4 minute read
What Will You Gain with a Weight Loss Program?
Most people go into a weight loss program having no idea of the vast gains they will experience as a result of the loss.
Maybe they just think they’ll drop a size or two or three, learn a few new tricks for how to eat healthier and become more disciplined. They will: but it’s so much more than that.
Many of us stay trapped in an unhappy lifestyle while using food as an escape. You can unlearn this once you embark on a healthy lifestyle and create new habits.
What will you gain by losing weight and changing your habits?
Confidence.
Weighing more than we would like can affect our confidence in all areas of life. Whether feeling self-conscious taking those first steps onto the beach, not going after that person you’d like to date, worrying about how you look on a job interview, or turning down any activity that emphasizes how out of shape you are, you can say goodbye to this limited mindset that holds you back from really living. Losing weight will help you look good, feel good, do more and grow confident…. so you can go after your dreams and do the things you want to do in life.
Increasing attractiveness.
People say we should not judge a person’s looks based on size. Someone may have a beautiful or handsome face yet still be overweight. But there remains the fact that we do look better when we are a healthy size and shape.
Sticking to a regular exercise routine that combines cardio with stretching and weightlifting results in a leaner and more sculpted body even bringing out the contours of your neck and face. So if you’re already naturally attractive, with good features plus some extra pounds on you, you are bound to increase your hotness factor even more after losing weight and getting in shape. Being overweight put stress on the body. The organs take a beating having to process all of the food, sugar and other harmful substances we ingest when we overeat or choose foods that are low in nutrition or contain harmful additives.
We talked about how this can impact our looks. But even more importantly, you want to be healthy in order to fully participate in life without struggling, breaking a sweat, or increasing your chance of injury.
When you lose weight, you gain overall improved health. Your body is better able to attend to its basic functions such as processing your food, eliminating waste, regulating functions like metabolism and hormone production, and fighting illness.
New knowledge of good nutrition and health.
Many people who are overweight go into their weight loss program having little knowledge
and understanding of what should be done to optimize health and stay fit. Choosing a weight loss program or healthy lifestyle approach that combines smart food choices with a regular exercise can greatly improve their understanding of how the body works and what’s needed to maintain good health.
A community of supporters.
One thing you may not have considered is that if you get serious about making a healthy lifestyle change, you might get the opportunity to meet others who share your goal and will encourage and support you on the path. It’s great to be surrounded by people who embrace your way of living and can keep you motivated. One challenge that many weight loss seekers share is that they might not receive the support they need from family and friends. Eating is a highly social activity. So when we decide to change our habits around food and eating, we sometimes don’t get the type of understanding and support that we need from the people we love the most.
That’s why when you join a community of similarly minded weight loss and healthy lifestyle seekers, you get to benefit from the shared mindset and mutual encouragement that happens between you and your peers.
Awareness.
Once you embark on a healthy lifestyle, you may gain awareness and insights that you never had before. You will learn new ways of thinking about food that help you embrace and sustain good habits. You will become more mindful about what goes into your body and the effects that it can have, both positive or negative depending on what it is.
Good habits.
You may grow in awareness of your own emotional dependence on food and you may seek to improve the relationship that you have with food. Committing to a healthy lifestyle that includes nutritious foods and regular exercise means that you are inviting healthy habits into your life. Once you cultivate these behaviors in yourself they eventually become habits which can be lifechanging.
An example of this is exercise. If you never exercised before, or if what you did in the way of exercise was minimal, a surprising thing can happen. You might begin to realize that you feel so much happier and healthier after you exercise. You have more energy, your body feels stronger and you can move more easily and freely.
This can become a lifelong good habit, in that when you don’t exercise you can now recognize the difference in how you feel and in your energy levels and mood. For some people, exercise becomes a lifelong practice once they introduce it as part of their weight loss goals.