weight Archives - Why Weight Ireland®
Last updated by Hannah Nolan at 17 October 2016 .
Very often when people decide to lose weight, they set their sight on their final goal – but if you have a lot to lose, this can be a long way off and the journey feels quite daunting which is not great for keeping yourself motivated. So my advice is to set your weight loss goal in a series of mini steps – 10% is a good amount to aim for each time. It also means that your success along the way is acknowledged positively. It’s really important to celebrate all your success – every pound (or kilo), half stone, stone! We tend to be quite dismissive of losing just a couple of pounds, but actually, volume wise, it looks like a lot!
What you may not know is how just how valuable losing 10% of your body weight is if you are overweight. So for example if you weigh 15 stone – 10% would be a loss of 1.5 stones. It might not seem like much in the whole scheme of what you’d like to lose, but don’t underestimate the positive effect this has on your overall health.
Keep reading below to see what exactly that 10% weight loss makes to your body for each of the above ten benefits.
Let’s take a closer look at the changes going on in your body….
A common cause of type 2 diabetes in overweight or obese people is insulin resistance. This occurs when the body’s cells become resistant to the effects of insulin – which is a hormone released by the pancreas to cause cells to take up sugar. With insulin resistance the pancreas produces more and more insulin to try and increase its effects, which results in high levels of circulating insulin. This then causes weight gain – in particular extra fat tissue forms around the middle. Over time insulin resistance can then develop into prediabetes or full blow type 2 diabetes. As well as causing other health issues such as hormone imbalances.
Being overweight or obese can increase our bad cholesterol (LDL) levels and reduce our good cholesterol (HDL) levels – which in turn increases our risk of cardiovascular disease. This is because bad cholesterol can cause fatty build ups in our arteries which put stress on the artery walls, and can lead to blockages which cause heart attacks and strokes. Good cholesterol is known to have the opposite effect as it carries cholesterol away from the body’s tissues, back to the liver where it is broken down.
Being overweight or obese can increase the chances of developing sleep apnoea- a disorder in which breathing is paused at various times during sleep. It’s thought to be caused by excess tissue, due to being overweight, causing strain on the muscles around the throat – which causes them to collapse and partially block the airways.
Some individuals who are overweight or obese, suffer with depression as a symptom of their weight. While we’ve long known that exercise and a healthier lifestyle can boost mood, it’s also been reported that losing 5% or more of body weight if overweight to begin with, can result in significant improvements in self reported mood.
And to top it all, a team of Australian researchers found that losing just 13lbs could bring the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in overweight individuals down to the same level as their healthy weight counter parts. Which results in an immune system that’s working with us rather than against us – result!
Over the past few day you will have read the top ten benefits of losing 10% of your weight. The next time you’re feeling down because you still feel you have a way to go to reach your goal, just remember that every pound (or kilo) you have lost so far is benefiting your health – and that is the end goal, right?
Focus on what you have achieved. With every pound lost, you are getting closer to the healthy weight range and your body is thanking you!
Lets live longer 🙂