There’s no denying that losing weight can be tough! The good news is that even the most modest weight loss comes with a slew of benefits. You don’t have to hit your goal weight to start making positive changes in your body. In fact, losing just 5% of your body weight starts a domino effect of positive changes that compounds the more you lose. These 10 proven benefits of losing weight are the reasons that you should celebrate every pound lost!
So don’t get discouraged if you’re slow to reach your final weight-loss goal. You’ll hit plateaus along the way, but you’ll also experience many of these great benefits. So take the first steps to crush your weight-loss goal today and enjoy these proven benefits of losing weight as you move along. Improved sleep, clearer skin, and increased joint mobility are just three of the ways you’ll be able to focus on the positive effects of weight-loss!
1. Significant Decrease in Insulin Resistance
Insulin resistance happens when the pancreas produces larger than normal amounts of a hormone called insulin. Normally, insulin is responsible for maintaining steady blood sugar levels, but problems can occur in people who are severely overweight. In an overweight person, the body becomes resistant to this hormone, requiring higher and higher levels of insulin. This sets off a vicious cycle: the body produces higher amounts of insulin, but since it can’t properly utilize it, it continues to create more and more. Eventually, this can lead to type 2 diabetes.
Decreasing insulin resistance is one of the proven benefits of losing weight. After losing just 5% of your total body weight, you’ll notice a significant decrease in insulin levels. That also means you’re increasing the body’s sensitivity to insulin! To further compound this benefit, try to remove high-sugar foods and processed carbohydrates from your diet. For ideas on how to take advantage of this added benefit, check out our 7-Day Low-Sugar Menu Plan.
2. Reduced Risk of Heart Disease
Heart disease is the term used to describe what happens when the blood supply to your heart is blocked or interrupted by a build-up of fatty substances in the coronary arteries. This leads to complications such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. If left unchecked, this condition can ultimately lead to a heart attack.
Studies have shown that any amount of weight loss, no matter how small, decreases the amount of those fatty substances in your arteries. As a result, one of the proven benefits of weight loss includes a reduced risk of developing heart disease.
3. Better Sleep
People who are overweight often suffer from sleep disorders like insomnia or sleep apnea, an interruption in sleep by snoring or gasping for breath due to lack of oxygen in the blood. This regular interruption of sleep patterns leads to fatigue and brain fog during the day, and it can even cause you to overeat.
Losing 5-10% of your total body weight can significantly improve sleep and increase oxygen in the blood. In fact, a recent study showed that people who lost at least 5% of their weight averaged 21.6 more minutes of sleep per night. That’s definitely something to be excited about!
4. Reduced Inflammation
Fat cells, particularly those around your vital organs, release chemicals that inflame tissues all over the body. This cellular inflammation leads to serious health complications, such as heart disease, stroke, heart attack, arthritis, insulin resistance, diabetes, cancer, and renal disease.
When weight is reduced, the amount of these inflammatory chemicals in the body is also lowered. The reduction of the associated (and serious) health risks is one of the proven benefits of losing weight. For more ways to reduce inflammation, check out these 5 Foods to Fight Inflammation that you might want to add into your diet.
5. Increased Joint Mobility
Excess weight puts a lot of pressure on your joints. For each extra pound of weight in your body, gravity will exert three times that amount of pressure on your knees. Over time, this pressure can wear away your cartilage and leave you susceptible to arthritis pain and injury. All of that can compound to limit your overall mobility.
As you lose weight, you’ll reduce this pressure on your joints. Over time, the cushioning between those joints will build back up. The less strain you put on your joints, the more mobility you will have, along with a decreased chance of injury and arthritis down the road.
6. Restore Hormone Balance
Excess weight on the body and organs can lead to an imbalance in hormones. Hormonal imbalance can cause a number of issues for normal body function, such as reproductive problems, lower metabolism, and low libido.
When you rid your body of excess fat, you’ll experience one of the proven benefits of losing weight: your hormones will begin to steady and your body’s functions will gradually return to a normal state. This restoration of balance leads to a higher metabolism, normal reproductive functions, and increased libido. In short, your body begins to work the way it was designed to.
For other ways to restore hormonal balance, see 5 Foods to Balance Hormones Naturally
7. Clearer Skin
In order to lose weight, most people make changes to their nutritional intake. This usually means the addition of fresh, whole foods and the elimination of the processed kind. Cutting out the chemicals and adding vital nutrients back into your diet rejuvenates your skin cells. You’ll notice even more of a benefit if you drink a lot of water and exercise regularly because sweat works hard to push toxins out of your body. Healthy, glowing skin is definitely a perk worth working for!
8. Increased Sexual Satisfaction
Carrying around excess weight can lead to fatigue, low libido, and body insecurities. These factors definitely don’t lead to a satisfying sexual experience. When you lose the excess weight, you’ll sleep better, feel better about yourself, increase the production of sex hormones, and feel less insecure about your body. It’s a win-win for all parties involved!
9. Lower Risk of Cancer
Few people realize that obesity has been linked to cancer. That pesky inflammation causes cells to release carcinogenic hormones that can lead to diseases like cancer. This is especially true for both breast and uterine cancers.
As you lose weight and reduce inflammation, you’ll also reduce the number of harmful chemicals and hormones in your body. Losing just eight pounds can dramatically reduce your risk for cancer. Lowering this type of risk is definitely one of the most important and proven benefits of losing weight.
10. Take Fewer Medications
Obesity is a global epidemic that costs Americans billions of dollars each year. Blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetic, and hormonal prescriptions are costly, and an obese adult spends 42 percent more on direct healthcare costs than adults who are at a healthy weight.
Losing weight can lead to a decreased dosage and even elimination of certain medications. This could save you hundreds (and, even thousands) of dollars a year in the cost of medications. That’s money in your pocket!
These 10 proven benefits of losing weight are just a few of the many positive side effects you’ll experience when you lose even a minimal amount of weight. These benefits will keep growing and compounding the more you lose, so now is the time to change your habits to healthy ones! Get inspired and set a goal to drop just 5% of your body weight. You can do it, and we can help you!
For ways to get started, see:
15 Easy (and Healthy) Ways to Lose Pounds & Inches
5 Tiny Changes That Will Help You Lose Weight and Keep it Off
15 Workout Tips to Help You Reach Your Weight Loss Goal
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