan

What happens when you lose weight?

If you’ve been overweight for a while, a number of positive changes happen when you lose that excess weight. Some are obvious from the outside, and some are less obvious, but no less beneficial to your overall health. So, what really happens when you lose weight? Let’s find out.

Losing weight makes you feel better

Everyone likes to look their best, but losing weight to make yourself feel better goes much more skin deep than merely allowing you to buy nicer clothes.

Obesity is a key contributor towards depression. Whether that’s due to a lack of self-esteem, feeling bad about the way you look, feeling too heavy or tired to get out and do the things you really want to do or just a general feeling of hopelessness, they’re all very valid reasons why losing even just 10% of your body weight will lead to you feeling better in yourself.

Losing weight improves your metabolism

There’s a common misconception that losing weight can only have a negative impact on your metabolism. While it’s true that the slimmer you are, the fewer calories you will need to maintain your current weight, it’s also important to remember that the more muscle mass you carry, the higher your metabolism will be.

Bearing this in mind, it’s important to ensure that whilst you lose body fat, you should also work to increase your muscle mass. This will ensure you maintain a healthy metabolism and keep that excess fat at bay in the long term.

Losing weight improves your skin

Your skin is the largest organ on your body – and like any other organ, if you feed it junk, it will feel, look and perform in a ‘junk’ kind of way.

Overweight people tend to struggle to maintain healthy levels of hydration, which is their first downfall when it comes to maintaining healthy-looking skin. In addition to that, the toxins in the poor quality food they eat can contribute towards a whole host of skin conditions, ranging from acne to eczema.

Compare that to a diet filled with nutrients and minerals which support the health of every organ in your body. Cardio exercise helps to get your blood pumping to the smaller capillaries just beneath the surface of your skin too, which results in improved blood flow and more nutrients being delivered to these areas which are so vital in ensuring our skin looks its best.

Losing weight makes you more attractive

With the inevitable improvements to your skin, a more slender physique and more muscle tone beneath your skin, you’ll be feeling (and looking) much more attractive in every way.

Clothes will fit you better, you won’t have to worry about muffin tops or loose skin sagging out of tight-fitting clothes, and you’ll carry your posture better too – which in itself can easily shave 10 years from your appearance!

Losing weight reduces your risk of health problems

Weight loss benefits aren’t simply limited to how you look. Joint problems are greatly reduced when you lose weight. Did you know that carrying just 10 extra pounds of body fat can increase the pressure across both of your knee joints by a whopping 40lb? As shocking as that sounds, imagine how light and energetic you’ll feel if you lose that same amount of weight. In addition, losing the excess weight now will help you to avoid complications such as knee surgery and arthritis in later life.

Even more concerning is the link between obesity and cancer. Scientists believe that the decrease in cancer-causing hormones such as estrogen, androgens and insulin which weight loss brings is what helps to lower this risk.

Of course, another dangerous disease which can be caused by carrying too much excess weight is type 2 diabetes. Even if you’ve already been diagnosed, losing your excess weight will help your body to recover and should lead to you being able to use less – or stop – medication.

Losing weight helps you live longer

Losing weight helps you to avoid diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes, but did you know it also allows you to increase the levels of ‘good’ cholesterol in your blood? Staying overweight makes it virtually impossible to increase this, but the good news is that eating a wide variety of healthy foods allows this to happen – and in turn helps you to avoid nasty things such as heart disease developing.

High blood pressure is also always a concern with overweight people. Losing your excess body weight will allow you to lower this to normal levels and help you to avoid having a potentially fatal stroke.

Conclusion

The benefits of losing weight are plain to see. You’ll look better, feel fitter, live longer and reduce your risk of having to live with debilitating conditions in your later years by losing any excess weight and keeping it off.

The trick is to change habits for a lifetime rather than focusing on losing as much weight as quickly as possible. Only then can you truly begin to enjoy the feeling of better long term health and wellness.