Losing weight doesn’t have to center purely around looking good in the mirror. Additionally, it shouldn’t center purely around health factors either. Although these two reasons are powerful motivators, especially living longer, there are many other practical reasons to slim down your body mass. More happens to your body when you Lose Weight that can impact a wide range of things in your life. In fact, your entire quality of life could be altered greatly by slimming down.

Why You Should Want to Lose Weight

Losing weight can do more for you than letting you put on that bathing suit without embarrassment during the summer. There are several practical reasons why you should want to put more effort into health and fitness. Here are seven of the most potent that you may not be aware of.

1. Pain Relief
Did you know that a large portion of the pain that an overweight person feels can be alleviated by losing weight? Things like joint, back and neck pains may be reduced if not eliminated when you lose weight. This is because you’re reducing the strain on those areas of the body. One of the biggest differences is the relief felt in the knees. Many obese people have a hard time getting around because the pain in the knees is almost unbearable. Until you lose that weight, the pain will only continue to get worse.

2. Enhancing Sleep Patterns
A lot of people who are overweight suffer from sleep apnea. Unfortunately, I am one of those people. I’ve noticed a significant loss in quality of sleep as I’ve been gaining weight. In fact, I have a couple of friends who also have such problems at night – who are also overweight. As I slim down, I will go into further detail whether this is effective for me or not. My Fitbit Charge HR records my sleeping habits, which gives me data to monitor to see if I can enhance my sleep through weight loss.

3. Increasing Intelligence
When you start to eat better and get proper physical activity, you may notice that your mind will become sharper and memory becomes more acute. This is mostly due to changing the way you eat and exercising while you’re losing weight. Vitamins, minerals and oxygen can improve how your brain functions throughout the day. Some studies have even shown a direct correlation between better intelligence scores and physical activity.

4. Affecting Self-Esteem
Your self-esteem can be driven by more than just the way you see yourself. There is also a nutritional factor that comes into play. Emotions are easily influenced by foods whether it’s the nutritional value or enhancing moods directly, such as the effect of serotonin when eating chocolate. By eating the right foods when you lose weight, you can enhance your moods in a natural way. This can then play into boosting your self-esteem.

5. Grocery Shopping
Yes, fitness can also influence how you feel when shopping for groceries. I’ve seen multitudes of people who ride electronic shopping carts simply because they cannot stand and walk for extended periods of time. I know a few of them personally. One guy in particular ate triple cheese burgers with extra fries nearly every day. It’s not surprising that he hit well over 400 pounds and is unable to walk on his own. From standing in line at the register to the strength to pick up cat litter and milk without grunting, losing weight has potential to assist in some of the most mundane regular activities.

6. Enhancing Your Career
Through healthier living, you’re capable of handling stress better while improving your abilities for rational thought. This can play heavily into your career. If your job requires physical activity and movement, you can also become better at it through exercise routines. Essentially, healthy living can directly impact your efficiency at work. This could make you a more valuable employee. Even the confidence developed through health can play a role in highlighting your career.

7. Resistance to Injury
When you lose weight and enhance your eating practices, your body becomes more resistant to injury. I’ve mentioned this in the past with exercise, which is directly connected. Everything from the strength of your bones to healing cuts and scrapes can be affected through healthy living. The actual ability to heal will be dependent on your own personal physique. Studies show there is an increase in healing and injury threshold by those who are healthier.

While looking good drives many people to lose weight, there is far more practicality to the process. Don’t get me wrong, I am looking forward to looking like eye candy for my wife. But this isn’t the only reason why I want to drop a few pounds. Take some time and discover the person you want to be. Find what motivates you to live healthier. Take steps necessary to achieve what you might think is the impossible. You’re the only one that is preventing yourself from living a happier and more productive lifestyle.

Sources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201312/can-physical-activities-improve-fluid-intelligence
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/04/07/why-chocolate-really-is-the-secret-to-happiness-2/

What are your driving forces behind losing weight? How do you motivate yourself to get more out of life?

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